Education and small schools in Europe: axes of change and strategies of hope

Our presentation draws on a forthcoming edited book about recent research in small schools and communities in Europe, their chequered histories, and current and future plans. In it, we shall consider how digital technology can be a positive force for change for children, teachers and families, with the potential to turn educational isolation into collegial connections, and how practitioners and policy-makers can benefit from wider access to knowledge. These opportunities demand changing attitudes and approaches to classroom practice, however, such as collaborative learning, dialogic teaching and multi-age classes, for example. At the same time, we recognise the contemporary pressures that threaten small communities and their schools, and emphasise the importance of a sense of place, and an approach to educational planning that includes community voices. Our aim is to illustrate these axes of change with stories of progress and hope from around Europe.