By the 21st century, the processes within the education sector had expanded significantly, and the issues examined by education researchers had become increasingly complex. The dynamic growth of educational systems, along with the diversity of their educational provisions, has enabled them to reach a broader range of social and age groups. Learning and education have historically taken place largely in informal settings, which today have been further expanded through digital channels and online platforms. Consequently, the focus of educational research is no longer confined to classroom processes: the thematic, spatial, and disciplinary boundaries of research have all broadened considerably.
The Centre for Higher Education Research and Development (CHERD-H) monitors these changes in education and learning and examines them within a broad social context. One of the central objectives of our research on primary, secondary, and higher education is to identify the factors that contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of educational institutions and to determine how these institutions can more effectively mitigate educational inequalities arising from students’ family backgrounds. We place particular emphasis on the interactions between institutions and their environments, the effects of institutional social composition, and the networked dynamics of collaboration and value transmission that support institutional effectiveness. These approaches allow us to understand education as a socially embedded, complex system in which multiple components interact.
Our research extends across multiple countries in the Carpathian Basin, enabling us to interpret our findings in broad international comparison, in collaboration with education researchers from neighbouring countries, thereby contributing to the advancement of both scholarly and policy-oriented dialogue on education.