The partnership between schools and University

How has the school/ university partnership worked?

In the English branch of the ARTE project, heads, teachers, students and university staff have all made contributions to defining the requirements of a successful research and development partnership between higher education and schools:

• heads emphasised the school development cycle and the need for research to fit in with the structural constraints of timetabling
• teachers made a plea for research to be rooted in practice and to be jargon-free. They also stressed that their first commitment is to teaching rather than to data gathering
• pupils wanted more opportunities to voice their views on teaching and learning
• higher education partners emphasised issues of validity and data collection

Several key areas of concern were identified for this kind of action research to be successful:

• time for planning
• time for reflection
• time to focus on issues with colleagues
• support from Higher Education
• support from colleagues
• support from the head
• support with funding
• teamwork
• commitment to the project from all participants
• realistic assessment of demands of the research (not too much writing, no pressure to produce 'startling' results)
• importance of group and whole project meetings
• importance of the student perspective and student data

To date, heads and teachers speak of the suitability of action research for investigating the fluid dynamics of the teaching/ learning situation. They are united in believing that it promotes shifts in teacher thinking and practice. They feel that the contribution made by higher education - keeping teachers abreast of new developments, helping clarify research design, data analysis, funding, guiding discussion - is invaluable and provides a focus and discipline without which the research would founder.