Conference Agenda
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14 SES 03 A: Digital Technologies, Families, Communities and Schools.
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14. Communities, Families and Schooling in Educational Research
Paper Governing Group Messaging, Governing Belonging: Digital–Material Spillovers in Primary School Peer Relations University of Oulu, Finland Presenting Author:Children’s peer relations increasingly unfold across hybrid spaces where digitally mediated interactions and school-day encounters are tightly interwoven. This paper advances a specific argument: group messaging is not only a communication channel but also a governed peer space. Governance here refers to permissions, membership, visibility, and decision-making practices (e.g., who can decide, who can remove content or leave, what counts as fair participation). I use the concept digital–material spillover to analyse how struggles over such governance reverberate into school-day belonging. The paper asks one central question: How do governance practices in group messaging platforms (permissions, membership, visibility and decision-making) shape peer positioning and participation in the everyday life of primary school? Empirically, the paper draws on three months of participatory school ethnography in Finnish primary schools (Grades 4–6), producing more than 250 pages of fieldnotes and brief child-led accounts in situ. I do not present detailed, identifiable incidents. Instead, I analyse anonymised fieldnote sequences that trace how governance issues in group messaging become visible as school-day micro-reorderings. In my fieldnotes, governance questions become salient when collective school tasks require coordination: disputes about who gets to decide, what is considered fair, and who has control over participation in the digital group space reverberate into classroom interaction patterns. These reverberations are often observable not as overt events but as micro-changes: cautious role-taking, shifting alliances, and negotiated boundaries during collaborative tasks. In my data, children also describe group messaging as a place where arguments can be prolonged and where “fairness” and “control” become peer-political concerns; these concerns carry into school life and shape who participates with whom and under what conditions. Theoretically, I position the analysis alongside relational and critical bullying scholarship that emphasises group dynamics and institutional/moral orders (e.g., Horton, 2011, 2018; Søndergaard, 2012, 2018). Methodologically, I draw on diffractive discussions to support a sequence-oriented analysis of how digital governance, affect, school routines and material arrangements cut together-apart (Murris & Bozalek, 2019). These references inform the analytic framing; the empirical claims about governance spillovers are based on my fieldnotes.
By foregrounding governance in group messaging as a mechanism of belonging and exclusion, the paper contributes an analytic shift: from treating “online conflict” as separate, to analysing governance spillovers as part of everyday school ecologies. It offers conceptual resources for educators and researchers seeking relational, non-punitive ways to recognise and respond to hybrid peer dynamics. Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used The study draws on participatory, child-centred school ethnography conducted over three months in Finnish primary schools (Grades 4–6). Fieldwork produced more than 250 pages of fieldnotes capturing everyday interactions during arrivals, lessons, transitions, lunch and recess, and includes brief, situated child-led conversations about how group messaging practices matter in peer life. Analysis is sequence-oriented. Rather than coding bounded “incidents,” I trace how governance practices in group messaging (permissions, membership, visibility, decision-making) become entangled with school routines, affects, material arrangements and peer groupings across time and space. Conceptually, I draw on diffractive methodology discussions (Murris & Bozalek, 2019) and post-qualitative arguments about writing/analysis as inquiry (St. Pierre, 2018), alongside arguments for response-able research practice beyond proceduralism (Springgay & Truman, 2017). I use ongoing, situated assent and avoid identifiable narratives. I take seriously children’s concerns that adult actions may escalate peer tensions, and I reflect on ethics in relation to regulatory frameworks and researcher roles by drawing on peer-reviewed discussions (Eldén, 2025; Horton et al., 2025). Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The paper’s main contribution is to conceptualise group messaging as a governed peer space where permissions, membership and decision-making shape belonging. Digital–material spillover provides a way to analyse how governance struggles reverberate into school-day micro-orders as conditional participation, shifting alliances, and subtle exclusion. Three implications follow. First, “fairness” and “control” in digital group spaces are peer-political issues, not merely technical matters. Second, governance spillovers often appear first as micro-changes (regrouping, avoidance, role negotiation), which complicates adult recognition and response. Third, relational, non-punitive school practices are needed to address spillovers without escalating harm. References Bouchard, K., Forsberg, C., Smith, J. D., & Thornberg, R. (2018). Showing friendship, fighting back, and getting even: Resisting bullying victimization within adolescent girls’ friendships. Journal of Youth Studies, 21(9), 1141–1158. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2018.1450970 Eldén, S. (2025). Ethical stumbling blocks: Negotiating ethics as a regulatory regime in ethnographic research with young people. Nordisk Tidsskrift for Ungdomsforskning, 6(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.18261/ntu.6.2.3 Horton, P. (2011). School bullying and social and moral orders. Children & Society, 25(4), 268–277. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2011.00377.x Horton, P. (2018). School bullying and bare life: Challenging the state of exception. Educational Philosophy and Theory. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2018.1557043 Horton, P., Forsberg, C., & Thornberg, R. (2025). The caring adult role: Ethical reflections from an ethnographic study of school bullying. Ethnography and Education, 20(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2024.2437013 Murris, K., & Bozalek, V. (2019). Diffracting diffractive readings of texts as methodology: Some propositions. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 51(14), 1504–1517. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2019.1570843 Søndergaard, D. M. (2012). Bullying and social exclusion anxiety in schools. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 33(3), 355–372. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2012.662824 Søndergaard, D. M. (2018). The thrill of bullying: Bullying, humour and the making of community. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 48(1), 48–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/jtsb.12153 Springgay, S., & Truman, S. E. (2017). On the need for methods beyond proceduralism: Speculative middles, (in)tensions, and response-ability in research. Qualitative Inquiry, 24(3), 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800417704464 St. Pierre, E. A. (2018). Writing post qualitative inquiry. Qualitative Inquiry, 24(9), 603–608. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800417734567 14. Communities, Families and Schooling in Educational Research
Paper Pupils’ Experiences of Academic, Cultural and Digital Shifts from Primary to Lower Secondary School Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Norway Presenting Author:This ongoing study explores pupils’ experiences of digital, academic, and pedagogical changes during the transition from primary to lower secondary school, and examines the implications of these experiences for developing educational practice and supporting school transitions. The study is situated within first-generation Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) (Engeström, 2015) and Multiple and Multi-dimensional Transitions (MMT) theory (Jindal-Snape, 2016). Central to CHAT is the understanding that human action and higher mental functions are mediated by tools and signs, and that interaction with historical and cultural contexts shapes how individuals think and act (Vygotsky, 1978). Based on Bakhtin (1986) and Vygotsky (1978), pupils may, during educational transitions, encounter institutional and culturally conditioned tools, values, and ways of perceiving the world that differ from those of the school they are leaving. Such changes require adequate support to help pupils navigate the ways of being and the tools used in the new context, enabling meaningful participation in its practices (Wertsch, 1998). The MMT theory (Jindal-Snape, 2016) emphasises that educational transitions are complex and dynamic processes that can trigger multiple transitions across several domains, such as the cultural, structural, social, academic domains (Strand, 2025). Since these transitions influence one another, pupils require holistic transition support to learn and develop within the new context. The present study is part of the whole- school research project Leadership and Learning for the Development of Teachers’ Professional Digital Competence (LeadDig, 2023–2027), funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The objective of LeadDig is to develop learning-oriented schools by strengthening teachers’ professional digital competence to enhance pupils’ learning environment and learning outcomes. A cluster of three feeder primary schools and one lower secondary school participates in the project. Within this cluster, pupils use iPads as a learning tool at the primary level, and computers (Microsoft) at the lower secondary level. This structural shift in the use of digital tools between primary and lower secondary education is not uncommon in Norway, but it has received little research attention (Brynildsen & Hagelia, 2022; Utdanningsdirektoratet, 2024) although it is reasonable to assume that this has implications for students’ encounters with the subjects at lower secondary level. The literature shows that pupils’ academic motivation, learning, and development are at stake during the transition to lower secondary school (Jindal-Snape et al., 2019). A study by Lervold et al. (2025) further reports that Norwegian pupils are somewhat disappointed with academic content at the lower secondary level compared to their expectations formed in primary school and highlights the need for more knowledge about why this is the case. Consequently, the academic and structural changes driven by the digital shift occurring in this transition are highly relevant for research. As a school’s traditions and culture play a decisive role in shaping digital practices and pedagogical approaches (Brynildsen & Hagelia, 2022), the interplay between issues related to both the structural, cultural and academic domains should be considered when pupils encounter digital shifts during educational transitions. Based on this, the present paper addresses the following research question: How do pupils experience the transition from primary to lower secondary school in relation to the subjects (academic domain), pedagogical approaches (cultural domain), and the use of digital tools (structural domain)? Digital education and the development of teachers’ professional digital competence are key priorities across EU countries, as emphasised in the Digital Education Action Plan 2021–2027 (European Commission, 2025). Moreover, research indicates that the challenges pupils face during educational transitions are broadly similar across different educational systems (Jindal-Snape, 2010). Consequently, the findings of this Norwegian study offer insights that are highly relevant for European audiences and school systems. Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used This study adopts a qualitative case-study design bounded in time and place (Creswell, 2013) within a cluster of public schools participating in LeadDig (2023–2027). The study is situated in Norway, where the transition from primary to lower secondary school occurs between Grades 7 and 8 when pupils are approximately 13 years old. The study was prompted by lower secondary teachers participating in LeadDig who argued for greater attention to pupils’ digital transition in this context, motivating a deeper exploration of pupils’ perspectives of this issue. Data collection is ongoing. Three semi-structured focus group interviews (Czarniawska, 2004) involving 15 pupils were conducted in October 2025, approximately two months after they had started lower secondary school. To capture pupils’ longer-term transition experiences (Jindal-Snape et al., 2019), a second interview with the same groups will be conducted in spring 2026. The interviews invite pupils to discuss their general impressions of starting lower secondary school and, more specifically, their experiences of subject content and level, teaching practices, and the use of digital tools compared with primary school, as well as support related to these issues provided by teachers during the transition. Pupils were selected through purposeful sampling with the assistance of their teachers, aiming for a sample that reflects the school’s diversity and includes representation from all three feeder schools. Participation was voluntary, and parents provided written consent. In the preliminary analysis of the first three transcribed interviews, a deductive and descriptive approach was applied based on predefined categories corresponding to the academic, cultural, and structural domains. Once data collection is complete in spring 2026, the material will be categorised using open and axial coding inspired by the constant comparative method (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). In line with this approach, new content may populate predefined categories, and inductive subcategories will be developed as they emerge from the material. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings Academic domain Pupils reported that subjects at lower secondary school had so far been less demanding than they had feared. Several noted that primary teachers should avoid discouraging or fear-inducing portrayals of lower secondary subjects: “They destroyed my confidence about starting lower secondary school; I wasn’t looking forward to it because of that.” At the same time, pupils expressed anticipation of more in-depth subject learning. Pedagogical domain Teaching was described as involving less play and a stronger emphasis on academic progression. Pupils experienced a faster pace and noted that lessons sometimes moved on before everyone had fully understood the content. In contrast, primary school was described as offering more individual follow-up and support. Structural domain, the digital shift Pupils reported limited experience with the digital shift. By October, computers had been used far less frequently than iPads had been in primary school. Early computer use focused mainly on operational skills, such as organising folders and practising touch typing, and pupils varied in how useful they found these activities. Nevertheless, all expressed a desire for more frequent use of computers as learning tools and missed opportunities for short digital game or break activities after completing tasks. Synthesis Preliminary analyses indicate that, after two months, pupils had limited exposure to using digital tools, which may suggest a transition to a school characterised by digital practices and pedagogical approaches different from those in primary education. Given the short time pupils had spent in lower secondary school, this underscores the value of longitudinal transition studies and follow-up interviews. At the same time, pupils appeared to approach lower secondary school with greater fear of academic change than seemed warranted, pointing to a need for strengthened collaboration and dialogue between primary and lower secondary schools to promote academic, structural, and cultural coherence. References Bakhtin, M. M. (1986). Speech genres and other late essays. University of Texas Press. Brynildsen, S., & Hagelia, M. (2022). Med en ny dings i sekken: Den digitale overgangen fra barnetrinnet til ungdomstrinnet [The digital transition from primary to lower secondary school]. In M. Maugesten & K. Spernes (Eds.), Overganger i skolen: Fra barnetrinnet til ungdomstrinnet. Universitetsforlaget. Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design (3rd ed.). SAGE. Czarniawska, B. (2004). Narratives in social science research. SAGE. Engeström, Y. (2015). Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. European Commission. (2025). Digital Education Action Plan 2021–2027: Policy background. https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/digital-education/plan Jindal-Snape, D. (2010). Setting the scene: Educational transitions and moving stories. In D. Jindal-Snape (Ed.), Educational transitions: Moving stories from around the world (pp. 1–8). Routledge. Jindal-Snape, D. (2016). The A–Z of transitions. Palgrave Macmillan. Jindal-Snape, D., Cantali, D., MacGillivray, S., & Hannah, E. (2019). Primary–secondary transitions: A systematic literature review. ScottishGovernment Lervold, K., Haugan, J. A., Frostad, P., & Strand, G. M. (2025). Elevenes perspektiv på overgangen til ungdomstrinnet [Pupils’ perspectives on the transition to lower secondary school]. In G. M. Strand & A. Järnerot (Eds.), Overganger i oppvekst og utdanning (pp. 100–122). Universitetsforlaget. https://doi.org/10.18261/9788215069609-25-06 Strand, G. M. (2025). “Du tar virkelig det store steget”: Elevenes overgang fra ungdomstrinn til videregående opplæring [Students’ transition from lower secondary school to upper secondary education]. In G. M. Strand & A. Järnerot (Eds.), Overganger i oppvekst og utdanning (pp. 123–144). Universitetsforlaget. https://doi.org/10.18261/9788215069609-25-07 Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. M. (1998). Basics of qualitative research (2nd ed.). SAGE. Utdanningsdirektoratet. (2024). Den digitale tilstanden i barnehage og grunnopplæring [The digital state of kindergarten and elementary school]. https://www.udir.no/tall-og-forskning/finn-forskning/rapporter/2024/den-digitale-tilstanden-i-barnehage-og-grunnopplaring2/ Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. Wertsch, J. V. (1998). Mind as action. Oxford University Press. 14. Communities, Families and Schooling in Educational Research
Paper Uncharted Territory for Parent-school Relationships: the Virtual Space of the Digital Sphere. A Map of the Field 1: Tel-Aviv University, Israel; 2: University of Verona Presenting Author:Europe currently is the region with the highest level of internet usage worldwide, while approximately 95% of European households have internet access. However, patterns of daily internet usage vary considerably: Among other examined European countries, Russia ranks first, with 9 hours and 21 minutes online per day; Portugal ranked second with seven hours and 31 minutes, and Bulgaria followed with an average of 7 hours and 30 minutes online. The least time online was spent by people in Denmark, with around 5 hours and 5 minutes per day (Tyla, 2025). Within this context, the emergence of the “network society” (Castells, 2023), as an extended feature of the “information age”, has reshaped social relations in rhizomatic and unpredictable ways on a global scale. The digital universe is described in the literature both as a space that fosters the construction of social networks and enhances participatory and collaborative practices (Diani, 2000), and as a context that contributes to the fragmentation and weakening of social interactions and civic participation (Fenton & Barassi, 2011). By 2025, digital technologies have become deeply embedded in everyday life, with approximately 68% of the world’s population having access to the internet (DataReportal, 2025). Scholars often refer to these transformations as part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution characterized by the continuous movement between online and offline domains through connected technologies that shape individuals’ lives and social interactions. The concept of onlife (Floridi, 2015) captures this hybrid condition and highlights how advanced digitalization inevitably affects educational processes and, consequently, family-school relationships, an arena that is intrinsically complex, contradictory, and crucial. The digital sphere expands opportunities to access information, express viewpoints, and participate in social processes by introducing new modes of interaction (Patrikakou, 2016). At the same time, it also carries the risk of intensifying processes of marginalization and exclusion for certain students and families. Drawing on the concept of digital capital, Ragnedda and Mutsvairo (2018) emphasized that digital tools can offer significant benefits for socially disadvantaged groups and minorities by amplifying diverse voices, enabling participation in public discourse grounded in everyday experiences, and reducing barriers to engagement with schools (Castells, 2023; Posey-Maddox & Haley-Lock, 2016). Nevertheless, research also highlights critical concerns. Kucukgencay and Peker (2020) note that parents frequently express anxieties about the potential negative effects of digital technologies on children, e.g., addiction and online safety risks, leading to increased parental surveillance of students and classroom activities. Moreover, digital spaces may trigger aggressive parental behaviors (Cowen Forssell et al., 2024), increase teachers’ workloads, and blur the boundaries between families and schools. Social media, in particular, often function as norm-setting environments in which teacher-parent relationships are reconfigured in unequal ways, silencing certain voices and reproducing existing social inequalities (Dávila et al., 2023). These dynamics raise significant concerns related to the digital divide (Ragnedda, 2019) and processes of social reproduction (Stratigos & Fenech, 2021).
As information and communication technologies (ICTs) become increasingly embedded in family-school relationships, a deeper understanding of this phenomenon is urgently needed. This study aims to provide an overview of current research on parental involvement in digital spaces and to identify key directions for future research and practice. Within this complex and rapidly evolving technological landscape, the study addresses the following research questions: 1. What topics are emerging in the research literature on parental involvement in digital environments? 2. How is parental involvement enacted and negotiated in digital spaces? 3. What barriers and opportunities do digital environments create for schools-family relationships, particularly for families from diverse social backgrounds? Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used To address the research questions, we conducted a bibliometric analysis aimed at identifying the main topics and dominant theoretical approaches related to parent involvement and the digital sphere. Bibliometric analysis has become a well-established method for the statistical examination of large bodies of scholarly literature, enabling the mapping of accumulated knowledge and the identification of trends within and across research fields. This approach allows for the systematic analysis of publication attributes such as journal sources, countries of origin, citation patterns, authorship, and keywords or thematic foci. In this study, we mapped the body of literature addressing parental involvement (PI) in relation to digital technologies, with particular attention to disadvantaged social groups. Following Zupic and Čater, the analysis focused on three interrelated dimensions of the knowledge base; (a) knowledge “size” – i.e. referring to the volume of published studies; (b) knowledge structure, understood as the intellectual organization of the field through prominent research topics; and (c) “the pattern of their interrelationships” (2015, p. 438). For the analysis, we used VOSviewer, a software tool used across multiple disciplines including education, psychology, and management studies. VOSviewer enables the visualization of bibliometric network through accessible and interpretable maps, facilitating the identification of thematic clusters and relationships among concepts. Specifically, the analysis examined: (1) knowledge “size,” measured by the number of published articles over time; (2) “geographical configuration”, which provides insight into the global distribution of research on PI and digital technologies; and (3) intellectual “structure”, as reflected in the co-word analyses that visualize emerging research topics and their interconnections (Zupic & Čater, 2015). The analytic procedure followed seven sequential steps, as outlined by Passas (2024). The final dataset consisted of 271 articles. To complement the bibliometric analysis and gain a deeper insight into the substantive content of the literature, we also conducted a focused qualitative examination of the most 27 cited articles (approximately 10% of the total dataset) using these as illustrative examples to contextualize and interpret the identified thematic patterns. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The final database comprised 271 peer-reviewed journal articles, the majority of which were published in English (92%). Most publications (75.7%) appeared from 2020 onwards, indicating a sharp increase in scholarly attention to digital technologies in parent-school relations in recent years. The articles originated from 58 diverse countries across all continents, demonstrating that digitalization in the context of parent-school relations is a globally relevant research concern. A co-word analysis of abstracts and keywords, visualized as a network of interconnected concepts, identified five thematic clusters, each comprising at least ten terms, with a minimum occurrence threshold of four co-occurrences. Each cluster represents a latent research topic emerging from the literature. The first cluster focuses on COVID-19, Schooling and Digital Learning, includes 21 terms, encompassing themes such as learning process, teaching practices, parental engagement, achievement, and the digital divide. The second cluster centers on Communication, Social Media, and Youth, including 18 terms tied to adolescents, cyberbullying, gender, and digital platforms. The third cluster addresses Digital Literacy and Early Childhood Learning, which contains 16 terms highlighting parental mediation; technology use; literacy; and early childhood. The fourth cluster concerns Parental Involvement in Learning via Digital Tools it includes 16 terms particularly in relation to schools-family collaboration in subjects such as Mathematics or English. It emphasizes digital participation and partnership. The fifth cluster focuses on Parents and Digital Education, it includes 12 terms, emphasizing parental participation, internet, educational technology, and parent-school relations. The overlap among clusters suggests that effective digital education is grounded in collaborative and reciprocal engagement between schools and families, highlighting both shared responsibilities and persistent inequalities within digitally mediated educational environments. References Castells, M. (2023). The network society revisited. American Behavioral Scientist, 67(7), 940-946. Cowen Forssell, R., Berthelsen, H., & Jönsson, S. (2024). Negotiating for influence and resources: A study of Swedish teachers’ and principals’ experiences of aggressive emails from parents. Educational Management Administration and Leadership. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432241242263 Dávila, C. M., Tabilo, I., Vera-Muñoz, M. I., & Arcos, S. A. (2023). Normative becoming in the digital sphere: WhatsApp parents’ groups in Chilean education. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 31. Floridi, L. (2015). The onlife manifesto: Being human in a hyperconnected era (p. 264). Springer nature. Kucukgencay, N., & Peker, B. (2022). Parent groups established with instant messaging applications for math lessons during Covid-19: Parents' opinions. The Eurasia Proceedings of Educational and Social Sciences, 25, 45-52.. Passas, I. (2024). Bibliometric Analysis: The Main Steps. Encyclopedia, 4(2), 1014–1025. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia4020065 Patrikakou, E. N. (2016). Parent Involvement, Technology, and Media: Now What?. School Community Journal, 26(2), 9–24. Posey-Maddox, L., & Haley-Lock, A. (2020). One size does not fit all: Understanding parent engagement in the contexts of work, family, and public schooling. Urban education, 55(5), 671-698. Ragnedda, M. (2019). Reconceptualizing the digital divide. In B. Mutsvairo, and M. Ragnedda (eds.), Mapping the Digital Divide in Africa. A mediated Analysis (pp. 27-43). Amsterdam University Presses. Ragnedda, M. and Mutsvairo, B. (2018). Digital Inclusion: Empowering People Through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). In M. Ragnedda, and B.Mutsvairo, (eds). Digital Inclusion. An International Comparative Analysis. Lexington. Stratigos, T., & Fenech, M. (2021). Early childhood education and care in the app generation: Digital documentation, assessment for learning and parent communication. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 46(1), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1836939120979062 Tyla, C. (2025). Daily time spent online by users in Europe Q3 2024, by country. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1391355/daily-time-spent-online-europe-by-country/#statisticContainer accessed January, 7, 2025. Tooze, A. (2023): Interview, edited transcript of Adam Tooze’s interview for Radio Davos: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/03/polycrisis-adam-tooze-historian-explains/ accessed December, 29, 2025 Zupic, I., & Čater, T. (2015). Bibliometric Methods in Management and Organization. Organizational Research Methods, 18(3), 429–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428114562629 | ||