Networking, Collaborative Dialogue, Shared Governance: Practical Cases for Sustaining Participatory Democracy in Education

In the debate on educational system reforms, networks take on strategic importance in balancing
the relations between central and local government, between market mechanisms and schools,
in implementing forms of progressive decentralization and policies developed
starting from the needs of the territories through ‘hybrid’ connections
between the public and private sectors. In the context of an "ecology of equity" the benefits of
networking play a key role: the extent to which students' experiences and achievements are
equitable depends largely on a whole range of interacting processes reaching the school from
outside, economic, and social reality, policies on teaching's profession, decision-making processes
at district and national levels. Across the World, schools and other service
providers increasingly operate in networks to provide inclusive education or develop and
implement more localized school-to-school improvement models. Could collaborative platforms
as a governance strategy in education be represent practical cases for sustaining participatory
democracy? Studies of networking, collaborative dialogue, collaborative innovation, shared
governance, and self-organization in education allow on the one hand to reflect on how
participation in public affairs materializes in different countries. On the other, they highlight the
connecting role that the network can play to create public shared value that could otherwise not
be achieved. Aim of this panel is to gather empirical and theoretical research contributes reflecting
on the complexity of these processes and practices within educational systems and if and how
Central and Local Administrations support them,hoping as well to engage an
international discussion on this issue.