The World Education Research Association (WERA) will host an invited symposium on 28 August 2025 from 8:30 to 10:00 am at the EARLI 2025 Conference in Graz, Austria entitled ‘Realizing Potentials – Global Challenges in Education Research’.
This symposium acknowledges the mission that education and education research contribute to realizing potentials, not least as a vital contribution to equity and social justice around the globe. Education systems worldwide face numerous common challenges. For this reason, it would be highly beneficial for knowledge-building efforts to focus more strongly on collaborative international research.
The generation of descriptive and explanatory knowledge in comparative international perspectives, while valuable, is not sufficient as a foundation for equitable educational practices. This symposium will therefore discuss experiences of education research on globally relevant issues and ask a guiding question: If and how can international collaborative and interdisciplinary research unfold the potential to support adaptation to practice—irrespective of regional and situational differences?
This WERA Invited Symposium features contributions from Rocío García-Carrión (University of Deusto, Spain) on ‘Leaving early from education and training in Europe: Turning challenges into opportunities for all children to thrive’, Ingrid Gogolin (University of Hamburg, Germany) on ‘Dealing with linguistic diversity – unlocking and realizing the literacy potential of every individual learner’, and Heike Wendt (University of Graz, Austria) on ‘Educational equity in Europe: 25 years of development in European primary school systems through the lens of different theories of educational justice.’ Maria Padrós Cuxart (University of Barcelona, Spain) will serve as the discussant. The session will be chaired by Ingrid Gogolin and moderated by Icy Fresno Anabo (University of Deusto, Spain).
The EARLI 2025 WERA Invited Symposium promises to be a thought-provoking exchange that highlights both the urgency and opportunity of global collaboration in education research.