Our aim was to support students with fewer opportunities and the teachers who prepare them for the 8th grade exam in the most challenging subject of mathematics. By exploiting the potential of adaptive e-learning and blended learning methodologies, we wanted to create an equal opportunities tool to help students who are disadvantaged by their family circumstances or geographical location to access quality education. In the context of the preparation for the school-leaving examination, we aimed at tangibly improving the performance of the target group and their chances of continuing their studies by broadening their knowledge and developing their competences. The project provided an equal opportunity for students to prepare for the exam successfully. In addition to the creation of a digital mathematics curriculum, we sought to develop an innovative way of preparing for exams that could be widely adaptable and support teachers' work and students' development in the long term. We wanted to contribute to ensuring equal opportunities and equal access by introducing a methodology to help disadvantaged pupils succeed in school.
The background to the project is that, according to various education surveys, the correlation between socio-cultural background and student performance is particularly high in several countries in the region. Children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds perform less well in school, their key competences are underdeveloped and they are most at risk of early school leaving. One of the biggest challenges for Hungarian education in Romania, including Transylvania, is to ensure equal opportunities in education. In Romania, opportunities for further education are much more dependent on family background than the EU average, and mobility opportunities for students with fewer opportunities are among the lowest in the EU. Opportunities for further education are already significantly limited at the end of primary school by (among other factors) the generally poor results in the final examination, also known as the 'A-levels', which largely determine students' future careers. Educational inequalities are characterised by the increased presence in the region of disadvantages such as low socio-economic status of parents, irregular family background, underdeveloped small villages, etc., which further deepen social disparities.