As in previous years, Network 7 received a great number of papers. While deciding which to accept and which to redirect, we wrote to some of the authors to invite them to specify some aspects of their work in greater depth. Our queries were received as a positive contribution by authors, and we are hoping to do so again in the future.
This year we found that the quality of papers and breadth of research topics, which were related to intercultural education and social justice had increased. The disappointing part was that quite a few authors had to cancel their presentations for various reasons. Redirections represented the problematic side of this part of the work: many redirected papers reached us quite late and did not seem to fit the network, provoking further redirections. As is the case with other convenors at ECER, each one of us has other academic commitments late redirections prove particularly difficult, both from the perspective of the contributors and from convenors.
At ECER, attendance was probably lower than in other previous ECER meetings, especially for the first morning session. Usually there were 15-20 people. The symposium was a success, though [please fill in, because I was chairing another session].
The network meeting was attended by several colleagues, some of whom had not been able to attend many of the Network 7 sessions this year, but whose abiding interest in the future course of the network and whose presence and contribution to the meeting was greatly appreciated. Their comments led to a debate about the sorts of issues which this network can usefully incorporate. The issue was raised about making the notion of “intercultural education” both more specific and broader. It became clear that this term is not understood in the same way in different locations within Europe. There was also a strong suggestion that gender as a category should be explicitly included. Although many convenors are inclined to maintain the current network description, we may in the light of the suggestions made this year revisit and refine some of the descriptors.
The presenters appreciated the way in which various papers had been organized, around a central theme or focus that enhanced the meaning of each presentation.
The network convenors are currently in the process of editing a book based on a selection of papers from ECER 2004 and ECER 2005 which will be published by Trentham in 2007. The network book acknowledges and represents the rich complexity presented by the notions of both “intercultural education” and “intercultural practices” intertwined with ideas of justice as seen, experienced and explored by educational researchers in in Europe today. Network convenors are pleased that they have been invited to present the book at the Sarajevo International Conference on Human Rights and Education in September 2007 at a special roundtable.
