Governing by network in Europe: associations, educational research and social partnership

• Published in: Critical studies in education Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 79 - 95
• Main Author: Lawn, Martin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 01.03.2007; Routledge
• Subjects: Associations; Corporate governance; Education; Educational Policy; Educational Research; Europe; Europe: Social policy; European Educational Research Association (EERA); European Union; Foreign Countries; Governance; Networks (Persons); Organizations (Groups); Partnerships in Education; Policy analysis; Policy formation; Postsecondary education; Professional associations; Regional Cooperation; Social Networks; Voluntary Agencies; Europe
• ISSN: 1750-8487; 1750-8495
• DOI: 10.1080/17508480601120962

The coincident arrival of a European policy space in education and a European Educational Research Association [EERA], and their subsequent relation, will be the subject of this paper. EERA is a hybrid organization-it supports scientific networking, it is a social partner in EU policy, it is a first level social space for networking, and increasingly it is faced with acting in policy forums. It is scientific, public and professional but most of all, like most associations, especially those working across borders, it is unstable and voluntaristic. Establishing itself in a new policy landscape, a European Policy space rapidly emerging in higher education and research around it, and burdened with the pasts of its members-and its diversity of traditions and languages-is difficult enough. Yet it has to be examined against new theories of governance and the role of networks, which place associations in Europe in a very interesting role. The paper tends to the conclusion that either EERA or the theory fails to meet the task required of it-so far.