When a PDS Isn't Working: Confronting the Question of Pulling Out

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2006

Abstract

Although schools and universities face significant hurdles in implementing and sustaining a professional development school, the PDS movement has enjoyed increased popularity. While a growing number of case studies describe collaborative challenges that PDS partners initially face, little has been written about PDSs in later stages of development. What happens when, after more than a decade of collaboration, a PDS is “not working”? Who decides that a formal school-university partnership should end? This paper chronicles a formal PDS partnership between Trinity University and a public elementary school that was dissolved after 14 years of sustained efforts. After providing a brief history of the university-school partnership, the author describes a series of events over a 2-year period that led the university to end its formal partnership with the elementary school. Finally, a set of recommendations is offered for schools and universities to consider when developing formal partnership agreements.

Identifier

10.1080/01626620.2006.10463399

Publisher

Routledge

Publication Information

Action in Teacher Education

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