European Developments and Opportunities

Introduction on knowledge creation in Europe Ulf Lundgren on Nordic initiatives Hannele Neimi on Finland’s Interlearn Martin Lawn on developments in EERA Alan Brown on European programmes and the LIRICA proposal Alan Brown on the case of work-related learning

KNOWLEDGE CREATION? How can new educational knowledge be created and applied in contemporary European societies?

A strategic dilemma Communities of scholars? vs Central planning? …… or how to manage the best of both?

Academic communities EERA Council of national associations 25 research networks (tribes & territories?) EERJ + ECER Voluntary efforts, financial difficulties and serendipitous generation of knowledge? EARLI ?

European Community European Commission ‘European Research Area’ 6 th Framework, Priority 7 225m Euro for soc sci Angelos Agalianos – a challenge to fragmentation and compartmentalism in educational research Policy-driven research, with clear views on relevance but with massive budgets!

Educational research in the Sixth EU Framework Programme Q ‘The education research community is so fragmented and compartmentalised that it is almost unable to make a valid contribution to contemporary European societies’. Q ‘There is a need to re-conceive the value and potential contribution of educational research and in so doing so, to require fresh, coordinated proposals.’ Angelos Agalianos, EC, DG-Research EERA, Crete, September 2004

Educational research in the Sixth EU Framework Programme FP6, Priority 7: Citizens and governance in a knowledge-based society Instruments: Integrated projects Networks of excellence Specific targeted research projects Coordinated actions Specific support actions

Coordinated research programmes as a contribution? National development strategies in UK, Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and elsewhere … International liaison between these?

ERA-NET bids EDRES: UK, Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden – all with specific research programmes. Seeking deeper forms of scientific cooperation. Liaison with associations unnecessary? Too much focus on ‘research’? A ‘lack of ambition’?

ERA-NET bids LIRICA II: Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Spain, Sweden, France, Norway, Sweden - with Austria, Netherlands, UK, Germany, Portugal to be confirmed, and Estonia, Malta, Switzerland, Iceland, Bulgaria, Turkey, Slovenia and Denmark under discussion - ‘to reach a complete coverage of Europe’. Seeking broader forms of developmental cooperation. Development or research? Politically brilliant, but can the aspirations be met? What role for European associations such as EERA?

LIFE AS LEARNING, LEARN A National Research Programme, funded by the Academy of Finland, , EUR 5.1 Million Life as Learning, LEARN

The aim of the research programme is a new research culture and new research partnerships interdisciplinary and international research projects around the problems of learning; lifelong and lifewide learning in order to avoid a new kind of exclusion: interdisciplinary research base for developing teaching and learning in different educational and working-life contexts; and to anticipate future learning needs from the point of view of society, culture and the individual. Aims of LEARN

To redefine and to examine the concept of learning the social and cultural contexts of learning the knowledge creation working environments new teachership Themes of LEARN

17 projects, of which 3 consortia - alltogether 21 projects Projects in LEARN

Strengths of the LEARN Program Cross-boundary co-operation between institutional and non-institutional learning environments The multidisciplinary approaches: education, psychology, sociology, technology and engineering, neurology, economics Joint projects between universities Creating new tools: basic research have components how to manage changing contexts or to change practices

Strengths, continuing… A large variety of contexts of human learning in working life, educational institutions, non-formal learning settings, virtual learning environments Learning approached at individual and collaborative levels The research methods aim understanding of learning processes The projects cover different age levels and transition period periods of human life

International co-operation: INTERLEARN Conference in Helsinki, December 1-2,