WLP Project Development

Shortly after the Velenje workshop (see the previous posting) the WLP had to make decision on submitting a proposal for the next European Conference on Educational Research (ECER'06) to be organised in September 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland. As we discussed this item in Velenje, the participation in ECER had been written down on our work programme. However, there was an administrative issue concerning the possibility of EU-funded projects (particularly of Leonardo-projects) to undertale dissemination activities in a conference that is organised in Switzerland (not belonging to EU or EEA and not having a participation agreement regarding the programme Leonardo da Vinci). After some inquiries we came to the conclusion that there is a case for submitting a proposal.
Along the lines that we discussed in Velenje, the main idea with the proposal is to present Work in Progress and Lessons from Transnatonal Cooperation. Therfore, we have chosen to propose a Research Workshop (that puts more emphasis on joint discussion) than a Symposium (that puts more emphasis on presenting joint results in a coherent group picture). Yet, in the light of our discussions in Velenje there is a need to consider how this proposal and the preparation for the session in Geneva can be helpful for our net phase of work. Some colleagues might have a feeling that we are putting the carriage in front of the horse (by preparing a research workshop when we should give our main attention on piloting and fieldwork). In this respect I try to re-examine our ECER-proposal from the perspective our project-specific needs and to demonstrate how the preparatory work for an ECER-session can best support us in our work for the WLP project.
1) The issue on thematic focuses and related arenas for piloting:
The designed Research Workshop indicates three thematic focuses and/or arenas for piloting: a) reviewing of individual learning, b) development of social web in enterprise contexts and c) exploring the developmental prospects related to regionalisation, cross-border cooperation and internationalisation. With these we have to make progress regarding piloting or identifying the boundary conditions for further developmental work. The "Research Workshop" provides an opportunity to reflect upon the research-related value of the work that has been undertaken in the context of these thematic areas and/or arenas for piloting.
2) The issue of comparative studies and trans-cultural learning:
The interim version of a European synthesis report (that was prepared by me for the WLP workshop in Velenje) could not make sufficiently transparent the role of different partnership concepts and different arenas for piloting. In this respect there is a case for some amendments and some rewriting that can be summarised in the Research Workshop. However, the main point is that such studies should not remain as 'satellite pictures' that portray the developmenmtal activities from a remote distance. Instead, they should help in bringing the country contexts and the developmental arenas into working neighbourhood relations with each other
3) The issue of a collaborative preparatory process and of making it public:
To some extent there is some prior work that can be reused as inputs for the Research Workshop. To some extent it is possible to indicat next steps for piloting that can be reported by the time the inputs for the ECER are to be finalised. As I see it, we are in a good position to share these contents with each other and to compose joint contributions. At the moment we are preparing the grounds for such a phase of work with our internal blog (the WLP project Maagement). However, once we have got the ball rolling, we should have the courage to step into public domain. In this respect we have to respect the selection process of ECER and VETNET. We also have to consider when we are ready to bring our findings and conclusions to public discussion. In this respect we may have different time lines in different areas of work.
I think this is enough on this topic at the moment. In my next postings I will try take a closer look at different thematic focuses and on related arenas on piloting. In the meantime I welcome comments and further inputs.
Pekka Kämäräinen