Initiating and sustaining partnerships between research and practice: Lessons learned from school and district leaders
Date
2024-03-27
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
School University Partnerships
Abstract
Purpose
Many researchers partner with schools but may be unfamiliar with practices for initiating contact and sustaining relationships with school leaders. Partnering with schools requires significant effort from the researcher to nurture communication and trust. This can pose challenges for researchers who are new to the field, have relocated to a new university or need to rebuild relationships due to transitions in school staffing.
Design/methodology/approach
In this mixed-methods study, we interviewed and surveyed school and district leaders in Delaware to learn how researchers can best communicate and form relationships with schools and districts.
Findings
We found no singular best method exists to initiate contact with schools and districts. Rather, researchers should consider the unique needs of the local context. Leaders’ decision to participate in research was most influenced by their own interest in the research topic, alignment with schools’ needs and researchers’ willingness to build a relationship with the local education agency.
Originality/value
Despite broad acknowledgment about the importance of school–university partnerships, few studies directly engage educators in discussing their goals, preferences and needs when working with researchers. We sought to formalize an understanding of best practices researchers can consider when initiating contact and building relationships with schools, directly from the perspective of school and district leaders. Developing these understandings from practitioners ensures the information authentically represents the perspectives of those who researchers seek to connect with, rather than assumptions of the researcher.
Description
This article was originally published in School University Partnerships. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/SUP-10-2023-0042
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024, Arielle K. Lentz, Alexus G. Ramirez, Amanda Pickett, Annastasia B. Purinton and Elizabeth N. Farley-Ripple
License
Published in School-University Partnerships. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
Keywords
relationships, communication, partnership, best practice, establishing contact
Citation
Lentz, A.K., Ramirez, A.G., Pickett, A., Purinton, A.B. and Farley-Ripple, E.N. (2024), "Initiating and sustaining partnerships between research and practice: Lessons learned from school and district leaders", School-University Partnerships, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/SUP-10-2023-0042