History

2023 - Online Event for Emerging Researchers

Network 14 was delighted to welcome 28 participants from nine countries to its first online event for Emerging Researchers (ER) on Wednesday 15 November 2023. This event aimed to bring together our community of Emerging Researchers in a cosy and friendly environment.

The participants learned about the research from two of their peers:  Jean Lang from the University of Exeter in the UK and Qazi Ahmed from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. Jean talked about developing a rural schools network of inquiry to share practitioner research. She was introduced by Dr Cath Gristy (University of Plymouth, UK), convenor of EERA Network 14. Qazi talked about the challenges in interviewing rural informants. He was introduced by Dr Laurence Lasselle (University of St Andrews, UK), Link-convenor of EERA Network 14.

They also learned about the submission process of the European Conference on Education Research (ECER) organised by the European Educational Research Association (EERA). ECER2024 will be in Nicosia, Cyprus from 27 August 2024 to 30 August 2024.

2023 - NW 14 Special Call

"Considering diversity in educational research exploring school-community relationships"

2022 - Online Event

Network 14 was delighted to welcome 59 participants from 23 countries to an Online Panel Discussion on 10 March 2022 “Building Community-School Relationships through Curriculum in Rural Areas: An International Conversation”.

2021 - NW 14 Special Call

"Reconciling school-community and formal education"

2021 - Online Events

Network 14 was delighted to welcome 43 participants from 22 countries to its first online event on Friday 12 February 2021 "Online Symposium on Democratising the Urban City  through Education Theory, Policy and Practice" and 14 participants from 6 countries to its second online event on Tuesday 11 May 2021 „Online Symposium on School at home: the lived  experience of families with young children during the first COVID-19 lockdown in France“.

2020 - Network Gathering during #ReconnectingEERA week

The informal Network 14 meeting held on 27 August was open to all Network members and/or people whose submissions to Network 14 have been accepted to ECER 2020. It was a chance to come together and to have the opportunity to discuss our research activities around the Network’s main research themes.

In the second part of the meeting the current reviewers and convenors focused on the preparation of the various Network 14 activities over the forthcoming months.

2019 - Change in Link Convenor

Laurence Lasselle was elected Link Convenor in 2019.  

2017 - Project

EERA supported NW 14 in the  international publication "Educational research and schooling in rural Europe: An engagement with changing patterns of education, space and place.”. The publication will be the first in a major new international, IAP (Information Age Publishing) book series Current Research in Rural and Regional Education

2016 - Change in Link Convenor

From ECER 2016 on Rocio Garcia Carrion acted as link convenor for NW 14.

2013 - Project

NW 14 organised a Symposium on "Space" in Prag. EERA Supported travel and accommodation costs.

2012 - Change in Link Convenor

As of November 2012, Joana Lucio acted as  link convenor, after an indcution year starting at ECER 2011. 

2009 - Change in Link Convenor

Professor Rune Kvalsund, Volda University College, Norway, took over as link convenor in 2009.

The number of proposals has increased almost every year, and NW14 chose to implement a double-reviewing system. The Network has maintained high standards in the presentations that are accepted, and attracts good audiences in most of its sessions.

Unfortunately, Professor Lisbeth Åberg-Bengtsson and Professor Marta Soler Gallardt are prevented from further work as convenors. We thank them both very much for their valuable contribution for Network 14.

After ECER 2010, in Helsinki (Finland), the convenor group grew significantly, with new colleagues from Czech Republic, Finland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.

At the end of ECER 2011, in Berlin (Germany), Rune Kvalsund decided to step down after three very productive years as link convenor, and Dr. Joana Lúcio (University of Minho, Braga, Portugal) was invited by Rune and Linda to take over that role. Rune maintained his position as link convenor until ECER 2012, in Cádiz (Spain), after a year of valuable mentoring.

2006 - Change in Link Convenor

In 2006, Dr. Janne Pietarinen, University of Joensuu, Finland, became our link convenor and did a wonderful job for three years. At this time, we experienced a decline in submitted proposals of research on rural schools. It was decided that the network would probably gain from a thematic expansion with families and parents explicitly included in the network profile and a changed name – Network 14. Communities, Families and Schooling in Educational Research. The convenor group was extended with three new members – Dr. Pedro Silva, Politechnic Institute of Lieira, Portugal, Professor Marta Soler Gallardt, University of Barcelona, Spain and Professor Raquel-Amaya Martinez-Gonzalez, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain. This clearly had a positive effect. The increase in submitted proposals translated into the need to organize parallel paper sessions, which hadn’t happened yet for NW14

2005 - Change in Link Convenor

Since 2005 Janne Pietarienen acted as Link Convenor for network 14.

2000 - Change in Link Convenor

From 2000 to 2005 Linda Hargreaves acted as Link Convenor for network 14.

1996 - Network Founded

The original name of Network 14 was ‘Communities and their schools’, suggesting that educational research has to extend beyond classroom walls. 

Network 14’s history begins at ECER 1996, in Seville, Spain. Dr. Linda Hargreaves, then at the University of Leicester and a group of researchers interested in comparative empirical-analytical research on rural schools, initiated Network 14. Linda wrote the application to EERA, in order to establish the research network and did the most important work as link convenor during the establishing years and held this position from 1996 to 2006. In this position she was also member of the EERA Group of link convenors, developing the conditions for the carrying bodies of the EERA and ECER – the networks and their sessions.

Linda developed the NW’s conference programme each year, in cooperation with the members of the group of co-convenors – Dr. Lisbeth Åberg-Bengtsson, University of Gotenburg, Sweden, Dr. Janne Petarinen, University of Joensuu, Finland and Dr. Rune Kvalsund, Volda University College, Norway. This was the core group of the network, the carriers of Network 14’s identity and they have been with the network since it started.

The research interests of the network were rooted in comparative analysis of school-community relationship in rural education. A major accomplishment of this group of convenors was the development of a symposium and the publication of a special issue of reviews of research on rural schools and their communities in British and Nordic countries, for the highly rated International Journal of Educational Research, Vol 48(2), 2009, with the following contents written by researchers of the convenor group and presenters in the NW: 

  • Introduction: Reviews of research on rural schools and their communities in British and Nordic countries: Analytical perspectives and cultural meaning. Linda Hargreaves, Rune Kvalsund and Maurice Galton
  • Centralized decentralization - or decentralized centralization?  A review of newer Norwegian research on schools and their communities. Rune Kvalsund
  • The smaller the better?  A review of research on small rural schools in Sweden. Lisbeth Aberg-Bengtsson
  • Small rural primary schools in Finland: a pedagogically valuable part of the school network. Esko Kalaoja and Janne Pietarinen
  • Research in small rural schools in England - where respect and responsibility reside. Linda Hargreaves
  • Changes and challenges:  Key issues for Scottish rural schools and communities. Jennie Dowling
  • Reviews of research in rural schools and their communities: analytical perspectives and a new agenda. Rune Kvalsund and Linda Hargreaves

NW 14 runs a mailing list and invites researchers to join. To join the mailing list, send a blank message to nw14-subscribe(at)lists.eera-ecer.de

Interview with Link Convenor 2019