Assessment of the differentiation of education and educational attainment levels in the context of educational goals in the EU-27 countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15584/nsawg.2026.1.1Keywords:
education and inequality, data analysis-classification methods, comparative country studiesAbstract
The measurement of educational outcomes is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, and its assessment depends on the adopted data sources and the applied methodological measurement solutions. The aim of the article is to present and evaluate the position of the EU-27 countries in terms of progress in the education and educational attainment of European societies. In the dimension of empirical research, the multidimensional TOPSIS method was applied. The analysis involved determining taxonomic
indicators generated on the basis of specific variables concerning education indicators for two points in time: 2015 and 2024. This allowed for the linear ordering of the EU-27 countries and the establishment of a typology of ‘similar’ countries in terms of the evaluation of selected aspects of the development of educational processes. A synthetic assessment is important, especially in the context of implementing the adopted goals of EU strategies concerning combating educational poverty, reducing inequalities, and
moving towards so-called sustainable education in the EU countries.
The results of the conducted research indicate that significant changes have occurred, both in the levels and the dynamics of the examined educational processes. As a result of the multidimensional analysis, the differentiation in the level of development and the progress in this area for the EU-27 countries were determined. The examined countries are characterized by a high degree of diversity from the perspective of the studied areas. The situation regarding educational progress in the countries with the highest level of development was found to be almost twice as good as in the countries with the lowest level of development. Among European countries, Poland has gained ground, moving up several places in the overall EU-27 ranking. However, favourable
changes require further evolution and adjustments of education and educational attainment systems, as well as the constant monitoring of their outcomes.
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