Cogent Education

Social Practices and (In)Equity in Primary Education: International Perspectives

Cogent Education is pleased to welcome you to submit your research to the Article Collection "Social Practices and (In)Equity in Primary Education: International Perspectives".

Primary school is a globally established educational institution that most children attend as first obligatory and formal stage of their education (Besche-Truthe, 2022; Schlesier et al., 2026) and is credited with promoting educational equality (UN, 2015). However, research shows that primary education also plays a role in producing educational inequalities. Children are positioned as more or less capable and as belonging or not during or at the end of their time there (Heidrich et al., 2021). This occurs within social practices in classrooms and daily school life. It is linked to processes of privileging and deprivileging (Hummrich & Pfaff, 2023). An overarching framework to study these phenomena across education systems can be found in a transnationally informed perspective (Caruso, 2019; Hall, 2017; Pries, 2010). From here, we can ask how social practices relate to institutionalized school cultures (Douglas, 1991) under transnational dynamics but within national regulatory frameworks (Lawn & Lingard, 2002). In summary, the Collection brings together international educational research on how (in)equity is constructed, negotiated, and experienced in the daily primary education across differently structured systems.

Ensuring equitable, quality education for all children remains a key global challenge and is vital for strengthening democratic societies, which are currently under threat. The researchers of the International Research Network Researching (In)Equity in Primary Education – Social Practices and Institutional Structures in the Light of Current Dynamics (WERA IRN) bring together innovative research on primary education and its role in shaping (in)equity related to education across diverse education systems, with social practices (Reckwitz, 2003) as a key thematic focus. While primary education is crucial in this regard, it remains under-researched, as existing studies often focus on secondary education (Parreira do Amaral, 2010; Hummrich, Hinrichsen & Paz Matute, 2024) or rely merely on large-scale assessment data (e.g., Armand et al., 2024; Duggan et al., 2023). We invite theory-building and empirically grounded contributions that research how, under transnational dynamics, social practices in primary schools relate to processes of privileging and deprivileging, and what this theoretically reseals development about educational (in)equality in its full complexity.

This Article Collection calls for contributions from different countries and contexts in which the concept of educational (in)equity is analysed by focusing on social practices in primary schools - situating them within transnational contexts. Submissions may include original empirical studies, theoretical and conceptual analyses, systematic reviews, or practice-based research. Topics may encompass – but are not limited to – classroom practices, peer practices, pedagogical relations, children’s perspectives on fairness, equity, equality or justice, teachers’ pedagogical orientations, and teachers’ professional learning. Contributions with an international (comparative) approach are particularly welcome. By situating classroom and institutional practices within a broader transcultural theoretical frame and global political, and policy contexts, the Collection aims to advance discourse on primary-school-specific inequity-critical educational research at an international level. Ultimately, it seeks to offer inspiration and guidance for new insights that support equitable education policies and practices worldwide.

Meet the Guest Advisors

Prof. Simone Seitz holds the Professorship (ord.) for General Didactics and Inclusive Education (Faculty of Education) and is Director of the Competence Centre for Inclusive Education at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy. Her research focuses on primary education with a focus on teaching, learning, and school development, educational (in)equity and inclusive education; international comparative educational research; achievement and assessment.

Prof. Sarah Désirée Lange holds the Professorship for Primary School Education (Center for Teacher Education and Educational Research) at Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany. Her research focuses on Inclusion and Inequity, Multilingualism, AI and Informatics as well as Sustainable development in Primary School Teaching and Teacher Professionalisation. She often works in international and comparative research collaborations.

Prof. Serafina Pastore holds a PhD in Instructional Design and Educational Assessment and has developed extensive expertise in educational assessment, combining theoretical work with empirical research and methodological training. She has held research positions at leading international institutions, including CRESST at UCLA, the State University of New York, and the Centre for Higher Education Transformations at the University of Bristol, achieving strong international research visibility. As a Fulbright Research Fellow, she developed a widely used model of teacher assessment literacy and has led the design and validation of several influential assessment instruments.

The Guest Advisors declare no conflict of interest regarding this work.