Different student-centred compensatory interventions are in place in schools across Europe (e.g., peer tutoring; mentorships; summer programmes; etc.) to improve results, attendance, experience and overall wellbeing of low performing pupils in primary and secondary education. However further research is needed to understand the implementation process and when these interventions are truly effective, equitable and efficient. Within this framework, LINEup is currently carrying out a qualitative research focusing on students’ school engagement, considered one of the strongest predictors of academic performance and related trajectories.
Complementing the quantitative component of the project, the qualitative research s – examined existing longitudinal data to identify areas that over- and under-perform at the national level in terms of students’ learning outcomes (e.g. consistent patterns of high or low academic results) in each country involved in the project.
In these areas, the research team is focusing on both high- and low-performing schools (case studies), engaging with key stakeholders to explore existing measures and discuss additional policies that may foster students’ school engagement and improve learning outcomes.
Through interviews and focus groups with more than 200 school leaders, teachers, students and parents from 54 schools across the six LINEup countrie, this process will allow the team to investigate interventions that help compensate for inequalities over time, complementing the analysis of longitudinal data.
The fieldwork is currently ongoing, and the results of the qualitative research will be discussed in October 2026 in a validation workshop involving around 120 stakeholders, including representatives from the schools taking part in the case studies.
