Accomplishing Important Work Together

Partnerships give people the opportunity to achieve outcomes that are better than those that can be achieved by working alone.

Helen Timperley and Viviane Robinson. School of Education, The University of Auckland.

In this article from Research Information for Teachers, Dr Helen Timperley and Associate Professor Viviane Robinson examine what is meant by the term ‘partnership’ when applied in an education context.

One of the problems with the term, they suggest, is that partnership means different things to different people. For some, it is about power sharing; for others, it means involving particular people in achieving particular outcomes.

The authors’ theory of partnership was developed through close study, over a four-year period, of the Ministry of Education’s initiative, Strengthening Education in Mangere and Otara (SEMO).

Questions / Things to think about

1. What partnerships has your school made within the community?
2. How can you ensure that all partners find these partnerships effective – not just a process of information delivery?