Education is a key factor when it comes to developing sustainable communities; economically, socially and culturally. Variability of educational performance and trajectories related to geographic location is well documented, in Norway and internationally, and a rural/urban categorisation makes up for a lot of this variation.
This is the starting point for the research group Space and Time in Education – STED, where a main premise is that regional or geographic variations in educational outcomes call for a spatial perspective in educational research. Spatialised understandings of educational issues are relevant in urban, suburban as well as rural areas. The last decades, urban education research has had precedence over research focusing on education in rural areas, and while the group members seek to focus on different kinds of spatial settings and contexts, rural areas, inside and outside of the High North, are important areas for investigation.
All photos: Anne Birgitte Fyhn
