Although solidarity is a core issue of contention in Europe today, there is a surprising lack of attention to how young people engage with the concept of solidarity. The project addresses this lacuna by comparatively examining the different meanings of solidarity mobilized for and by young people in different school contexts that explicitly promote a European ethos, and how these meanings are mobilized.
Through qualitative empirical research in schools considered to span “transnational educational spaces” (i.e. Schola Europaea organised by the EU for the children of EU-employees and Europaschulen – state schools in Germany that promote bilingualism and intercultural learning) the project addresses the following key questions:
- What understandings of solidarity are promoted through the explicit policies and curriculum of different schools promoting a European ethos?
- How do teachers and pupils engage with the schools’ officially-endorsed notions of solidarity in their everyday school practices?
- How do schools with European ethos position themselves in terms of their official and everyday use of notions of solidarity?
Aims
Overall, the project:
- responds to the pressing need across Europe to understand how contemporary young people engage with solidarity in their daily practices
- responds to calls to take transnational dynamics and methodologies in education research more seriously
- generates novel insights into how, why and when different meanings of solidarity are mobilized by young people in Europe in various schooling contexts
- makes a significant contribution to ongoing debates about Europeanisation and globalisation in and of education.
Methodology
The key questions are empirically grounded in policy analysis, textbook and curriculum analysis, classroom observations, interviews with teachers and other staff as well as focus groups with students.
Literature
Publications
Hornberg, S., & Szakács-Behling, S. (2025). Schule als Ort multipler (Bildungs-)Räume. In M. Syring, T. Bohl, A. Gröschner, & A. Scheunpflug (Eds.), Studienbuch Bildungswissenschaften, Band 2: Unterricht und Schule gestalten (pp. 330–349). Verlag Julius Klinkhardt. https://www.utb.de/doi/abs/10.36198/9783838562193-348-368
Szakács-Behling, S., & Hornberg, S. (2023). Transformation and transnationalisation of schooling: Wherein lies the transformative potential of Global Citizenship Education? ZEP – Zeitschrift Für Internationale Bildungsforschung Und Entwicklungspädagogik, 46(3), 4–9. https://doi.org/10.31244/zep.2023.03.02 OPEN ACCESS
Keßler, C. I., & Szakács-Behling, S. (2023). (Aus-)Handlungen des Transnationalen: Diskursive Praktiken auf Schulwebsites verschiedener Bildungssegmente. Sozialer Sinn, 24(2), 185–210. https://doi.org/10.1515/sosi-2023-0009 OPEN ACCESS
Szakács-Behling, S., & Keßler, C. I. (2023). Das Transnationale im virtuellen Raum: Was uns Online-Darstellungen schulischer Auslandsprogramme über die Institution Schule verraten. In M. Hinrichsen & M. Hummrich (Eds.), Schule und Transnationalisierung. Erziehungswissenschaftliche Verhältnisbestimmungen (Schule und Gesellschaft, vol 66) (pp. 47–62). Springer VS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-42105-2_4
Szakács-Behling, S. (2022). Schooling for transnational solidarity? a comparison of differently Europeanising school curricula in Germany. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 20(4), 492–507. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2021.1944066 OPEN ACCESS
Szakács-Behling, S. (2022). Inter- or Transnationalisation in or of schooling? A critical overview of conflating terminologies, empirical foci, and suggested definitions. In S. Hornberg & M. Buddeberg (Eds.), Schule als Ort gesellschaftlicher Teilhabe. Bildungswissenschaftliche Perspektiven, Schulkonzepte und Schulprofile im Fokus (pp. 19–42). Waxmann. https://elibrary.utb.de/doi/epdf/10.31244/9783830995654
Szakács-Behling, S. (2021). Understanding Solidarity in Differently (Trans)National Settings: A Study of Europe-Oriented Schools in Germany. In L. Heidrich, Y. Karakaşoğlu, P. Mecheril, & S. Shure (Eds.), Regimes of Belonging – Schools – Migrations (pp. 325–343). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-29189-1_20
Other:
Szakács-Behling, S. (2022, Apr). What would Marx say? Illuminating Solidarity Logics across transnational School Settings marked by Privilege and Disadvantage in Germany [Paper distinguished with the Elizabeth Sherman Swing Award 2022], CIES 2022 Annual Conference, Minneapolis, USA. (Acceptance speech referring to the DFG funded project, from approx. min. 6:45: 2022 Elizabeth Sherman Swing Award Ceremony)
Presentations:
Szakács-Behling, S. (2025, Mar) “Public schools as agents of transnationalisation in education? Everyday practices as the missing link in researching transnational education spaces.” CIES 2025 Annual Conference, Chicago, USA.
Szakács-Behling, S. (2025, Jan). “Solidarity or privilege? Mapping transnational dynamics in European schooling”. Education Dept. Seminar Series, University of Bath
Szakács-Behling, S. (2024, Jun) “Transnational education spaces 2.0. A concept revisited, reworked, and reborn”. Workshop “Ungleiche Transnationalisierung in und von Bildung/Unequal Transnationalisation in and of Education (UnTiEd)”, TU Chemnitz
Szakács-Behling, S. (2024, Mar). “Eco-activism as an act of global citizenship: a comparative study of cross-border solidarity engagements in variously transnational school contexts in Germany”, CIES 2024 Annual Conference, Miami, USA
Szakács-Behling, S., & Hornberg, S. (2023, Mar). „Transformation und Transnationalisierung. Quo vadis Global Citizenship Education?” Jahrestagung der SIIVE der DGfE, Freie Universität Berlin.
Szakács-Behling, S. & Keßler, C. I. (2022, Mar) “Erwartungen und Mobilisierungen des Transnationalen im virtuellen Raum: Der Fall schulischer Auslandsstudienprogramme an deutschen Schulen“. DGfE 2022 Kongress: Ent|Grenz|Ungen, Bremen .
Szakács-Behling, S., & Hornberg, S. (2022, Mar) “Revisiting Transnational Education Spaces: Interdisciplinary Boundary Transgressions building on the case of state Europaschulen in Germany”. DGfE 2022 Kongress: Ent|Grenz|Ungen, Bremen.
Szakács-Behling, S. (2021, May). “Comparing Modes of Being Transnational in the German School Sector: The Case of Europe(an) Schools” [Online]. Grenzüberschreitungen und Verflechtungen. Erziehungswissenschaftliche Perspektiven auf Schule und Transnationalisierung Conference. Frankfurt. Germany.
Szakács-Behling, S. (2021, Apr). “The Making of Solidarities in Transnational Educational Spaces: Comparative Perspectives from the Everyday of Schools Promoting a European Ethos in Germany” [Online]. CIES 2021, Seattle, USA.
Szakács-Behling, S. (2020, Mar). “Solidarity with Whom and Why? The Making of Global Subjectivities in Schools Promoting a European Ethos” [Online]. CIES 2020, Miami, USA.
Letzte Änderung: 25. June 2025