K–20 Partnership: A Definition and Proof of Concept
WCER Working Paper No. 2007-9
Matthew Clifford and Susan Millar
December 2007, 35 pp.
ABSTRACT: School districts and institutions of higher education (IHEs) have historically attempted to improve K–12 instructional quality and student performance in relative isolation from each other, and with limited success. Recent calls to improve preservice teacher education have prompted policymakers and others to rethink models of instructional improvement and teacher preparation. One possible model involves partnerships between K–12 institutions and IHEs, which we call K–20 partnerships. In our role as evaluators of the SCALE Math and Science Partnership (MSP), we believe that a first step in evaluating partnerships, their interventions, and their outcomes is defining what partnerships are and are not. Doing so also enables evaluators to determine if, in fact, National Science Foundation (NSF) and U.S. Department of Education (US ED) grantees accomplished funded work; what roles, if any, partnerships played in achieving desired ends; and, ultimately, if the NSF and US ED theory of action has merit. Numerous evaluation studies have previously examined the effects of partnership-developed interventions, but only a few have associated intervention results with partnerships between K–12 and higher education institutions. To determine the value of partnerships for improving teaching, learning, and educational institutions, evaluators must make firm links between partnerships, interventions, and outcomes. The resultant models, we believe, can help practitioners construct more effective partnerships and successful interventions. In this paper, we argue that partnership, as a construct, needs further definition to distinguish it from other forms of organization and inter-organizational relationships. Having identified this problem through literature review, we put forth a definition, which is synthesized from available literature. We then test our definition through a single case, which serves as a proof-of-concept study. Our conclusion discusses the sufficiency of our definition and reports on next steps in our work.
keywords: K-20 Partnership; Teacher Education; Program Evaluation
