Using Longitudinal Data to Support State Education Policymaking in Special Education

Using Longitudinal Data to Support State Education Policymaking in Special Education is sponsored by U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES), National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER). This program supports research teams working with state agencies to use their student data, covering learners with or at risk for disabilities from birth through postsecondary education. Every application must include the responsible state agency as a partner.

Contribution of basic skills to productivity, innovation, competitiveness and economic growth is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Provide policymakers with a more detailed understanding of the contribution of basic skills on the economy in the short and medium term, with a focus on their contribution to productivity and innovation, to sustain EU competitiveness and growth. Develop actionable advice about how, in a lifelong perspective, education and training systems can help foster basic skills. Promote productivity, innovation, competitiveness and growth, including by reducing gender, disability and socioeconomic gaps in basic skills. Scope: In the context of the Union of Skills, the 2025 European Commission’s Action Plan on Basic Skills identifies five basic skills: literacy, mathematics (including also financial literacy), science, digital and citizenship. Strong basic skill levels among young people and adults are key to sustaining EU productivity, innovation, competitiveness and growth, as also explained in the 2024 Draghi Report [1] . Other key EU initiatives support lifelong learning as a driver for productivity, innovation, and economic growth, for instance the 2022 Council Recommendation encouraging the implementation of Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) in Member States. Evidence of causal relationship between basic skills on the one hand and productivity, innovation, competitiveness and economic growth, on the other is still limited in Europe, both at microeconomic and macroeconomic levels, mostly due to scarce use of longitudinal data. This also applies to the interplay between the basic skills and other skills (such as socio-emotional skills) in promoting productivity, innovation, competitiveness and growth. There is also a need for better evidence (including from SSH disciplines) on which education and training policies and practices at all levels (school education, vocational education and training, higher education, adult education) can be effective in reducing gender, disability and socioeconomic disparities in basic skill acquisition and in subsequent labour market outcomes. The research should also better explore the competences that learners need to learn effectively with AI-based tools. Additional evidence is required on how to increase female participation in STEM and how to address teacher shortages, as well as on how to address barriers faced by persons with disabilities. Proposals should address those research gaps by applying rigorous quantitative methods with a longitudinal perspective for their analysis and could complement them with qualitative research methods. Proposals should also evaluate the inclusion aspect, and the costs associated with the policies or practices analysed. Cooperation with education and training stakeholders is encouraged. Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under the call HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-10: “Effective education and labour market transitions of young people” and other relevant projects, as well as the Social Transformations and Resilience Partnership are strongly encouraged. [1] https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/draghi-report_en Programme areas: Horizon Europe (HORIZON), Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Culture, creativity and inclusive society, Social and Economic Transformations Keywords: Education, general (including training, pedagogy, didactics)