This Community gives an insight into the debates, assets, and challenges of education in a metropolitan city. In addition, students are introduced to the philosophy of education in relation to daily class practice and reflect on their own professional identity and cooperation skills. Interdisciplinary student teams collaborate with urban schools (and possibly other stakeholders, in function of the self-chosen research topic) to analyse and/or develop solutions for urban educational challenges related to topics such as educational organization (Who organizes education?), school-community partnerships (The school as an island or as a network?), school infrastructure (Schools of/for the 21st century.), inclusive education (Pupils in boxes? A mosaic of diversity). By means of collaborative inquiry all steps of the research cycle are followed to analyse a specific situation (and in some cases suggest solutions for specific challenges). The Community provides for an exchange of information, expertise, and experiences and focuses on pathways to structure and jointly shape knowledge production and sharing regarding the selected topic.
Pathway #1: Glossary of Key Concepts in Urban [Inclusive] Education Research
Goal? Developing a common frame of reference, as a condition for international exchange between students and staff.
Format? Annotated online glossary of key concepts, which includes an accessible abstract and key publications.
Pathway #2: Tools & skills for collaborative extended (transdisciplinary) teacher teams
Pathway #3: III. Using the city/space outside of the school as a learning environment (as well)
Goal? Connecting schools and urban societal actors / embedding the school in its broader urban living environment.
Format(s)? interactive city walks / (hybrid) spaces for interaction, connecting university, school and other societal actors.
Pathway #4: Cross campus case study reports & discussions
Goal? Case study research and cross-campus exchange.
Pathway #5: a virtual educational tour (interactive, integrating frameworks & debates) in different European cities.
Goal? Having students follow in the virtual footsteps of pupils attending school in the selected cities through a virtual tour, tapping into assets and challenges regarding education in a “super-diverse” context.
Learning Community Activities
Upcoming Activities
BIP in Cluj (UBB), 16-20 November 2026
More info coming soon
PROVEST
Based on the CLC Urban Education’s partnership, an important European project on professionalisation of VET educators was won: PROVEST. Main focus is to create powerful transformative learning environments for a sustainable transition. Promotor is Inge Placklé (VUB) – other EUTOPIA partners involved: CY and TUD.
LéA – Lieux d’Éducation Associés à l’IFÉ (léa-IFÉ)
Building on the BIP Urban Education in November 2024 in Cergy, the ‘Institut français de l’éducation’ awarded a LéAto the CY/VUB partners, funding bilateral research and education activities between a Gennevilliers school and a school in Brussels.
Past Activities
EUTOPIA “Urban Education” Learning Community organised the second edition of the “Urban Education in Europe” Blended intensive programme (BIP). From November 18 to 22, students and academics from Cluj-Napoca, CY, Dresden, Gothenburg, Lljubljana and Warwik met in CY Cergy Paris University Genneviliers campus. All week long, in cooperation with various City of Gennevilliers and Éducation nationale partners, they designed photographical essays about urban education. Three public events were open to all.
Joost Vaesen, lead of the CLC, concluded:
We applied a previously tested format of integrated transdisciplinary work. Mixed student teams (in terms of different institutions and disciplines), each coached by two mentors from attending staff, were assigned to work with (educational and non-educational) partners in the field:
students from teacher training, geography, graphics, social action, connected to ‘Le fil continu’ (welcoming youngsters who have been temporarily excluded from secondary school );
-students from geography, graphics, education studies, connected to the ‘école élémentaire publique Henri Wallon’ (working on home-school journeys and pupils’ perceptions of the school environment)
-students from teacher training, graphics, education studies, connected to the ‘école élémentaire publique Henri Wallon’ focusing on the ‘production’ of English in the school environment);
-students from teacher training, education studies, geography, connected to the ‘école élémentaire publique Henri Wallon’ (dealing with the learning of literacy skills outside of the classroom);
-students from teacher training, geography, graphics, social work, connected to the ‘Maison des familles’ (a place where parents can find information and support, with a particular focus on combating parental fatigue );
-students from teacher training, geography, education studies, graphics, connected to the ‘Réseau étudiants’ (a place to work, meet and learn, ambitioning to improve the transition to higher education).
Some personal take-home messages:
Impressed by the questions participating primary school pupils asked, about the motivations behind the research choices or the relevance of the research. Anxious to deepen the methods around mental mapping and photovoicing that we applied with them.
The passion of the teachers, at least some of whom have a very direct (trusting) relationship with parents.
The power of (non-educational) organisations that are strongly rooted and embedded in the local community, acting on trust towards young people and community-building. Further opens up the question of widening and strengthening bridges between organisations in different domains such as education, wellbeing, social work.
* BIP in Brussels, 27-31 March 2023
A Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) was organised within the CLC Urban Education in February-March 2023. It focused on three essential ingredients of the hybrid course on education in a super-diverse urban context we aspire to: feedback on a shared glossary of key concepts (as a common framework) (pathway #1); operationalising and testing a School-in-the-City-scan (pathway #3); exploring technologies and graphics for a virtual educational tour (pathway #5). On the basis of an online synchronous kick-off moment, a-synchronous group assignments and a physical week in Brussels (27-31 March), some 25 BIP learners from VUB Brussels, CY Paris, UBB Cluj and UL Ljubljana set to work with the aforementioned ingredients.
* Fieldtrip VUB MILO to CY Paris, 7-8 November 2022
Fieldtrip VUB MILO Brussels to CY Paris (Muriel Epstein & Philippe Bongrand) @ Gennevilliers campus. Knowledge sharing on the Urban Education expertise line, co-creation of pathway #1 (testing the format of a common glossary) and a school visit and city walk near campus.
* Fieldtrip CY Paris to VUB Brussels, 20-21 May 2022
Fieldtrip CY Paris (Philippe Bongrand & Muriel Epstein) to Brussels. Knowledge sharing regarding the expertise line ‘Urban Education’ within the educational master’s programme MILO @ VUB (Brussels) and its partners (such as Huis van het Nederlands and Ladder’Op vzw) on the one hand and the COOTOPIA programme of CY Paris on the other hand.
How to get involved?
(Students and educators)
Contact Inge Bogaert, Teaching Assistant (inge.bogaert@vub.be) or Els Decoster, Local Facilitator (els.decoster@vub.be)