Rapid social, economic and technological changes, as well as successive crises, are posing major challenges for today's schools. If we are aware of this process, it can also lead to a dynamic development of education. The task of educational research has increased, as teachers and school leaders need reliable research evidence on what teaching and assessment strategies, procedures, practices and school organisation and management models are effective in supporting teacher and student achievement. Education is deeply embedded in social and cultural contexts, and the task of research is multiplied by the need to identify, compare and discuss evidence relevant to different contexts. Our thematic studies focus on examining changing educational contexts and practices. 

Parental involvement is an inclusive, multifaceted phenomenon that has far-reaching benefits for children. By actively engaging in their children's education, parents can create a supportive learning environment that promotes academic success, social-emotional development, and strong family relationships in their homes. The involvement of parents in children's development is not just a responsibility; it is also an opportunity to connect with children, instill values into them, and nurture their holistic development and growth.

To be successful in school, it is not enough for teachers to do the work alone, it must be done in partnership with families as well. Even though the pupils are at the center of it all, the partnership between the school and the family is essential to its success. Some of the time, however, this partnership does not seem to be as clear-cut as it should be, such as when the school and family have different values, when the social status of parents and teachers differs, or when a child has a disability.

Guest editors: Katinka Bacskai (University of Debrecen, Hungary) and Nóra Imre (University of Pannonia, Veszprém)

Today’s contemporary society is characterized by the most rapid and continuous transformation ever seen, but there are also essential elements that change more slowly and, in some countries, persist despite the changes. Such an element is the stability of social inequalities. Social mobility, one of the most researched phenomena in the sociology of education, is thus a phenomenon of never-ending relevance.

Resilience is an emerging field of research that has many links to the context of schools. In psychological terms, to be resilient as a teacher or student means to resist the challenges of professional, social and individual life, as well as to develop and advance through them. Even more recent is the incorporation of resilience into the discourse on social inequalities, with a particular focus on the role of schools. Researchers have begun to analyze individual life paths, teachers, teaching staff, organizations or education systems that blunt the social regularity that a less favorable family background is associated with a worse school career. 

Social mobility and resilience are topics which have caught the attention of many voices in academia, with many different perspectives on what these phrases mean. The current special issue’s aim is to create an intellectual frame of reference for the academic study of social mobility and resilience in society and schools. 

Data science is a relatively new field that has gained considerable attention in recent years. It requires a wide range of knowledge and skills from different disciplines. The need for data science has grown recently in Library and Information Science to better prepare information professionals for the world of big data. This theme brings together the worlds of library and information science on the one hand and computer science on the other, with a special focus on the topic of `openness’.

Among the most important events on the area of Library and Information Science are the annually organized BOBCATSSS symposia. The 30^th BOBCATSSS was organized by the University of Debrecen, Hungary and by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover, Germany. It was held in May 2022 at the University of Debrecen. The main theme of the conference was Data and Information Science. This issue contains papers connected to and partly presented at this conference. The topics of the papers are related to the following three subfields of the area: data science and educational research, openness in educational research, data science institutions and education.

There have always been rather contradictory views on the use of digital technology in education. Many have been against its application, while others have tried to justify its importance with research. However, the pandemic situation created by the COVID-19 virus put an end to these debates (albeit perhaps only temporarily), as online teaching has become the basic alternative to face-to-face teaching in most countries. The vast majority of learners, from pre-schoolers to university students, have kept in touch with their teachers online, a solution that sometimes required the active involvement of parents.The papers in this thematic issue both present the applications of digital technology in the 21st century and analyse the experiences and lessons of this particular situation.

Foreign Language Teaching and Learning: Changes, Difficulties and New Directions is a topic that is especially important and challenging at the time of the pandemic. In this issue we reflect upon the transition from past to present, while incorporating the future in our current professional experiences as well. Our authors offer critical intersectional approaches about specific issues related to current foreign language pedagogy in public education as well as higher education: the relationship between family background and foreign language learning; alternative assessment in the classroom; shadow education in language teaching; digital technology and pre-service teachers' experiences with online learning; creativity and teachers' professional development.

Through crossing cultural and historical boundaries, music a deeply coded discourse establishes communication at all times. Lasting values are determined by cultural choice what is based on the experience and emotional effects produced by music are based on previous experiences, emotional reactions, and memories. Successful music education also motivates people to find strength in their cultural heritage. We find it highly important to present our new findings to a wide segment of society, so that as many people as possible may become familiar with the most advantageous social, economic, mental, and labour market effects of music education.

Various disciplines approach the concept of family from different directions. A common principle of the definitions may be the general statement that the family is the smallest unit of society, the primary medium of socialization, where the individual learns the most important rules and norms necessary for his or her integration into the given society and adult life.

Preparing for family life is an important cornerstone for the operation of future families. With the decline of traditional family forms, there are fewer and fewer chances to informally transmit roles and patterns related to family life within the family. In an institutionalized form, education for family life appears in smaller parts in the process of education and cultivation (for example, embedded in subject curricula), but at the same time, efforts are made to incorporate them in a more complex way. Efforts to prepare for the family life in education have intensified in Central and Eastern European countries since the change of regime. In addition to institutionalized education, church, civic-, health-, and social organizations also play a significant role.

The thematic issue of CEJER presents facts and trends related to family life quite clearly without the need for completeness. Some of the studies are about relationships and marriage, others are about family functioning, for example about parenting, family values, crisis, health, and illness. The conclusion and common denominator of all writing could be the statement that the more prepared the family members are, the more effective the answers given to the diverse challenges of family life can be. Educating for family life is an essential issue in every society, whether it happens in schools, churches, NGOs or, the most ideally, in the family. The happiness of the family shapes their expectations of a new life, the upbringing and fulfilment of that life, and the passing away of a loved one is also the most dignified here.

This issue provides a special occasion for a final farewell, as we dedicate it to the memory of Giuseppe Mari, our colleague from Milan. Giuseppe arrived with Erasmus mobility, and then we returned his visit. He was an excellent man and professional, an educational-, anthropological-, and theological expert on marriage. He engaged his students with his lectures, and his colleagues bowed their heads before his extremely deep and thorough knowledge. At the time of our meeting, the creation of this journal was still in its infancy, but he was ready to offer to write an article for the thematic issue. He soon sent his manuscript, well before the deadline — and he, too, left the earthly world well before his time. Unexpectedly, the Heavenly Family called for him in the prime of his life. We keep his memory alive.

Agnes Engler

Berger and his co-authors not only state in their work Religious America, Secular Europe that European secularism is different from processes in other parts of the world, but also suggest that the modernization of the Central and Eastern European region differed from this scenario. Research is ongoing on the effects on religiosity of the political transformation of the post-Soviet era and the spread of consumer society. There is no doubt that the proportion of young people in the region who receive religious upbringing is also declining. However there is a growing social demand for religiously oriented institutions of informal and formal education. All this points to specific patterns of religious education within the family. Despite the interruption of family traditions, the religious orientation of childrearing may be present in the parental generation, or there may be a demand for the external benefits of religious education. In our thematic issue, we gain insight into research in religious education in Central and Eastern Europe.

The diversity in educational settings is interpreted as the heterogeneity of students in terms of sex, social origin, ethnicity, and religion. Educational research is consistent focusing on certain groups if they are under represented on an educational level and institution compared to their social significance. The following risk groups have also been identified in several papers: students from low-status families, children from single parent families, those who belong to an ethnic or religious minority, and students with special needs. Not only the learning and financial difficulties but the lack of integration threatens them. An ongoing challenge for educational research is to explore not only the possibility of equality of educational opportunity but also the way in which the education system can make them effective. The studies in this issue present current research in the field of diversity and equal opportunities.

Education is an investment in the future of individuals and communities. Student dropout in higher education causes a relatively large-scale loss in human and economic capital on national, individual, and institutional levels. The topic of the study is the most dynamically improving area of higher education research, and the questions proposed by the study are directly connected to the international discourse on the phenomenon of dropout, its causes, and controlling its risk. International studies divide the causes of dropout into three categories: dissatisfaction with the students’ HE experiences, family and work responsibilities and economic difficulties. Presumably, the causes of dropouts are more diverse depending on the major and year of study. By reviewing studies of the current issue you can gain insight into the social and organizational causes of student dropout in higher education both on the micro and macro level.