Around the globe, countries strive to develop excellent education systems and educational institutions which serve the needs of diversified societies and complex economies.  More than ever before, education has become a constant process over the life course.  Individuals continue their qualification in formal and informal settings throughout their lives: educational careers unfold in the family, in educational institutions, at workplaces, with support of media, in private life…  Thus, the observation of educational institutions in a broad sense and of their quality has become a topic of major interest in many nations around the world.

The aim to understand what is happening over (at least extended parts of) the life course requires longitudinal approaches in education research. This is why Educational Panel Studies have been established in many countries in order to collect longitudinal data on educational processes and the development of personalities as well as competence. In many cases, this data can be made available to the scientific community – not only within the national context in which it is collected, but also for international researchers. These opportunities, however, seem to be utilized for international research collaboration only moderately.

WERA wishes to foster and support international cooperation of education researchers. Thus, the WERA Symposium at ECER 2015 in Budapest will be used as an opportunity to inform about Panel Studies on different topics and from different areas of the world. The symposium aims at delivering valuable information on the conception of studies, how they are embedded in the respective research landscapes, about their major theoretical dimensions and interesting methodological aspects.  Moreover, the presentations will introduce the procedures of getting access to the data, and opportunities for collaborative work on burning issues of education research will be discussed

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