Final Report: Educational Inequalities

This report summarises the main findings from Work Package 3 (WP3) of the Mapineq project, focusing on the persistence and transformation of educational inequalities across Europe. It combines comparative data analysis and original studies on compensatory and boosting advantage, environmental risks, and educational expansion. Results show that inequalities remain substantial and are shaped by social origin, family dynamics, and territorial context. While expansion of education has led to modest reductions in inequality, this trend is not uniform and is often driven by declining outcomes among the advantaged. Moreover, environmental hazards such as heat and pollution disproportionately affect low-SES students, adding a new layer to the reproduction of inequality. The report concludes that educational inequalities are deeply entrenched and shaped by dynamic interactions between families and their social and environmental contexts.