14. Communities, Families, and Schooling in Educational Research

Network 14 provides a forum for the development of research-informed knowledge in the field of Education, with a specific interest in the relationships between communities, families and schools.

The main aim of the network is to discuss and reveal the influences in and between these different contexts for the communities’ educational development, and to be an arena for discussing the European relevance of this research.

More specifically, Network 14 focuses on the following research areas:

1. Studies of transitions between home and school, phases of school or school to adult life, particularly comparisons of the effects of transition at different stages over “time” within the life course perspective. Research that focuses on the significance of educational transitions (e.g. longitudinal studies) perceived by pupils, families or school communities and which reflects the interconnection between transitions and well-being in the school community are especially welcomed.
2. Studies of learning and teaching in unusual or atypical conditions, in rural vs. urban settings or in small vs. large schools which reveal the variation or the characteristics of schooling in different kinds of pedagogical environments. Research that focuses on place-based and place conscious education and includes comparisons related to differentiation, learning environment, use of local/regional culture or co-operation between rural schools and community (e.g. comparative studies of rural education) are strongly encouraged.
3. Studies of family education, in which the education is understood to include not only formal institutions like schools but also child-rearing and upbringing of children at home, i.e. parenting. Research that focuses on relations within families and their effects on education and focus on the relations of families, educational institutions and communities are of particular interest.
4. The network follows a pragmatic line on methodological issues e.g. on how to study transitions, community-school relationships or family education in changing regional, societal or pedagogical situations. The network welcomes a variety of approaches to research and analysis, whether this involves large- or small-scale studies, qualitative or quantitative data, longitudinal or cross-sectional data, single in-depth or comparative, multiple case studies. Papers concerned with methodological or analytic issues or innovation associated with any of the Network’s areas of interest are encouraged.

• Schooling in rural and urban settings.

• Place based and place conscious education – the community active school and environmental sustainability.

• School related transitions within a life course perspective (between home and school, phases of school or school and community/ adult life)

• Family education and parenting – cultural, technological and multicultural aspects of school-family-community partnerships.

• Policies and actions related to co-operation and dialogue among social actors to promote school-family-community links.