The opportunities and challenges of research partnerships in teacher education

Abstract

Collaborative research partnerships are widely recognised as being of value. This paper examines the benefits, constraints and challenges of research partnerships between teacher education faculties in universities and teacher employing authorities or departments of education and schooling. A case study of a collaborative research partnership between an education faculty and a teacher employing authority is examined to illustrate the features that supported a truly collaborative partnership and also to provide insights about the challenges that occurred. This research partnership was studied using self-study methods. The partnership between the individual researchers was examined in the context of the systemic partnership, to investigate the impact of the two contexts on each other and on the partnership. Constraints and facilitators of this collaborative partnership are identified in this paper. The feasibility of truly collaborative partnerships between institutions with differing aims and methods of operation is critiqued, using this particular partnership as an illustrative case study.