Session Information
23 SES 04 B, Refugees, Solidarity and the Politics of Education in Europe
Paper Session
Contribution
The current crisis has indirectly contributed to questioning the efficiency of democratic institutions at European and national levels. While this situation is jeopardizing the European project and giving way to a lively public debate about the meaning of European identity, several social scientists have argued that the social and economic inequalities in the new global order are contributing to civil social reactions, based on solidarity, aiming to achieve a better society for all (Apple, 2013; Sordé, Gounari & Macedo, 2010; Touraine, 2007; Wright, 2010). Educational policy-making plays an instrumental role in this regard. Considering that in an European context education policies are no longer the product of national states only (Lawn & Lingard, 2002), it is essential to explore the initiatives that are being developed in different contexts and territories, as a way to provide lines of action that can inform and strengthen not only policy-making in the local and national context, but also on the European and global arenas, contributing to construction of a smarter, more sustainable and more inclusive Europe by 2020 (European Commission, 2010). In this sense, the partnerships between different stakeholders may play a key role, as explored by prior research from the scientific programme of the European Commission which provided examples of how to promote social cohesion from the bottom up (Flecha, 2015).
In this context, the H2020 Project SOLIDUS (2015-2018) Solidarity in European societies: empowerment, social justice and citizenship (Grant Number 649489) is analysing in depth the acts of solidarity which are being developed across Europe, the extent to which they respond to dialogic and inclusive processes and more importantly, the related outcomes and policy developments. The project starts from previous findings on successful actions (Flecha, 2015) which are combating the crisis through acts of solidarity. These acts are thus contributing to construct more inclusive and prosperous societies, by influencing at the macro-level (social inequalities) and micro-level (psychological wellbeing).
In this regard, SOLIDUS will identify common elements among these acts in order to examine their transferability to different contexts. To cover this objective, effects of these actions in five social areas will be studied in depth: housing, education, employment, health and civic engagement. Simultaneously, special attention will be paid on social investment policies which are supporting these initiatives. Ultimately, the project aims to inform those policies, providing evidence of what works on fostering solidarity and social inclusion, from the local to the European and global level.
Particularly, this paper draws on the work done in the first year of implementation of the SOLIDUS Project, and aims to explore the contributions that emerge from the development of case studies of successful acts of solidarity that are overcoming geographical and social inequalities and that are enhancing spatial and intergroup solidarity. Specifically, we highlight the contributions of two cases developed which focus on the area of education policy, which constitute examples of how educational policies can increase solidarity among different territories and social groups, creating opportunities for scaling up.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Apple, M. W. (2013). Can education change society? New York: Routledge. European Commission. (2010). Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. COM(2010) 2020 final. Flecha, R. (Ed.) (2015). Successful educational actions for inclusion and social cohesion in Europe. Berlin: Springer. Gomez, A., Puigvert, L., & Flecha, R. (2011). Critical Communicative Methodology: Informing Real Social Transformation Through Research, Qualitative Inquiry, 17(3), 235-245. Lawn, M. & Lingard, B. (2002). Constructing a European Policy Space in Educational Governance: the role of transnational policy actors. European Educational Research Journal, 1(2), 290-307. Sordé, T., Gounari, P., & Macedo, D. (2009). The crisis and racism are both spreading: Reactions from below. Teoría de la Educación: Educación y Cultura en la Sociedad de la Información, 10, 198-217. Touraine, A. (2007). A New Paradigm for Understanding Today's World. Cambridge: Polity Press. Wright, E. O. (2010). Envisioning Real Utopias. London: Verso.
Search the ECER Programme
- Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
- Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
- Search for authors and in the respective field.
- For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
- If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.