School–university partnership in teacher education for inclusive education

Abstract

This paper presents an initiative at the University of Iceland – School of Education aimed at developing school and university partnerships. The discussion addresses whether and how this reform could support inclusive teacher education. Teacher education in Iceland is currently under reconstruction because of new legislation, requiring a master's degree for teachers at all levels. As a part of this reconstruction, the School of Education is attempting to develop closer ties with Icelandic schools at different levels and with other stakeholders, both in regard to policy and practice. The partnership is underpinned by mutual commitment and responsibility. The main aims are to bridge the gap between theory and practice in student teacher learning and to encourage cooperation that might lead to school development as well as improvements in the teacher education programme. The project principally concerns four themes: teacher student learning; the associated schools; the university faculty and the content of courses; and finally, the partnership itself. The project is still in its initial stages though data are being collected along the way. To date, some preliminary data are available from two pilot studies.