Define educational partnerships
Educational partnerships refer to the collaboration of individuals in order to promote the common good of schools or to improve student learning. Participants in such partnerships include individuals who are interested in improving the educational experiences of students, communities, families, and schools. Partnerships can be formed between students and teachers, or between families, professionals and communities. In a partnership, decisions are made collaboratively, and stakeholders overcome various challenges that originate from cultural barriers, language, and priorities.
What are the basic principles when planning or building educational partnerships?
The basic principles when planning educational partnerships include the creation of an action plan, location of potential partners, and the determination of the type of involvement. In creating an action plan, individuals should describe the program they want to develop, explore the types of involvement to include, identify partners, choose assessment methods, outline partnership goals, recognize barriers, and create a timeline of events. Types of involvement include parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, shared decision making, and community collaboration.
Steps on how to assess educational partnerships
The first step in the assessment of educational partnerships is an evaluation of the presence of key qualities that characterize educational partnerships. For instance, educational partnerships should have shared common goals, respect, and appreciation of cultural and linguistic differences. The second step is an evaluation of whether the parties involved benefit from the agreement. For instance, in a family-school partnership, parents, teachers, and students must benefit in some way. The third step is an evaluation of the existence of action plans and teams. All educational partnerships have action plans that outline the process of how they are developed, implemented, sustained, and assessed. The fourth step is an evaluation of the type of collaboration involved. Explicit, implicit, and null partnerships lead to specific types of collaborations, including no-collaboration, one-time, arms-length, and hand-in-hand collaborations.
How to sustain good educational partnership?
After implementing an educational partnership, it is important to take several measures in order to achieve the desired goals and outcomes. In that regard, god educational partnerships can be sustained by creating an action team, “selling” the partnership to other people, encouraging ongoing communication, and encouraging involved individuals to embrace active participation. The functions of action teams include needs assessment and the implementation of plans. It is also important to formalize the roles and responsibilities of each partner and create liaisons within the community. Finally, successful educational partnerships are based on effective communication, which includes the collection of feedback and frequent evaluation of goal attainment. All stakeholders should meet regularly in order to evaluate the progress made with regard to the achievement of the partnership’s goals.
What are the characteristics/qualities we would like to see in educational partnership?
The characteristics of educational partnerships include common goals, mutual support and collaboration, respect, understanding, accountability, appreciation of differences, and high returns. Other characteristics include commitment, leadership, active participation of partners, and feedback. A bond of mutual trust must be established and all partnerships must have cultural relevance. All partnerships must have some form of collegiality and mutual support. All the involved parties must have a shared responsibility for improving the academic outcomes of children. Diversity is a common feature of educational partnerships. Therefore, partnerships must involve an appreciation of the cultural and linguistic differences that exist among partners.
What are good recommendations to build a successful educational partnership?
Successful educational partnerships are made up of individuals who work together in a bond of trust in order to achieve certain goals. Building a successful educational partnership involves several factors that include leadership, respect, appreciation of differences, support, and commitment. Individuals involved in a partnership need to develop and share common goals, share responsibility for implementing action plans, and appreciate the existence of differences among the partners. Involved individuals need to become fully committed to the attainment of the partnership’s goals and encourage trust, communication, and respect or all partners. It is important to engage in partnerships that benefit everyone. The most important aspects of partnership building include the identification of the most effective partnership, exploration of potential partnership opportunities, and meeting with potential partners face-to-face.
Decide whether to continue or stop partnerships (assess)
Partnerships should be continued because of their benefits. School-family partnerships have positive effects on the cognitive abilities of students. For instance, they enhance reading and increase performance I mathematics. The active involvement of parents increases academic performance. Corporate partnerships benefit schools by providing services and resources that support student programs. Some businesses allow students to spend time within their premises in order to learn about different careers. In other cases, employees work with teachers and students on projects that persuade them to participate in certain fields such as mathematics, engineering, and science. University-school partnerships offer students an opportunity to experience university life in order to encourage them to work hard and become part of a college campus community. Frequent visits to universities at early ages are beneficial to students because they provide experiences that inform them about the importance of higher education.
Partnerships decrease school violence, improve working conditions and student discipline, enhance communication among all parties, and encourage the acceptance of diversity. Families benefit by increasing their understanding of education and playing active roles in the education of their children. Moreover, bonds between parents and children strengthen. Teachers benefit by receiving more support from parents and developing closer relationships with students. In addition, they experience lower stress levels and improved morale.
What are the different types of educational partnerships?
Types of educational partnerships include explicit, implicit, and null partnerships. This classification is based on Elliot Eisner’s grouping of curricula that are appropriate for different partnership models. In explicit partnerships, the parties involved set goals, develop strategies, and work together to attain objectives. The goals are communicated publicly. In implicit relationships, the involved parties only talk about the goal and ideals of the partnership. However, they do not set specific goals or outcomes to pursue. In null partnerships, families, communities, and schools do not communicate about any goals or strategies. Educational partnerships can also be grouped into community, family, and professional partnerships. Community educational partnerships involve the participation of professionals from the broader community. Family partnerships involve collaborations between schools and the members of students’ families. Professional partnerships involve collaborations between teachers who identify ways to improve student performance.
Explain implicit or explicit or null educational partnerships
A partnership can be described an agreement between two or more people or groups of people with an aim to achieve certain objectives. The partnership can be explicit or implicit, spoken or unspoken. An explicit educational partnership refers to a type of relationship in which communities, families, and schools come together to set goals and work toward their achievement. They set goals, develop strategies, and outline the desired outcomes that relate to the enhancement of the education of children. One of the key characteristics of explicit educational partnerships is the public communication of the goals to all the involved individuals.