NW 32 Organizational Education: Organizations as Educational Fields: expectations, prescriptions, and reconciliations

Title
Organizations as Educational Fields: expectations, prescriptions, and reconciliations

Abstract
Relating to ECER 2021 theme, EERA-network 32 “Organizational Education” will gather contributions which focus on organizations as educational fields on a meso-level between individuals and society. As educational fields, organizations are loaded with expectations and prescriptions, but also create chances for learning, development, and reconciliations.

Interested colleagues are cordially invited to submit papers for sessions of NW 32 Organizational Education.

The Call
Organizational Education focuses on organizations of any kind from an educational perspective. Its particular interest lies in organizational learning, change, and development. Relating to ECER 2021 theme, EERA-network 32 “Organizational Education” calls for contributions which focus on organizations as educational fields at the meso-level between individual (micro) and society (macro). Focusing on their educational potential, organizations can be studied as loaded with expectations and prescriptions, but also as filled with contradictions, and finally as creating chances for learning, development, and reconciliations.

• Organizations as educational fields: loaded with expectations and prescriptions

Whether we look at the ‘instituted order’ (Weber) of an organization or at an organization’s ‘incorporation of institutionalized rules’ (Meyer & Rowan), we find both internal and external expectations and prescriptions about what should be done and how it should be done, but also about organizational structures and about the tasks, roles, and functions of the organization’s members. 

• Organizations as educational fields: filled with contradictions

The act of organizing creates distinctions of roles and responsibilities, which may result in inner-organizational contradictions (Smith & Tushman). Though the assumption, contradictions would trigger organizational change, might be critized as naive (Engeström), managing contradictions can be realized as transformation (Hargrave & van de Ven).

• Organizations as educational fields: creating chances for learning, development, and reconciliation

Given an organization is a space where individuals with specific knowledge and skills cooperate, chances for situated learning (Lave & Wenger) emerge in the organization’s daily practice. Beyond the situated learning of individuals and communities of practice, also the organization as supraindividual social entity may learn or develop itself, be it as an inner-driven process or be it supported by external consultants (Burke). This also may open chances for reconciliations of conflicts between an organization and its members or between an organization and its external stakeholders. Experiences of learning from diversity or conflict can also induce organizations to become agents of reconciliation at the macro level.

Network 32 “Organizational Education” encourages researchers from all areas of educational research and organization studies to submit proposals (papers, symposia, workshops, posters) that deal with the above-mentioned topics.

Contact Person(s)
Prof. Dr. Michael Göhlich (link convenor) (michael.goehlich(at)fau.de)

Ass.Prof. Dr. Pia Bramming (bramming(at)edu.au.dk)

Prof. Dr. Bente Elkjaer (elkjaer(at)edu.au.dk)

Ass.Prof. Dr. Petr Novotny (novotny(at)phil.muni.cz)

Ass.Prof. Dr. Line Revsbaek (revsbaek(at)learning.aau.dk)

Prof. Dr. Maria Grazia Riva (mariagrazia.riva(at)unimib.it)

Prof. Dr. Andreas Schröer (schroeer(at)uni-trier.de)

Prof. Dr. Susanne M. Weber (susanne.maria.weber(at)staff.uni-marburg.de)

Prof. Dr. Byung Jun Yi (yibyungjun(at)pusan.ac.kr)