CONTROVERSY ADDRESSED IN THIS ISSUE

School, university and community partnerships are widely promoted by accrediting bodies, professional organizations and state legislatures. Such partnerships are considered to be central to effective teacher preparation and to positive P-12 student learning. Yet, such collaborations are complex to enact. Schools, universities and communities have entrenched hierarchies and cultures that may clash. 

How can university professors, school teachers/administrators, and parents and community work together to bridge these inherent chasms? How can they work together to create the right collaborative conditions for positive school and university culture change? How can we redesign both teacher and teacher-educator work to encourage mutual learning? How can we prepare new teachers to navigate the existing education system while incorporating innovative teaching practices and addressing social justice issues?

This invited issue highlights the personal stories of those involved in a special partnership – university faculty, school teachers, administrators, parents, community and representatives from the Washington State Legislature, whose grant made this possible. It tells the story from their perspectives.