06.07.2026
LEAD Lecture Series
Lecture series promoting exchange and providing international academic insights.
| Date : | |
|---|---|
| Location : |
Institute of Education, Münzgasse 22-28, Room Tanzsaal |
The LEAD Lectures provide a forum for inviting international scholars to share their research, exchange ideas, and foster collaboration with the LEAD community.
The series features talks on topics broadly relevant to education and learning, offering space for interdisciplinary dialogue and academic engagement.
The lecture series thrives on the engagement of the LEAD community. Ideas for prospective talks or interest in organizing or delivering a LEAD Lecture can be shared with Prof. Dr. Michiko Sakaki at coordination@lead.uni-tuebingen.de.
Next lecture
| 06.07.2026 10:30 Uhr | Social ties, expectations, and mobility in Dutch secondary education | Prof Dr Trudie Schils Maastricht University | Institut für Erziehungswissenschaft, Münzgasse 22-28, Seminarraum Tanzsaal | Prof Dr Katerina Tsarava & Prof Dr Jessika Golle |
What to Expect:
This presentation brings together three interrelated studies examining trends in social relationships within Dutch secondary schools, and their implications for educational outcomes. I will first present evidence on a significant and sustained deterioration in students' relationships with both classmates and teachers. Relationships were stable in the pre-pandemic years (2014–2018), declined sharply at the onset of COVID-19, and continued to worsen through 2024. We show variation by gender and educational track and will investigate to what extent a rise in digital activity possibly buffered the decline. Second, I will document a consistent downward trend in students' short- and long-term educational expectations and its correlation with peer and teacher relationships. Third, I show evidence on whether social relationships predict students' educational position in year three of secondary school relative to their primary school track recommendation. Together, these three studies paint a coherent and concerning picture: adolescent social relationships in Dutch secondary schools have deteriorated markedly since the pandemic and have not recovered. These relationships are not merely a matter of wellbeing, they are meaningfully linked to educational ambition and social mobility. The findings underscore the urgency of policy and school-level interventions aimed at strengthening peer and teacher relationships, particularly for vulnerable student groups.
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