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ABSTRACTThe present article introduces the concept of knowledge mobilisation (KMb) strategies in university research by linking university social responsibility with the concept of inclusive and responsible research, which implies an ethical perspective of equity and inclusion in responding to citizens’ needs. The study objective is to discover the ethical position and KMb strategies in 80 research groups from five European countries. The amount and type of strategies applied are analysed from information gathered in semi-structured interviews and from KMb indicators. The results show that these strategies are still not widely used and point to four key elements in researchers’ ethical positions: commitment, knowledge recognition, dialogue and cooperation. Strategies range from the initial formulation of the research problem to a sustainability plan for the research projects. The conclusions identify an emancipatory ethical perspective that rebalances power relationships between researchers and stakeholders, but that generates tension with public research policies and research quality evaluation criteria.

In this paper we present a strategy for linking the school with its territory carried out in a colegio rural agrupado (a rural primary school serving several small populations on different sites) in the province of Valencia (Spain). A one-day community-building event was organised to promote community participation and development, with two aims: to provide information on the projects carried out in the school with local community involvement; and to apply a participatory social diagnostic tool (SDT), namely, social mapping. The strategy falls within the methodological framework of a process of Participatory Action Research (PAR). We analyse the meaning of PAR in the context of the experience and describe how the various stages were carried out. The results show the implications for community agents that the mapping strategy had in linking the school to its local area. We conclude by outlining a series of reflections on the basic factors that foster the link between the school and its local context, and we highlight the great potential of this strategy for resituating the school in its territory and revealing previously hidden relationships and resources.

The inclusive intercultural school is based on a participatory and democratic education model. It promotes critical citizenship and links schools to their territory so they become agents of social transformation. The aim of this study is to learn about the links between territory and schools in different contexts in Spain.