NW 15: The nature of partnerships in education in Erasmus+ projects

Network
NW 15 Research on Partnerships in Education

Title
The nature of partnerships in education in Erasmus+ projects

Abstract
The European Commission provides funding to support and sustain different types of partnership projects. In this special call we invite proposals from projects that have been or are currently funded through the Erasmus+ initiative and share their critical reflection on the nature of partnerships that are forged. Proposals should examine how strategic cooperations in the field of education and training, form and describe the conditions that shape the coming together of different practitioners. We invite reflections that consider theories and methodologies that examine the nature of these partnerships in education.

The Call
The European Commission provides funding through its Erasmus+ initiative to support and sustain different types of partnership projects. The aim of the funding is,” to support, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport, in Europe and beyond” (https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu). In one of these initiatives the commission aims to build and support activities where individuals can exchange ideas and build capacities in the field of education also termed “strategic cooperations”.

We are aware that, the idea to form partnerships between various formal and informal education providers universities, industry partners, schools, societal partners and others are based on the ideals of a knowledge economy (Otrel-Cass, Laing & Wolf, 2022; Patrick 2013).  Partnerships in educational activities including those funded through initiatives like Erasmus+ are organised around a central dilemma that need to be solved or addressed. These central dilemmas “can act as the glue that shapes the identity of the partnership, since they can give the partners focus and direction” (Otrel-Cass, Laing & Wolf, 2022, p.4).

In this call we invite project partners and project teams who have or are receiving funding through this European initiative to reflect on the challenges and opportunities these funded projects may bring about, from the project ideation phase to the various stages throughout the project. We are also interested to hear about the long-term implications of these projects, as in, the long-term impact of such projects on individuals, institutions or communities that go beyond the funded project lifetime. We invite contributions that critically examine the role partnerships play in Erasmus+ funded projects.  This could include considerations of the different communities of practice and how they come together and negotiate, successfully or not, new sets of rules and divisions of labour. The nature of partnerships needs to be a central consideration.

Contact Person(s)

• Kathrin Otrel-Cass, kathrin.otrel-cass(at)uni-graz.at
• Karen Laing, k.j.c.laing(at)newcastle.ac.uk
• Corinne Covez, corinne.covez(at)gmail.com

References
European Comission (2022). erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu

Otrel-Cass, K., Laing, K., & Wolf, J. (2022). On Promises and Perils: Thinking About the Risks and Rewards of Partnerships in Education. In Partnerships in Education (pp. 3-12). Springer, Cham.

Patrick, F. (2013). Neoliberalism, the knowledge economy, and the learner: Challenging the inevitability of the commodified self as an outcome of education. International Scholarly Research Notices, 2013.