One site\u27s beginnings: Developing a university-partner school relationship as a member of the Nebraska Network for Educational Renewal

A goal of the Center for Educational Renewal is the development of school-university partnerships for the simultaneous renewal of schools and the education of educators. The National Network for Educational Renewal currently has 17 settings and 35 sites across the United States. The state of Nebraska has chosen to become a consortium setting and consists of ten colleges and universities. The development of a particular school-university partnership within the consortium was examined in this study. The purpose of this study was to understand, explore, and describe the processes used in the development of a specific university-partner school relationship and to describe the experiences of the participants involved in this development. A qualitative case study approach was used. Data were collected over a six-month period in the form of (a) interviews, (b) observations, (c) written documents, and (d) researcher\u27s field notes and journal reflections. The results of the study indicated that: (1) Overall, the beginning partnership was successful for everyone involved. However, the degree of success varied among participants. (2) University elementary education students benefited from the teaching opportunities available as part of the partnership. (3) Professional development offered by university faculty caused many of the elementary classroom teachers to change their attitudes and practices in the area of science education. (4) Minor problems occurred in the areas of scheduling, space requirements, and communication