Conference Agenda

This proposal presents findings from content analysis of the ECER abstract database, which examined submissions submitted to EERA’s Network 5: Children at Youth at Risk and Education between 1998 and 2024. We use these data as a proxy for describing the development of the field over the past quarter century, as they allow us to identify recurrent themes, shifting and evolving priorities and changes in the research landscape. Analysing patterns in the data thus enables us to develop a comprehensive picture of research in relation to children and youth at risk and education in Europe and to identify focus areas, trends and gaps in the evidence base. The analysis is also designed to complement historical overviews of the research field (e.g. Mayer et al., 2009) by extending their reach into the 21^st century.

The area of children and youth at risk in education has been a dynamic and to some extent marginal research field since the network was created in 1996, when its explicit aim was to improve “our understanding of the problems as well as the identification and dissemination of effective and efficient strategies for solving problems of students in at-risk environments” (Day et al., 1997: 9-10). The abstracts apply a wide range of theoretical frameworks, methodologies and approaches, benefiting from the open and inclusive nature of the research field. This makes it challenging to understand its development over 25 years. Informed and inspired by previous research which has used topic modelling (Kherwa & Bansal, 2019) of ECER abstract data to explore the heterogeneity of European education research (Deleye et al, 2025), this paper presents an evidence-based overview of a complex research field and provoke discussion about its possible futures by harnessing the results on the thematic distribution of contributions to ECER – and more specifically Network 5 – which are provided by the webapp EduTopics (Christ et al., 2025).

The aim of the paper is therefore to influence discussion and debate by presenting analysis of a quarter century’s worth of research in Europe, both mapping the territory and outlining prospective directions at a time when the notion of “at risk” has taken on new implications in the light of climate catastrophe and polycrisis (Tooze, 2021; Rakowski et al, 2025). It is centred on the research questions: How has research in the field of children and youth at risk and education developed in Europe since 1998, as evidenced by the abstracts of research presented at ECER? What does this suggest for future directions of the field?

High-stakes examinations are a key component of education systems in countries across the globe (Suto & Oates, 2021). While their role in shaping educational progression and labour market outcomes is well-established, far less is known about how experiences of success and failure in such examinations shape young people’s wellbeing beyond the point of assessment. This paper addresses this gap by examining the wellbeing implications of leaving compulsory education without the grades that facilitate post-school progression.

While the research we draw on is based in England, high-stakes examinations are used in similar ways across Europe to provide information to educators, employers and governments about young people’s academic strengths and attainment. Often acting as a gateway into upper secondary education, training and the labour market, high-stakes examinations shape young people’s educational pathways and occupational futures in important and lasting ways (Anderson, 2024; Andresen & Løkken, 2020; Caves & Balestra, 2018). Yet their negative effects on young people’s wellbeing in school are also well-documented. They are shown to increase school-related stress and reduce academic self-esteem (Högberg et al., 2021). Opponents also contend that their use places a particular burden on young people from marginalised backgrounds, who lack equitable opportunities to invest in their futures (Davey et al., 2025; Högberg & Horn, 2022). Overall, their ‘all or nothing’ nature looms large over young people’s lives, amplifying pressure, worry and fear of failure (Banks & Smyth, 2015, p.612).

Reflecting the intensity of these feelings, failing to meet a high-stakes examination threshold can mark a critical juncture in a young person’s life, directing them towards lower-level courses or repeated attempts at core qualifications (Papay, et al., 2010). Even narrowly failing a high-stakes examination can increase early disengagement from education and the likelihood of being identified as ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET) (Machin et al., 2020). These individual risks mirror broader trends, with low attainment well-documented as a significant factor in educational exclusion (Russell & Thompson, 2025). Notably, however, this body of research on the consequences of failing high-stakes examinations has primarily focussed on academic progression and employment outcomes. Much less attention has been paid to the broader implications of academic failure for young people’s wellbeing once they have left school. This paper addresses this dearth in knowledge by focusing on the subjective wellbeing of a group of young people who leave compulsory education without the facilitating qualifications or grades that structure opportunity. In doing so, the paper shifts the emphasis on outcomes to the lived experiences of navigating post-school transitions following educational ‘failure’.

England provides a particularly compelling context in which to undertake this study. Here, national high-stakes General Certificate in Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations taken at age 16 are considered pivotal in shaping young people’s futures. Achieving a standard pass (grade 4) in a suite of these qualifications, including English and maths, is widely understood to facilitate access to a broad range of educational and occupational pathways (Kuczera et al., 2016, Dickerson et al., 2023). In contrast, not attaining these grades is known to be damaging for young people’s post-school transitions and linked to long-term ‘scarring’ effects that are difficult to reverse (Thompson, 2017). To explore instead young people’s post-school wellbeing, we engage Allardt’s (1993) concept of ‘having, loving, being’, understood as necessary conditions for human existence and flourishing. Using this framework, our research interrogates how material resources, relational support and opportunities for self-fulfilment shape subjective wellbeing for young people with limited GCSE attainment as they try to ‘get on’ in further education, employment or training but often find themselves merely ‘getting by’ or ‘getting stuck’.

Norwegian families vary in educational, cultural, and economic contextual experiences and opportunities (Toft & Friedman, 2021). 20.2 % comprises people with ethnically diverse backgrounds and children born in Norway (Statistic Norway, 2025). There is diversity in the use of welfare services within and between migrant groups and the general population (Debesay et al., 2019; Huijts et al., 2010). Residents have access to the welfare System in the Norwegian context, including benefits for children's welfare and children's access to social security, health, education, and welfare services. Specifically, children with large or complex needs have the right to have a plan adopted that addresses their family's needs (OHCHR, 2025).
In terms of access or communication to the Norwegian welfare system, challenges are interpreted as socioeconomic differences resulting from the cultural capital of families (Herrero-Arias et al., 2020; Bekke et al., 2023; Jacobsen (2024), minoritisation and ethnic discrimination of being from other cultures (Kvalvaag & Mezzanotti, 2021; Tanyanyiwa et al., 2024) and the assumption of dismissals of mums with direct consequences for their lives (Wondemu et al., 2022). Furthermore, the role of social services is remarkable; the system has interpreted early intervention as a mechanism for early detection of children at risk of abuse or neglect. Professionals from educational and health institutions are under the umbrella of detecting what they feel is “abnormal behaviour” (Kojan & Lone, 2012). Data show the overrepresentation of children with immigrant backgrounds. However, authors such as Rustad et al. (2022) still assume that the numbers are linked to other population characteristics, such as poverty. We should determine whether there is a similar situation among immigrant families with higher-SES respondents in this study. Melinder et al. (2022), have pointed out how the children's best interest could not be seen by pointing out excessive cases without considering the negative consequences of the process. When health and educational services detect cases, the system dismisses them because social services professionals do not consider them a welfare concern (Rustad et al., 2023). Ignoring the fact that immigrants assume previous experiences with different welfare systems depending on which state or region the families were in, scholars have documented families avoiding contact when it is urgent, resulting in fear and silence (Fylkesnes et al., 2015, 2018; Ljones et al., 2019) or by using a strategy of faking cultural clues (Handulle & Vassenden,2022) . Mums take responsibility for the emotional labour of caring (Østerud & Anvik, 2024; Früh et al, 2016; Vinck & Brekke, 2020; Østerud et al., 2024). Immigrant women become isolated (Geißinger, 2021). Highly educated immigrant women with children with disabilities have shared experiences worldwide of fighting against the odds (Kibria & Becerra, 2021). There is little research about the specific circumstances that are challenging for them and in which way the empowerment and resilience (Masten, 2018) of women with children with disabilities in the Norwegian context give them the push to continue living, working, staying and fighting to build a better place for their families. This document narrates the experiences of highly skilled mums with children with disabilities or chronic health conditions who moved to work in Norway and have the experience of dealing with the challenges of the education welfare system and responding to the urgent needs of their children. Theoretical aspects are explored through a critical theoretical Foucault lens in which the analysis of the cases has been analysed, the challenges experienced through the theories of Sennett's (2007) interpretation of individual responses to adaptation of institutions when cultural changes are the reality of the new capitalisms and empowerment and Resilience theories (Masten, 1989) on dealing with stressful situations resulting in adaptations.

In this presentation we report first results from an ongoing research project examining an educational reform implemented in a Finnish municipality concerning the organization of emphasized teaching.

Since the education reforms of the 1990s, Finnish families have been able to choose schools, and schools have been allowed to profile themselves by offering emphasized teaching in specific subjects (Seppänen & Pasu, 2023). Emphasized teaching has become widespread in Finnish cities, offering subject-specific options ranging from academic subjects to arts and sports. In some cities, around one third of students participate in emphasized teaching (Seppänen et al., 2015), with selection typically occurring at the start of comprehensive school or at later transition points. Although legislation does not prescribe how emphasized teaching should be organized, it has most commonly been implemented through selective class formation, whereby students admitted via aptitude-based selection study not only the emphasized subject but also other subjects within the same group (Pasu et al., 2025). Previous research has shown that these selective classes with a special emphasis disproportionately attract high-achieving students from highly educated families, thereby increasing within-school differences between classes (Berisha & Seppänen, 2017). Moreover, emphasized classes have been found to shape students’ everyday school experiences in ways that foster social divisions and hierarchies, raising concerns about the erosion of the egalitarian principles of the Finnish comprehensive school system (Oittinen, 2025; Peltola, 2021).

In Finland, the organization of emphasized education is a highly contested education policy issue. Public debate over its benefits and drawbacks resurfaces regularly in the media. Because municipalities in Finland have substantial autonomy in organizing education, a wide range of local practices has emerged regarding school choice and the implementation of emphasized education (Varjo & Kalalahti, 2019). As a result, municipalities vary considerably in both the extent to which emphasized education is offered and how it is organized. In this paper, we present initial findings from an ongoing project examining the effects of a municipal reform in emphasized education implemented in the City of Kerava. In Kerava, a lower secondary education reform introduced in autumn 2023 fundamentally changed the organization of emphasized teaching. Under the new model, emphasized teaching is no longer used as a basis for class formation, with the exception of music classes, which continue to be organized as separate class-based tracks due to their long-standing tradition. Instead, emphasized teaching was extended to all lower secondary students, who can now construct an individualized curriculum by choosing from four different emphasis pathways.

In this presentation, we examine differences in students’ achievement and perceptions of competence across the old selection-based model and the revised pathway-based model. We draw on both quantitative survey data and qualitative student interviews collected as part of the project. Our precise research questions are:

RQ1. How do students’ achievement and perceptions of their own and their classmates’ competence differ between the selection-based model with selective classes and the revised pathway-based model without explicit student selection?

RQ2. How large are the differences between instructional groups within schools in the selection-based model compared to the revised pathway-based model?

RQ3. How do selection-based and pathway-based models shape students’ everyday experiences of social distinction and hierarchy within schools?