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Ever since scholars started studying public opinion and political acting, they have reported substantial educational differences. Much debate remains, however, about how to interpret these differences. Recently a number of scholars using a variety of terms and theoretical reasoning have proposed interpretations that suggest education has become a source of (inter)group processes. Against this background, the objective of this paper is twofold. First, we reflect on this stream of thought, arguing that it provides a starting-point for the development of a new approach for studying educational differentials. This would be centred around the proposition that the central and highly institutionalised nature of education in contemporary societies paves the way for education-based (inter-)group acting and thinking. Starting from this, secondly, we attempt to take stock of existing research, propose a research agenda, and provide …