History

The original name of Network 14 was ‘Communities and their schools’ suggesting that educational research has to extend beyond classroom walls. Network 14 has its history from the beginning in 1996 at ECER Seville, Spain. Linda Hargreaves, then at the University of Leicester and a group of researchers interested in comparative empirical-analytical research on rural schools, initiated Network 14. Linda wrote the application to EERA in order to establish the research network and did the most important work as link convenor the first establishing years and held this position from 1996 to 2006. In this position she was also member of the EERA Group of link convenors developing the conditions for the carrying bodies of the EERA and ECER – the networks and their sessions ECER conference She developed the program each year in cooperation with the members of the group of co-convenors – Dr. Lisbeth Åberg-Bengtsson, University of Gotenburg, Sweden, Dr. Janne Petarinen, University of Joensuu, Finland and Dr. Rune Kvalsund, Volda University College, Norway. This was the core group of the network – the carriers of the network 14 identity. They have been with the network since it started. The research interests of the network were rooted in comparative analysis of school-community relationship in rural education. A major accomplishment of this group of Net 14 convenors is the development from a Net 14 symposium the publication of a special issue - Reviews of research on rural schools and their communities in British and Nordic countries - of the highly rated International Journal of Educational Research, Vol 48(2), 2009, with the following contents written by researchers of the convenor group and presenters in the network:

• Introduction: Reviews of research on rural schools and their communities in British and Nordic countries: Analytical perspectives and cultural meaning. Linda Hargreaves, Rune Kvalsund and Maurice Galton
• Centralized decentralization - or decentralized centralization?  A review of newer Norwegian research on schools and their communities. Rune Kvalsund
• The smaller the better?  A review of research on small rural schools in Sweden. Lisbeth Aberg-Bengtsson
• Small rural primary schools in Finland: a pedagogically valuable part of the school network. Esko Kalaoja and Janne Pietarinen
• Research in small rural schools in England - where respect and responsibility reside. Linda Hargreaves
• Changes and challenges:  Key issues for Scottish rural schools and communities. Jennie Dowling
• Reviews of research in rural schools and their communities: analytical perspectives and a new agenda. Rune Kvalsund and Linda Hargreaves
  

The hope is that it will generate funding of further research in the field.

In 2006 Dr Janne Pietarinen, University of Joensuu, Finland, became our link convenor and did a wonderful job for three years. At this time we experienced a decline in submitted proposals on research on rural schools. It was decided that the network would probably gain from a thematic expansion with families and parents explicitly included in the network profile and a changed name – EERA Network 14, Communities, Families and Schooling in Educational Research. The convenor group was extended with three new members – Dr Pedro Silva, Politechnic Institute of Lieira, Portugal, Professor Marta Soler Gallardt, University of Barcelona, Spain and Professor Raquel-Amaya Martinez-Gonzalez, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain. This has clearly had a positive effect. We now receive so many proposals that we have to organise sessions as parallel sessions. Professor Rune Kvalsund, Volda University College, Norway, took over as link convenor in 2009.
The number of proposals has become larger each year. This year we received more than 100 to review, and with our practice of double reviewing the workload has become considerably higher. Nevertheless, the Network has maintained high standards in the presentations that are accepted, and attracts good audiences in most of its sessions.  Unfortunately, Professor Lisbeth Åberg-Bengtsson and Professor Marta Soler Gallardt are prevented from further work as convenors. We thank Marta and not the least Lisbeth very much for many contributions to Network 14. In addition some of us have been members of the convenor group since the beginning years in 1996. It is time for change! To meet the challenge of developing convenor positions as a kind of personal or private ownership, we have invited more and younger persons associated with the network to become convenors. The new ones are:

1. Rocio Garcia Carrion, University of Barcelona, Spain;
2. Silvie Kucerova, Charles University of Prague, Tcheckoslovakia;
3. Aitor Gomez, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Spain;
4. Satu Perälä-Littunen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland;
5. Ewelina Rydzeska, University of the West of Scotland, Scotland
6. The senior convenors – Linda Hargreaves, Rune Kvalsund, Janne Pietarinen, Pedro Silva and Raquel-Amaya Martinez-Gonzalez, – are still with us.

In addition Michael Corbett, from Acadia University, Canada, will review proposals.

Disappointingly no one volunteered to be new link convenor of Net 14 at the network meeting. However, here is a happy message: After the network meeting and some consideration Joana Lucio accepted to become the new link convenor. She will formally take over in Cadiz, Spain next year! Congratulations and many thanks to Joana for this. Rune will be the formal link convenor this year, functioning as a kind of shadowing mentor. Joana will gradually take over during the coming year. So we have a new young link convenor and an extended convenor group. The link convenor has a resourceful group of convenors with whom she will cooperate. It would probably be wise to let the link convenor position rotate within this group of committed convenors by a period of 3-4 years. This pattern has developed over the years in Net 14. After conferring with Angelika Wegsheider in EERA secretariat – they will be able to give two persons link convenor access to conf tool – the program we use for the reviewing process and development of the Net 14 ECER-session program each year.