NW 14: Considering uncertainty in educational research exploring school-community relationships

Network
NW 14 Communities, Families and Schooling in Educational Research

Title
Considering uncertainty in educational research exploring school-community relationships

Abstract
Respecting the conference theme, ’Education in an age of uncertainty: memory and hope for the future’, ECER/EERA Network 14 invites contributions exploring how ‘uncertainty’ is integrated in school-community relationships in all locations, in particular those involving families and schools in the socio-educational development of the community. For example: How can community engagement in education be redefined during a period of uncertainty? How might trust be built in community engagement at a time of uncertainty? How might collaborative relationships between families and schools be created based on current realities and future hopes?

The Call
This call unites the key concepts of ECER/EERA Network 14’s research mission: communities, families, schooling and place. It invites contributions on school-community relationships in all locations exploring how our past endeavours, current realities and future hopes impact on education, schooling, and education research in Europe and beyond.

Contributions might suggest a mapping for an understanding of which aspects of uncertainty should be given consideration in an educational environment and how this consideration might be incorporated into learning and/or teaching and/or the community. In particular, they should provide a clear insight of the complexity of the local context and the ways in which uncertainty is assessed in that context.

This call continues the long-standing Network 14’s examination of the theme of socio-educational development in wider contexts beyond the rural to the regional, remote, urban, local, and even virtual places.

Network 14 welcomes contributions on (1) how cooperation or partnerships between schools and/or other organisations can be initiated and sustained to foster the development of a more inclusive community in the context of current realities and future hopes and (2) how uncertainty adversely affects school-community relationships.

Contributions might build on existing work, challenging commonsense understandings about binaries relating to place (Corbett & White, 2014; Cuervo, 2016), moving beyond deficit notions of particular groups to ensure more inclusive educational and community approaches (Gouwens & Henderson, 2021), problematizing notions of community, place and identity (Tatebe, 2021), and promoting opportunities for teaching and learning across communities (Glowrey et al., 2023; Mansfield et al., 2018).

It is expected that the contributions submitted as part of this call will be wide-ranging, representing a range of interrogations, which might address:

• What can be learned in/from these spaces to create a more inclusive community based on realities and future hopes?
• How can community engagement in education be redefined during a period of uncertainty?
• How might trust be built in community engagement at a time of uncertainty?
• How might collaborative relationships between families and schools be created based on current realities and future hopes?
• How can schools and families work together in educating future citizens in a more inclusive community?
• How can schools overcome challenges raised by uncertainty through the curriculum and classroom activities?

Contact Person(s)
Laurence Lasselle, University of St Andrews, UK, laurence.lasselle(at)st-andrews.ac.uk, link convenor in ECER/EERA NW14.

References
Corbett, M. & White S. (2014). Doing educational research in rural settings: Methodological issues, international perspectives and practical solutions. London: Routledge.

Cuervo, H. (2016). Understanding social justice in rural education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Glowrey, C., Levy, S., Green, M., Fletcher, A., Plunkett, M. (2023). A Possible Me? Inspiring Learning Among Regional Young People for the Future World of Work. In: Weuffen, S., Burke, J., Plunkett, M., Goriss-Hunter, A., Emmett, S. (eds) Inclusion, Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice in Education. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Singapore (pp. 109–124). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5008-7_8

Gouwens, J. A., & Henderson, R. (2021). Rethinking deficit discourses in education through rural education research and the concept of querencia. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 31(3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v31i3.300

Mansfield, C., Papatraianou, L., McDonough, S., King, L. (2018). Building Resilience in Times of Uncertainty and Complexity: Teacher Educator Perceptions of Pre-service Teacher Resilience. In: Heck, D., Ambrosetti, A. (eds) Teacher Education In and For Uncertain Times. Springer, Singapore (pp. 83-98). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8648-9_6

Tatebe, J. (2021). The “new” rural: Small and rural schools’ influence on regional urban developments. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 31(3), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v31i3.301