CREATE - Centre for Research on Equality in Education

Education can change lives. However, substantial proportions of children world-wide are not given the opportunity to realise their potential. Educational inequalities exist, for instance, with respect to students’ gender, socioeconomic family background, and school quality. The detrimental effects of such inequalities are cumulative, putting many children at risk for school dropout, criminality, or unemployment. In an internationally unprecedented manner, CREATE – the Centre for Research on Equality in Education – will bring together the substantive and methodological expertise needed to generate novel knowledge about how to reduce the inequalities. Currently, the research is extremely fragmented. We have much evidence about individual and contextual characteristics related to educational inequalities. Yet, we have only a rudimentary understanding of how or why these characteristics, uniquely and synergistically, lead to inequalities. Consequently, we do not know which characteristics have the potential for promoting equality. Moreover, we lack knowledge on how to design and when to deliver educational opportunities that offer remedies and exploit the potential for increased equality. CREATE has unique prospects for filling these knowledge gaps by integrating outstanding interdisciplinary expertise, utilising globally unmatched high-quality data, and applying advanced technology to tailor education to students’ needs. CREATE will bridge research on social contexts, school quality, skill development, intervention design, technology, and statistical methodology. Thus, our research will redefine how barriers to achieving equality in education are identified and addressed. Meta-analyses will pool the evidence and facilitate its use in decision-making. Our international networks will contribute to achieving our aim: providing groundbreaking knowledge about learning environments that enable all children to realise their potential, irrespective of their background.

Education can change lives. However, substantial proportions of children world-wide are not given the opportunity to realise their potential. Educational inequalities exist, for instance, with respect to students’ gender, socioeconomic family background, and school quality. The detrimental effects of such inequalities are cumulative, putting many children at risk for school dropout, criminality, or unemployment. In an internationally unprecedented manner, CREATE – the Centre for Research on Equality in Education – will bring together the substantive and methodological expertise needed to generate novel knowledge about how to reduce the inequalities. Currently, the research is extremely fragmented. We have much evidence about individual and contextual characteristics related to educational inequalities. Yet, we have only a rudimentary understanding of how or why these characteristics, uniquely and synergistically, lead to inequalities. Consequently, we do not know which characteristics have the potential for promoting equality. Moreover, we lack knowledge on how to design and when to deliver educational opportunities that offer remedies and exploit the potential for increased equality. CREATE has unique prospects for filling these knowledge gaps by integrating outstanding interdisciplinary expertise, utilising globally unmatched high-quality data, and applying advanced technology to tailor education to students’ needs. CREATE will bridge research on social contexts, school quality, skill development, intervention design, technology, and statistical methodology. Thus, our research will redefine how barriers to achieving equality in education are identified and addressed. Meta-analyses will pool the evidence and facilitate its use in decision-making. Our international networks will contribute to achieving our aim: providing groundbreaking knowledge about learning environments that enable all children to realise their potential, irrespective of their background.