Growing (with) EERA Network 14

EERA is celebrating 30 years in 2024, and as part of our anniversary celebrations, we have invited people who have been at the heart of the association to share their memories and reflections. In a series of blog posts, which will run throughout 2024, we will share those precious memories, from the people who helped foster the global EERA community.

Joana Lúcio, former Link Convenor of Network 14, reflects on her time with EERA, and how the growth of the network went hand in hand with her professional and personal growth. 

I attended my first ECER in 2010, during the second year of my doctorate. I presented two papers – one pertaining to my PhD and another related to a smaller group research project I was involved in at the time – both within Network 14, and in the context of a session chaired by then-Link Convenor Rune Kvalsund. Rune was (and has been) a very generous and engaging chairperson, and kindly invited me to attend the Network meeting the following day. I remember feeling very welcome and “at home” within that plural and international group of researchers. I was immediately keen to engage with the Network to the best of my ability. At the end of the following year’s conference, in Berlin, Rune and Linda Hargreaves (another one of NW14’s longest-serving convenors, and former Link Convenor) inquired about my availability to take over the role of Link Convenor in 2012, when Rune planned to step down. I was in equal parts thrilled and terrified by that invitation and the inherent responsibility. The following year, shadowing Rune Kvalsund and learning the ropes of EERA and ECER – while also completing my PhD – was one of much professional, academic and personal growth.

Network 14 thankfully experienced exponential growth during my tenure as Link Convenor (2012-2015). We grew from a group of 5-6 reviewers assessing 20-30 submissions a year, to a team of over 18 reviewers going through over 90 submissions annually, while also promoting collaborations (joint calls or sessions) with other networks. It was one of the most hectic, exciting, enriching and unforgettable experiences of my life!

Stepping down as Link Convenor after three years was an organic process, as it was in line with what previous Link Convenors had done. Nevertheless, I remained as connected with the Network as before. In 2015, I co-edited a special issue of the European Educational Research Journal with John I’Anson (Network 25), featuring contributions from a joint two-part symposium that took place at ECER 2013 (Istanbul). For ECER2015 (Budapest), I co-authored NW 14’s special call for papers. Later, I co-edited a special issue of the Australian and International Journal of Rural Educating, featuring contributions resulting from a special call for ECER 2016. I have remained a convenor (reviewing and moderating) and a participant in Network 14’s activities, both before, during, and in the aftermath of ECER.

Between special calls for papers, handbooks, edited journal issues, seasonal schools, etc., Network 14 has remained one of the most prolific, while also one of the longest-established networks within EERA.

In recent years, the number of submissions received annually by Network 14 has stabilized at around 60-70. Our convenor team continues to evolve, welcoming new collaborators whenever (or wherever, topic-wise) necessary. This is a testament to how the Network continues to foster young and less-experienced researchers, as it did for me fourteen years ago. It is just as much a testament to how the issues of schooling, communities and families remain pertinent within educational research. Finally, it is a clear indication that evidence-based research (in fields such as rural/urban schooling, place-conscious education, educational trajectories and transitions, school-family-community links, parental and familial involvement in schools, etc.) is, and should be, at the forefront of European and international agendas.