Enhancing school-university partnerships.

Abstract

Preservice teachers are offered school-based experiences as a component of their undergraduate teacher education programmes. While there have been major shifts toward establishing new types of partnerships between schools and teacher education providers internationally, in New Zealand the relationship has generally gone unexamined. New Zealand teachers, therefore, have continued as supervisors of students' experiences rather than as collaborative partners in teacher education. This study makes particular reference to the professional development school (PDS) movement in the United States of America to seek innovative ideas that might enhance school-university partnerships in New Zealand. Broader issues, however, surface as challenges and complexities are identified. Despite various criticisms there are benefits in the collaborative efforts giving cause for optimism for new types of school-university partnerships.