Annual Report 2007, Ghent
In ECER´07 Network 14 received fewer proposals than in previous years, and after the reviewing process only eight presentations were accepted, consisting of seven individual papers and one poster presentation.
This year’s accepted presentations discussed mainly the theoretical, ethical and actual challenges of home - school research. The scientific quality of papers was high and there were 9-12 participants in each session.
Network 14 was formed in 1997 and has worked intensively during these years, having organised several symposia concerning research in small rural schools and their communities and home-school co-operation research in Europe, at the annual ECER conferences. Between conferences the convenors have met from time to time, aiming to support scientific publication activities on the themes that are significant in Network 14.
In the year 2000, some researchers from Network 14 published a special issue of the International Journal of Educational Research:
School Transitions and Transfers, and, at the present moment, there is another special issue is being written which focuses on small rural schools’ position as a part of the educational systems in different European countries.
Future of Network 14
Despite the activities of the network over the past 10 years, there is now a need to redefine and develop the focus and aims of network 14.
Also participants in Ghent (19-21st September) proposed that the focus of educational research in Network 14 could be redefined more explicitly so that researcher workers in the field would be able to locate their research presentations in Network 14 more easily in the future.
Thus, in developing the network, our participants’ ideas will be taken account.
Therefore during this autumn the network convenors will firstly redefine the name of Network 14 and secondly renew profoundly the network description. This renewed network description will be completed by the beginning of December 2007 in time for the call the proposals in ECER 2008 in Gothenburg.
In addition, Network 14 is discussing the possibilities of closer and more effective co-operation with two research networks whose interests align closely with those of Network 14. These are the European Research Network About Parents in Education (ERNAPE), whose symposia have been hosted by Network 14 on occasion in the past, and the LATIRA network of researchers on rural schools in far northern Scandinavia. Our Business Meeting during ECER´08 will be an opportunity for forward-looking discussion of the future activities of Network 14.
This autumn (2007), Network 14 convenors will be happy to receive the ideas, expectations and/or feedback to support and develop the scientific activities of this network.