During ECER 04, the main event for Network 15 was devoted to the Business meeting in order to revise those Descriptors elaborated in 2002.
Nineteen Network 15 members participated in the work. They came from Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, the UK, Portugal and Sweden.
Aims and Contents
The main features still remain today:
the rationale focuses on taking into account the increasing networking dynamics with social partners coming from both education and training as well as in the research process.
The network was organized so as to bring together practitioners as well as researchers that have developed a practice of working in partnerships with diverse educational stakeholders (users, parents, corporate, schools, universities, political partners, the society as a whole).
But new key questions have appeared and we have extended our goals and theoretical background:
- Building Europe through regional partnerships
- Environmental education, in particular in the Mediterranean regions in Italy, Greece, Turkey
- Inter-institutional partnerships (school, health and multi agency services, justice, town councils, parents associations) dealing with youth school and social exclusion
- Exploring the basis of partnerships: the self in relationships with the body, its environment and the institutions
- Reassessing the place of the body in education: physical education and art education as strategies for social equity based upon relationships not inhibited by the verbal language abilities.
So our theoretical background falls within the province of complex thinking, a global view of the problem, whether the world or the society or the person. It is grounded in systemic, interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches of education.
Outcomes at and after ECER 2004
Eleven sessions were organised at the ECER 04, including, one symposium in two sessions with Networks 5 (Children and Youth at Risk and Urban Education) and 24 (Research in Chidren's Rights in Education) about Young People Rights and Social Exclusion.Two papers sessions were also organised with Network 24.
The average of attendance at the sessions was between 15-20 and more than 50 for the Internetwork symposium.
The presenters and chair persons came from Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, the UK.
A listing of the Network 15 members e.mail addresses is updated each year. By now it includes about 100 names.
An EERJ thematic issue is in preparation as a way to put together the Inter-Network symposium themes.
Network 15 wishes to strengthen its collaborative work with other networks.
It will continue to develop its specific features :
- to help the presenters to get high quality papers favouring publications and to introduce publications through the sessions;
- to develop relationships with outside of European countries territory;
- to make the communications and debates easier by translating presentations and questions in other languages than English for attendants who don't understand.
Danielle Zay
Lorraine Savoie-Zajc
Miranda Pilo