On 27 August in Graz, Austria, the World Education Research Association (WERA) convened an invited symposium titled “Realizing Potentials – Global Challenges in Education Research” as part of the EARLI 2025 Conference. The session brought together leading scholars to explore pressing issues of equity, justice, and inclusion in education across Europe, and to ask what lessons might resonate globally.
Prof. Dr. García-Carrión (University of Deusto, Spain) opened with insights from the Horizon Europe project SCIREARLY, a study of early school leaving and underachievement involving 11 partners from 10 European countries. She emphasized how leaving education early is not just an individual outcome but a systemic issue. Building on a systematic literature review, she discussed how schools and learning environments share common features that have shown to reduce the risk of early school leaving, such as (1) when teachers build trust and maintain high expectations, (2) when learning is safe, interactive, and meaningful; (3) when whole-school and collaborative approaches engage communities, and (4) when leadership and guidance structures empower students’ academic and personal growth.
Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Ingrid Gogolin (University of Hamburg, Germany) addressed the challenge of growing linguistic diversity, much of it driven by migration, and argued that multilingualism should be seen as an asset rather than a risk. Today’s classrooms reflect unprecedented diversity, with hundreds of languages spoken in global cities like London, New York, and Sydney. Yet, children from immigrant families often face persistent educational disadvantages that cannot be explained by socio-economic factors alone. Findings from the MEZ longitudinal study, which followed more than 2,000 students, show that literacy in heritage languages does not endanger majority language literacy; rather, literacies across multiple languages are positively interrelated. Prof. Gogolin concluded that education systems must harness this potential by rethinking literacy policies and valuing multilingualism as a powerful resource for every learner.
In her presentation,Prof. Dr. Heike Wendt (University of Graz, Austria) brought a long-term view, examining 25 years of education reforms in Europe using different theories of justice: distributive, participatory, recognitional, and transnational. Her analysis indicated that while a few countries have shown positive developments, many systems remain unchanged or show declines, particularly regarding social disparities, student well-being, and enjoyment of learning. She also highlighted notable differences between various sets of indicators, raising questions about the adequacy of the theoretical frameworks often used to interpret such data. Prof. Wendt suggested that incorporating more critical and reflective theories into the analysis of large-scale comparative data could provide new perspectives and support a deeper understanding of equity challenges across education systems.
The symposium’s discussant, Prof. Dr. Maria Padrós-Cuxart (University of Barcelona, Spain), tied the threads together, highlighting the importance of the studies presented in providing research-informed responses that connect the local and the global. She also urged the field to bridge research and practice: We know what works — inclusive curricula, collaborative schools, community engagement — but systems must act on it. Thinking bigger, she posed the questions on how can international and interdiscipinary research move beyond description to actionable knowledge for practice, what can be done to equip and empower teachers and practitioners to assume a global perspective and wider justice frameworks into their role, and how these studies can contribute to research in non-European contexts, and vice versa.
Overall, this WERA invited symposium provided a thought-provoking space that hopefully prompts us all to act on what we know works, value diversity as a strength, and co-create education systems where every learner can thrive within global and local spaces.
