We used Q methodology, a form of factor analysis, to explore and establish correlations across the perceptions of key stakeholders (i.e., deans, faculty members, doctoral students) about how doctoral programs in educational leadership engage in work with diverse communities. Four distinct viewpoints emerged suggesting the ongoing need to: develop…

Family-school partnerships have a positive impact on both students and schools, yet they remain challenging to establish and maintain, particularly in the presence of parent-teacher conflict. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of parents, teachers, and students when parents and teachers disagreed about a student's…

Given the current political context in the United States, the increased explicit and implicit othering of marginalized communities, and the related societal fracturing--often along ideological lines--this article calls for educators to support and participate in school-community partnerships explicitly framed through a lens of social justice to…

In its recent white paper, "A Pivot Toward Clinical Practice," the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) echoed the call heralded almost a decade ago by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education's (NCATE) Blue Ribbon Report that highlighted the need for the development of authentic settings in…

Reflecting decades of research documenting the essential role families play in the education of children, the standards published both by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC) include a focus on the importance of the relationship with the…

The increasing number of English learners in local communities in the U.S. include both children and their family members. There is an urgent need to provide educational support for both generations of English learners. In this report from the field, a partnership program using a two-generation approach is described. Based on interviews,…

In this article we expand the scope of school-university partnerships to include a community partner. This study involved an afterschool tutoring program known as the Discovery Center (pseudonym) partnering with a university reading class. This partnership, which is in its sixth year of implementation, prepares teacher candidates in the area of…

This report from the field presents a field-based program designed to prepare teachers to serve diverse children and families by emphasizing the "actual" practices that inform family-teacher partnerships. We argue that collaborative relationships across and among families and teachers can result in "mining gems" of knowledge…

There is growing recognition that the traditional research paradigm fails to address the needs of school practitioners. As such, more collaborative and participatory approaches are being encouraged. Yet few articles examine the structures, processes, and dynamics of research-practice partnerships. To address this gap, this essay analyzes a…

The work of contemporary school principals is intensifying in terms of complexity and volume. Many factors moderate and drive such work intensification. More than ever before, school principals are expected to build relationships with organizations and agencies connected to the student and school community. Using findings generated from a…

To date, relatively little research has examined the perceptions of children and parents involved in university-assisted partnership programs. In this paper, we present findings from a case study of a university-assisted community school (UACS) afterschool program wherein we interviewed participating students and their parents. We also completed…

This study examined a university-school district partnership intended to increase fourth grade students' awareness of college opportunities and to increase university student-athletes' understanding of the needs in the local community. A mixed methods design was used to evaluate whether the partnership met goals for the fourth grade students, the…

This article describes a unique program co-sponsored by a local public library, a university teacher preparation program, and a school district, created to support Latina/o parents as they produced authentic and culturally relevant literature representing multiple ethnic groups living in the Southwestern United States. A program like the one…

With roots in community development and the work of Dewey, a compelling case has been made for universities to be involved in urban school reform. Further, with increasing demands placed on universities to become responsive to community needs, university partnerships with K-12 schools are one means by which institutions of higher education have…

Service learning is a well researched pedagogical approach to the scholarship of teaching and learning. This essay describes two special education teacher preparation approaches that successfully linked candidate learning outcomes together with service to the community. One approach attached undergraduate teacher candidates in special education…