Sigurjón Mýrdal Iceland University of Education Reconstructing the Field of Rural Educational Research; reflections from the LATIRA- project Paper delivered at the NERACongress TALLINN, ESTONIA 7-9 March 2002

Compulsory schools in Iceland; Age grades Size schools% < > Sum 190

Changing Rural Economic Regression

The new Rural Condition Globalization Demographic changes Cultural turmoil Multiculturalism New technologies Changing infrastructures and occupational changes in communities.

Pupils in compulsory schools with mother language other than Icelandic Total CapitalRural ,4 42,6 English ,3 33,7 Polish 15032,068,0 Thai10749,550,5 Philippine 9457,442,6 Serbo-Croatian 8448,851,2 Vietnamese 5889,710,3 Danish 5251,948,1 Spanish 4854,245,8 Swedish 4647,852,2 Norwegian 4245,2 54,8 Russian 4273,826,2 Albanian 3372,727,3 German 2857,142,9 Portuguese 2568,032,0 Faeroese 2330,469,6 Lithuanian 2085,015,0 Chinese 2085,015,0 Dutch 1637,562,5 Hungarian 1513,386,7 French 1471,428,6 Other10979,820,2

“Rural” Conditions PAST Small “Pure” Multi-grade Remote Neglected Inferior FUTURE Desired ? Multicultural ? Advanced ? Affluent ? Proud ? ??

Number of pupils in Icelandic Elementary Schools 1997/98 Size of No. of No. of No. of Average Proportion schools schools classes pupils in classes of pupils % < % % % % % % > %

Rural Education; Teaching and learning in Rural schools; Teacher Education; Current state of research into rural education;