European Educational Research Association

EERA was founded in June 1994 as a result of discussions among many national educational research associations and several major research institutes throughout Europe which identified the need for a European association to foster the exchange of ideas amongst European researchers, promote collaboration in research, improve research quality and offer independent advice on educational research and policies to European and national policy-makers, administrators and practitioners. From 1994 to 2007, EERA was constituted as a Charity under British Law and based in Glasgow, Scotland. Since 2008, EERA has been operating from its new office in Berlin, Germany, and is constituted as a non-profit organisation under German Law.

EERA aims to promote collaboration among educational researchers and their respective associations in Europe. It promotes communication between educational researchers and international governmental organisations, such as the EU, Council of Europe, OECD, and UNESCO. Furthermore, EERA seeks to disseminate the findings of educational research and to ensure that the contribution of educational research to policy and practice is recognized and desired.

EERA is constituted as an association of associations (i.e. there are no individual members). Its membership is made up of more than 30 national and regional Educational Research Associations from all parts of wider Europe.

EERA is governed by Council and the Executive Board].

The executive board is made up of the President, the Treasurer and the Secretary General who are elected for a four-year term:

2022 Executive:

• Joe O'Hara, EERA President
• Maria P. Figueiredo, EERA Secretary General
• Andreas Hadjar, EERA Treasurer
• Petra Grell, Networks Representative on EERA Council

Council consists of the representatives of the member associations and the co-opted Council members – the Networks’ Representative on Council, the editor of EERJ and the Convener of the Emerging Researchers' Group.

EERA actively promotes the work and professional development of early researchers and PhD students and has therefore established the Emerging Researchers´ Group (ERG).[1]

The Emerging Researchers' Group seeks to:·

• provide a European research community for Emerging Researchers (including those undertaking a Doctorate) ·
• provide a forum for dissemination of Early Career Research at the Emerging Researchers’ Conference.·
• offer support and guidance for article and poster production via the 'Best Paper Award' and 'Best Poster Award'·
• offer support for researchers from Central and Eastern Europe and other low-GDP countries to attend ECER and engage with peers through the bursary program·
• train researchers by offering Season Schools, such as the Summer School on Educational Methodology.
• Moreover, the ERG supports EERA networks in conducting season schools.

EERA's most visible contribution to the dissemination of educational research is the annual European Conference on Educational Research (ECER).

The first ECER took place in Twente, Netherlands in 1992. Numbers of attendants have grown steadily since then. Usually ECER attracts over 2500 researchers from about 70 different countries.[2]

EERA supports advanced research and training for young researchers and established scholars by funding season schools, projects, seminars, workshops and roundtables of its networks. Since 2009 EERA has run a series of summer schools for emerging researchers.

The European Educational Research Journal (EERJ)[4] is the official journal of the European Educational Research Association (EERA). It is an international peer-reviewed journal with an editorial board drawn from across Europe and representing leading scholars in the educational field. The EERJ Editor is a member of the EERA Council.

EERA, in partnership with Springer,[5] publishes a book series focusing on presenting educational research in an innovative, transdisciplinary format. Drawing on extensively on the work of the 33 EERA Networks, the book series seeks to explore issues of importance in educational research in a manner that highlights the potential contribution of distinctive European research approach to the development of the field. The first five titles have been published as of 2022 and cover the following areas:

• Partnerships in Education
• Wellbeing and Schooling
• Children's Rights from International Educational Perspectives
• Gender and Education in Politics, Policy and Practice
• Storied Doctorates

In 2020 EERA launched the 'EERA Blog' a forum dedicated to disseminating educational research in a more accessible yet still academically rigorous manner. Submissions are invited from across Europe and beyond.

EERA is an active member of a number of international research networks including the WERA (World Education Research Association),[6] ISE (Initiative for Science in Europe)[7] and EASSH (European Alliance for Social Sciences and Humanities)[8]

• EERA Blog