About NEO ER

Here you will find information on the international NEO ER containing a brief history of the NEO ER and a mission statement.

A brief history of the NEO ER

In 2007, Ludwig Stecher was invited to present the German Study on the Development on All-day Schools (StEG) at a conference in Pusan (South Korea) where researchers from Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, and Sweden discussed their experiences with afterschool education. They concluded that all participating countries have made comprehensive efforts to expand and develop extended learning and extended care.

To create a platform for international research exchange on extracurricular and out-of-school educational research Jutta Ecarius, Eckhard Klieme and Ludwig Stecher decided to initiate a kick-off meeting for an international network. This conference was held at the Justus Liebig University, Giessen in October 2010. It was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

In 2013 the 2nd conference of the Network on Extracurricular and Out-of-School Time Educational Research (NEO ER) was held at the Justus Liebig University, Germany, too. All participants agreed that there was a need for a communication platform to foster the scientific exchange. So the International Journal for Research on Extended Education (IJREE; see IJREE on Budrich website) was launched. This was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

The 3rd NEO ER conference was hosted by the Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, in 2014 with the support of the Korean National Research Foundation and the Korean After School Study Society.

Mission and Objectives

The activities of the network are based on international exchange and transboundary collaboration. The members of the NEO ER (see links for more details) have different research backgrounds. They represent various disciplines that are relevant for educational research in the field of extended education. All members benefit from the cross-discipline exchange with their colleagues. The NEO ER is thankful for potential new members who would like to be a part of the international NEO ER and its work (see contact for e-mail addresses).