Seeking Mutual Benefit: Building a Better Teacher Through University-School and Teacher Union Partnership

• In Event: Roundtable Session 103
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring the Impact of Professional Development School Partnerships

Abstract

“How do we build better teachers?” led to the formation of university-district-teacher union partnership, which sought mutual benefit from a local adaptation of the Professional Development School (PDS) modeled in PDS research (Darling-Hammond (1994), Goodland (1994), Mullen(2000), Teital, 2003, Zeichner,(1992)). The partnership designed a mutually beneficial program of teacher preparation and contract status teacher professional development. The paper synthesizes survey, observations, interviews, focus groups and artifacts of the partnership. The study determined perceived mutual benefits to the university and participating schools. This finding has critical application to teacher and leadership preparation in the political climate of reauthorization of ESEA, which seeks to ensure “a great teacher in every classroom…and…a great principal in every building” (U.S. Department of Education, 2010).

Author

• Amy D. Petti, Portland State University