National educational databases play an increasingly important role in educational research, policy analysis, and system monitoring. Across many countries, Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) now contain detailed longitudinal information on students, teachers, schools, and educational trajectories. While these systems were primarily developed for administrative and policy purposes, they are increasingly used for research. At the same time, substantial differences exist across countries with respect to data structure, accessibility, legal frameworks, and possibilities for data linkage. This session brings together contributions from several national contexts (Denmark, Finland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Sweden) to examine how education data infrastructures are used for research, and under which conditions they enable robust and policy-relevant analyses. The papers cover a range of educational systems, including national education registers, assessment databases, and links to international large-scale assessments, and illustrate both opportunities and constraints in working with large-scale education data.

A central theme of the session concerns data access and governance. Several contributions describe national arrangements for researcher access, including secure remote access environments, licensing procedures, and legal requirements related to data protection and privacy. Differences between countries highlight how institutional and regulatory frameworks shape what kinds of research can be conducted, and by whom. The papers also illustrate how anonymisation and pseudonymisation procedures affect analytical possibilities and raise methodological trade-offs between data protection and research quality.

A second theme is data linkage and methodological challenges. Many contributions demonstrate the analytical value of linking education data with other sources, such as national examinations, higher education registers, labor market data, or international large-scale assessments. These linkages enable the study of educational trajectories, persistence and dropout, inequalities, and policy effects over time. At the same time, the papers discuss challenges related to longitudinal consistency, missing data, hierarchical data structures, and the validity of administrative indicators, as well as the need for appropriate statistical models.

A third theme concerns the use of national education data for policy evaluation and system improvement. Several papers illustrate how administrative and assessment data are used to study educational inequalities, school effectiveness, student transitions, and dropout risk. The use of rich register data allows complex conceptual processes to be refined and examined empirically. Methodologically, the contributions range from descriptive statistical analyses to longitudinal modelling and quasi-experimental approaches addressing policy-relevant research questions.

Taken together, the session highlights both the research potential and the limitations of national education data systems. While these data offer unique opportunities for large-scale and longitudinal research, their use requires careful attention to data quality, governance, and methodological choices. By presenting experiences from different national contexts, the session contributes to a more informed discussion on how educational databases can be used responsibly and effectively for research and policymaking.

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