2026-10-06T13:04:48Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34070844 2026-10-05T16:07:42Z category_129 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Supplementary file 1_Factors and predictors of educational inequalities in European schools: a systematic literature review with a longitudinal lens.docx Panagiotis Kampylis (25316541) Maria Fragkiadaki-Theodoroulea (25316544) Mairi Kandila (25316547) Demetrios Sampson (23311273) Education academic achievement basic skills educational inequalities longitudinal data repeated cross-sectional data school engagement well-being Background<p>Ensuring equal access to quality education is essential for building fair and inclusive societies. However, educational inequalities persist across and within European countries, despite numerous policy initiatives aimed at addressing them.</p>Objectives<p>This systematic review aims to identify and categorise variables of educational inequalities in European primary and secondary schools, focusing on studies with longitudinal or repeated cross-sectional designs.</p>Methods<p>Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, 1,399 studies published from 1995 to 2024 in seven European languages were identified through Scopus, Google Scholar, repositories of international organisations and citation mining. After a two-step screening, 157 studies that met the predefined criteria were analysed in depth using a review matrix. Inter-rater reliability checks ensured consistency.</p>Results<p>Despite targeted policy measures to enhance fairness and inclusion, inequalities remain widespread across European schools. Findings highlight that educational inequalities are multifaceted and begin early in a child's educational path, often widening over time. Overall, 70 variables influencing educational inequalities were identified and organised into a schema of four clusters: student, family, teacher/school and system levels. Solid links were observed between academic achievement, school engagement and student well-being.</p>Discussion<p>Longitudinal and repeated cross-sectional data offer valuable insights into the variables of educational inequalities and into the roles they play as factors and predictors of unequal academic achievement. Socioeconomic and cultural status, along with other family-related variables, emerged as central predictors of achievement gaps, alongside student-level variables such as school engagement. Teacher and school-level factors, as well as system-level ones, also significantly influence the complex phenomenon of educational inequalities.</p>Conclusions/implications<p>The evidence from this literature review reveals solid links between academic achievement and student engagement, emphasising that policies to address inequalities must address not only socioeconomic and academic factors but also socio-emotional aspects, with targeted interventions for vulnerable groups. The findings also underscore the need to explore further how variables influencing educational inequalities interact over time, from early childhood education through secondary education, to inform evidence-based interventions for more equitable educational outcomes.</p> 2026-10-05T16:07:42Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/feduc.2026.1892028.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Supplementary_file_1_Factors_and_predictors_of_educational_inequalities_in_European_schools_a_systematic_literature_review_with_a_longitudinal_lens_docx/34070844 CC BY 4.0