Conditions for successful educational pathways in societal heterogeneity are an important topic in educational research and of central relevance to educational practice. Studies from recent decades have examined various aspects of the constantly changing societal heterogeneity. These are often differentiated into social heterogeneity, cultural/language heterogeneity, and performance heterogeneity, with interactions existing between these areas. During the 3rd Dortmund Symposium on Empirical Educational Research, theories and the current state of research from different disciplines were highlighted, and implications for empirical educational research were presented. This volume includes the contributions discussed there, which approach the conference topic from various methodological and content-related perspectives.