Cath Gristy, Linda Hargreaves, and Silvie R. Kučerová, Educational Research and Schooling in Rural Europe: An Engagement with Changing Patterns of Education, Space and Place, Information Age Publishing, 2020; 406 pp, ISBN: 978-1-64802-163-3

Laurence Lasselle

doi:10.26529/cepsj.1301

Abstract

Each contribution is organised similarly: contributors define the concept of rural, and then describe the context and significance of rural education, the principal drivers of educational change in rural areas, and the nature and status of research on rural education provision. [...]there is no unique definition of 'rural' and 'rural schools' across Europe: the notion of rural depends on population size and density, while rural schools are often characterised by their size and location. [...]the rural schooling experience across Europe over the last five decades has been very diverse. Thirdly, a common pattern of change is clearly identified: rural school closure in the name of efficiency (cost saving) and/or improved quality of education provision.

Highlights

An alternative approach that nuances this dichotomy and allows the rural to be considered on its own merits could avoid this trap, and this is exactly what the present book proposes: significant rural education research promoting rural education, making them both visible
All of the contributions help the reader to gain a better understanding of the impact of rural school closures in their respective communities, while some of them elaborate on the communities’ responses and the lessons drawn by policymakers
The second part (Chapters 4 to 12) presents a series of case studies, from Western Europe (Austria, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain), and from four countries that emerged from former socialist states (Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Serbia)

Summary

Introduction

Years (see inter alia, Roberts & Green, 2013 or Cuervo, 2016). The deficit approach is rather limited and seems to lead to the same type of actions among policymakers with regard to rural schooling: the closure of rural schools. This pattern helps the reader to determine ‘common features’ on educational research and schooling in rural Europe.

Results

Conclusion