19 SES 12 A, Ethnographic Research on Rural Education in a Metrocentric Europe. Different Processes of Spatial Inclusion and Exclusion. Part 2
Symposium continued from 19 SES 11 A
Austria has many small rural primary schools, due to topological conditions and a political support for small and very small rural schools: Sixty percent of the nationwide primary schools are schools with fewer than 100 pupils; 40% have fewer than 50 and six percent fewer than 20 pupils (Statistik Austria, 2015). In this presentation insights into small rural schools will be provided, based on the project ‚Small Schools in Rural Regions‘ (2012-2015) and current research in the Western part of Austria. Case studies of 10 small rural schools show that head teachers and teachers welcome the degree of autonomy they have to create a school and experience that together with the small nature of the schools make it possible to implement new ideas easily (Raggl et al., 2015; Raggl, 2015). The presentation draws on ethnographic research conducted in three small village schools which have been going through a process of change over the last years by developing a special profile. Two of them have transformed from “traditional” village schools to committed Montessori Schools (Raggl, forthcoming). The head teachers have found a niche to change the small schools according to their own values and pedagogical ideas. The ethnographic project explores the working of these schools and in particular the opportunities, challenges and consequences of their transformations. The findings reveal that changing the village school into a school with a special profile helps to market the school: Up to half of the pupils are coming from outside the village. The schools have been threatened by school closure and the high intake from pupils from outside and the parental support made it possible to secure the existence of the school. At the same time some of the parents of the village are critical about the high intake from pupils from outside. The change seems to have created a gap between ‘villagers’ and ‘outsiders‘. The Montessori pedagogy exemplifies an example of the global in the local. The global brand Montessori (Ulrich, 2015) seems to be a solution for small rural schools that are fighting for their existence and need to increase the numbers of children by attracting parents from outside their catchment area. At the same time the often perceived benefits of small rural schools, such as offering more individual attention to each child, seem to be in line with the Montessori approach. However, the global brand seems to take away something of their uniqueness as local village schools.
Bagley, C., & Hillary, S. (2015). School choice in an English village: Living, loyalty and leaving. Ethnography and Education, 10, 278-292. Brehony, K. (2000). Montessori, individual work and individuality in the elementary school classroom. History of Education, 29(2), 115-128. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In Richardson, J. G. Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. (pp. 241-258). New York: Greenwood Press. Raggl, A. (forthcoming). Small schools as innovative places? Complexities and ambiguities of small rural schools with a special profile. In: Gristy, C., Hargreaves, L., Kučerová, S.R. (Eds.) Current Research in Rural and Regional Education. IAP Raggl, A. (2015). Teaching and Learning Practices in Small Rural Schools in Austria and Switzerland – Opportunities and Challenges from Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives. In: International Journal of Educational Research. 74, 127-135. Raggl, A., Smit, R., & Kerle, U. (Eds.). (2015). Kleine Schulen im ländlich-alpinen Raum. [Small schools in the rural-alpine area]. FokusBildungSchule Bd. 8. Innsbruck: StudienVerlag. .
00. Central Events (Keynotes, EERA-Panel, EERJ Round Table, Invited Sessions)
Network 1. Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations
Network 2. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)
Network 3. Curriculum Innovation
Network 4. Inclusive Education
Network 5. Children and Youth at Risk and Urban Education
Network 6. Open Learning: Media, Environments and Cultures
Network 7. Social Justice and Intercultural Education
Network 8. Research on Health Education
Network 9. Assessment, Evaluation, Testing and Measurement
Network 10. Teacher Education Research
Network 11. Educational Effectiveness and Quality Assurance
Network 12. LISnet - Library and Information Science Network
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Network 14. Communities, Families and Schooling in Educational Research
Network 15. Research Partnerships in Education
Network 16. ICT in Education and Training
Network 17. Histories of Education
Network 18. Research in Sport Pedagogy
Network 19. Ethnography
Network 20. Research in Innovative Intercultural Learning Environments
Network 22. Research in Higher Education
Network 23. Policy Studies and Politics of Education
Network 24. Mathematics Education Research
Network 25. Research on Children's Rights in Education
Network 26. Educational Leadership
Network 27. Didactics – Learning and Teaching
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