Convening a Network within the European Conference on Educational Research: A History of the Social Justice and Intercultural Education Network

Source: European Educational Research Journal, Volume 10 Number 1 (2011), pages 129‑142.

The current article highlights the challenges facing convenors of one network, who wish to include researchers from diverse backgrounds, while at the same time enhancing the academic quality of the papers presented at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER).

This paper presents a brief history of 15 years of networking with a view to discussing some of the main issues which have emerged over the years.

The article defines the interlinked key concepts of social justice and intercultural education which guide the work of Network 7, Social Justice and Intercultural Education. A brief history follows, describing the challenges facing the network.
These include the issue of language, the discussions during the ECER, the image of the network and the choice of network descriptors. As research is influenced by scientific traditions and cultural, political and financial contexts, it is difficult for the network convenors to influence or direct the research agenda.

The article is based on network archives, including documents such as conference programmes; memos; letters; network descriptors and reports; discussions about the selection and acceptance of proposals as recorded in emails and letters; convenors’ reflections; and analysis of participants’ formal and informal evaluations of network sessions.