Report on the Forming Strategic Partnerships in Education

            The partnerships are crucial in any given field, as it provides more opportunities and options for the involved parties. When it comes to making strategic educational partnerships, the involved parties do it for the common good and benefits. The partnerships made in the education sector are not only meant for making profits for educational institutions, but they also go for it to enhance the efficacy of the learning process, as well as, benefiting students in the best possible manner. The educational partnership is not only good for the involved parties, but it is also great for students and communities in so many ways. The involved stakeholders do it to enrich the educational experience for families, students, institutions, as well as, communities. However, it is critical to keep in mind that strategic partnerships in the education sector are not easy to make (Cox-Petersen, 2010).

            But still, stakeholders opt for educational partnerships, because such partnerships have so many benefits for various involved parties. For instance, a school will have great benefits of making better discipline for students, better communication between teachers and students, good working conditions, enhanced learning activity, etc. Similarly, the families of students also get various benefits such as having a better understanding of education, developing better relationships with their children, and getting support from the community, etc. (Gross, Haines, Hill, Francis, Blue-Banning, & Turnbull, 2015). The major benefits of educational partnerships are enjoyed by students and teachers. The students get more learning and motivation to do well, and they adopt a positive attitude towards their education. They also improve their educational performance, personality, as well as, self-confidence. The morale of teachers is vastly improved as they get better teaching experience in a more positive manner. They also develop a better relationship and understanding levels with families of students for better correspondence, which is great for the betterment of students. The administrative advantages of an educational partnership include administration having better relationships with teachers, students, and their families. The resources are used more effectively due to effective educational partnerships. The community also benefits from such partnerships in so many ways (Chou, 2012)

            It is also vital to keep in mind that educational partnerships are not easy to make, and there can be various challenges for the stakeholders to face. Some of these partnerships are made to facilitate the learning process so that better outcomes are achieved. One good example of such a partnership is the partnership between the school and the family. If teachers want to get effective results for their students, then they need to have the support of the better school-family partnership, otherwise, they will never be able to do their job, with desired results. But developing this relationship between school and the families of students is a monumental task. It is a big challenge in so many ways. It has been proved by evidence that when families are proactively involved in a relationship with schools, then their involvement comes with so many positive effects. Still, this relationship and partnership have not been focused with its true potential, as it can achieve great results for students, schools and teachers (Willemse, Thompson, Vanderlinde, & Mutton, 2018). It is just one perspective to understand that forming partnerships in education is an imperative task, and if it is done properly, it can achieve great success and sustainability in the field of education. 

Critical Review of Literature of Forming Strategic Partnerships in Education

            A variety of research has been conducted to see the importance, advantages, as well as, various elements for strategic partnerships made in the field of education. There are different levels of education, and the role of educational partnerships can be critical for each level. One research was conducted to see the need and importance of educational partnerships for the field of primary education. The purpose of the study was to develop a process, which is optimal for education. The study was conducted for two schools, located in the city of Alexandria, and these schools have made partnerships with educational institutions, economic agents, as well as, educational authorities. The research method used in the research was based on different domains such as case study, social paper, questionnaire, as well as, split interview. After analyzing data, it was found that schools were able to grow better by having their engagement with the community. The students were also able to get a lot of benefits from these partnerships, which shows that the primary education sector should look for such educational partnerships more often (Gurlui, 2015)

            The education field can experience a lot of positive changes if there is a partnership of the educational institution with the community, as well as, the family of students. To get a perspective for a change in the education sector with such partnerships for the professional work of teachers, research was conducted by 2018. The primary area of focus for this research was to discuss partnerships between the community, family, and schools to get more positive outcomes for the students and teachers. After collecting and analyzing data in this regard, it was found that such educational partnerships are critical for the effective and professional performance of teachers. If community and family are engaged in a partnership with schools, then teachers, as well as, school leaders will be able to get better feedback from communities and families, which can be instrumental in designing future educational activities both for teachers and students. If a school looks for good and effective organization, then such partnerships are essential and engagement with community and families can bring great success for schools (Epstein, 2018)

            The young students are the future of every nation, and if a state is able to develop its youth with great learning and growth, then their future can be bright in a variety of ways. So, it is imperative to adopt every possible method to enhance the speed and level of youth development. One such method to enhance the activity of youth development is to build strategic partnerships in the education sector, where all stakeholders are involved in the process to get things to a level, where performance is optimal in every given perspective. A 2016 research study focused on the partnership between school, community, and family for the purpose of youth development so that it can be known, what has been achieved so far, and what lessons have been learned. In this research, a partnership model was implemented to create a partnership between school, community, and family with the help of a counseling program conducted for youth groups. The data was collected from participants by conducting semi-structured interviews from educators and parents, and then content analysis was done to derive results. The study found that if school counselors are involved in developing partnerships with community and families, then they can better address the needs of students, as well as, developing best practices for the future education-related activities (Cook, Hayden, Bryan, & Belford, 2016)

            The research area of developing partnerships between school, community, and the family has been primarily focused by researchers because this research area has actually been critically important for so many reasons. The engagement of the community and the family is found productive and effective for educational institutions such as schools. One more research was able to prove and reflect on the advantages deemed by such strategic partnerships, giving a specific direction to the overall efforts made in this field. Educational achievement is imperative for all kinds of educational institutions, especially schools because children get their basics strong from school education and if they have not got good school education, it is hard for them to get succeeded in future education. The issue gets even more serious for those students, who come from a poor family and social backgrounds. Bryan (2005) found in her research that if education counselors have to foster educational achievement and resilience in poor and minority students, then family, school, and community partnerships are indispensable. These poor and minority students can face a lot of issues and stressors, and if there is a partnership with the family and community, then the situation gets eased out for these students. They get better chances of success to improve their educational efficiency to achieve something substantial. So, schools should focus on developing these strategic partnerships to get better results (Bryan, 2005)

            A lot of evidence has been found that when educational partnerships are made for the sake of students, it comes up with so many benefits for the students. One particular area in this regard is to get in touch with the parents of students. If parents are engaged through different partnership programs or activities, it can be a handful to improve the learning and performance of students. A study found in 2011 that if parents are engaged by the schools, then such a partnership can have a positive influence on the overall educational process. The students were able to achieve better performance in a variety of ways, when their parents were engaged in the process on a regular basis. It again stresses the importance of making partnerships with stakeholders to bring more growth and development in the education sector (González & Jackson, 2013)

            Schools and other educational institutions should realize the importance of such partnerships because the modern education era cannot survive without these educational partnerships. So, it is critical to form and foster these partnerships in education to get things going in a right direction. According to Bryan & Henry (2012), it can be done by developing a specific model having certain types of principles. The community and the family should be engaged with schools through a model of partnership, which sets out the roadmap for their relationship to work in the right direction. These stakeholders should come up with a shared plan & vision to establish positive partnerships, which are a handful in every aspect. There will always be certain factors to consider for every region and country, but basics for such partnerships will remain the same when a proper model will be developed with agreed principles. There will also be difficulties, which have been observed in previous cases as well, but one should take adequate actions to deal with those challenges to continue with the process (Henry & Bryan, 2012)

            The focus has been overall local level partnerships in education, but that is not enough to achieve better outcomes in the education sector, rather it is also vital to understand this perspective of educational partnerships on a global scale. It is a well-known fact that developing countries do struggle in providing quality education to their population because they don’t have resources, expertise, and system to do so. They lack the infrastructure to facilitate a better education environment. According to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the developing countries are not able to educate their children, especially the poor ones. So, GPE was found to help and assist these countries by making global partnerships in the education sector so that poor children of developing countries can get access to education. Since 2003, GPE has allocated more than $5.3bn as a grant to poor nations for better education (GPE, 2020)

            It means that more research and efforts are needed to support global strategic partnerships in education so that the developed world can help out the developing world in this regard. The public and private partnerships can be instrumental in this arena, where public sector education can benefit from the expertise and knowledge of the private education sector. A study was conducted in 2008 to see how educational reforms can be made in the developing world with the help of the private sector’s involvement, as well as, its partnership with the public sector in developing countries. It was found that making public-private partnerships in the education sector can develop the capacity and structure of the education field in the poor world (Pessoa, 2008). The evidence is there suggesting that when such measures are taken, they have proved a handful in so many ways. The developing world countries have gained so many benefits through this global and strategic partnership in the education field. These partnerships have been able to bring educational reforms in many developing countries. The evidence came from the research taken by the symposium of the projects, which were aided by the World Bank’s Development Research Group, and it showed educational reforms were made in different countries such as Colombia, El Salvador, Pakistan, as well as, Philippines. These four case studies have shown the importance of making partnerships and investing in the education sector on a global scale to bring more progress and sustainability in the education sector all around the globe. More such programs and funded projects are needed (King & Orazem, 1999)

            The other area for such partnerships is between the education level from lower grade levels to high education levels so that students are better prepared for the future. If there will be no liaison between the lower grades of education with the higher education sector, then there will be a huge gap between the two, and it would be difficult for students to bridge this gap when they enroll in higher education. The research was able to reflect on such a partnership, where the analysis was made for partnership between higher education, and K-12 grade. After analyzing the results, it was found that such partnerships are instrumental in building a new discipline in the education sector, where students are able to get more growth and learning (Tomanek, 2005). Similarly, the internal level partnership is also critical to get things going in the right direction. For instance, it has been proved by research, if there is a partnership between staff and students; it comes up with better results in educational achievements (Martens, Spruijt, Wolfhagen, Whittingham, & Dolmans, 2018)

Conclusion & Recommendations of Forming Strategic Partnerships in Education

            After critically analyzing and reviewing the literature, it can be concluded that forming strategic partnerships in education is as critical as any other thing. It is one of the most important elements for the stakeholders to look at so that an education environment is developed for all, which is great for growth and learning in every given aspect. This strategic partnership is also crucial to build education infrastructure and capacity for the countries, which are lacking behind in this regard. To achieve equality in education, the developed nations should fund projects in the developing world so that poor children in those countries can get access to better education. For this purpose, it is recommended that large corporations, investment groups, NGOs, as well as, institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations, etc. should play their part. All of these stakeholders should facilitate the process of making these strategic partnerships in education, both on the local and international levels so that a great learning and education environment is developed all around the world. The public and private sector should also come together to make more collaborative partnerships, where both can learn from each other’s experiences and resources as this is the only way to form educational partnerships, which prove a handful in every given aspect.

References of Forming Strategic Partnerships in Education

Bryan, J. (2005). Fostering educational resilience and achievement in urban schools through school-family-community partnerships. Professional School Conseling, 8(3), 219-228.

Chou, D. C. (2012). Building a successful partnership in higher education institutions. International Journal of Information Systems and Change Management, 6(1), 84-97.

Cook, A. L., Hayden, L. A., Bryan, J., & Belford, P. (2016). Implementation of a School-Family-Community Partnership Model to Promote Latina Youth Development: Reflections on the Process and Lessons Learned. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 4(1), 101-117.

Cox-Petersen, A. (2010). Educational Partnerships: Connecting Schools, Families, and the Community (illustrated ed.). SAGE.

Epstein, J. L. (2018). School, family, and community partnerships in teachers’ professional work. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(3), 397-406.

González, R. L., & Jackson, C. L. (2013). Engaging with parents: the relationship between school engagement efforts, social class, and learning. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 24(3), 316-335.

GPE. (2020). GPE Education Data and Results in Developing Countries. Retrieved June 3, 2020, from https://www.globalpartnership.org/results/gpe-impact

Gross, J. M., Haines, S. J., Hill, C., Francis, G. L., Blue-Banning, M., & Turnbull, A. P. (2015). Strong School–Community Partnerships in Inclusive Schools Are “Part of the Fabric of the School.…We Count on Them”. School Community Journal, 25(2), 9-34.

Gurlui, I. (2015). Educational partnership in primary education. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 180, 606 – 611.

Henry, L. M., & Bryan, J. (2012). A Model for Building School–Family–Community Partnerships: Principles and Process. Journal of counseling and development: JCD, 90(4), 408-420.

King , E. M., & Orazem, P. F. (1999). Evaluating Education Reforms: Four Cases in Developing Countries. The World Bank Economic Review, 13(3), 409-413.

Martens, S. E., Spruijt, A., Wolfhagen, I. H., Whittingham, J. R., & Dolmans, D. H. (2018). A students’ take on student–staff partnerships: experiences and preferences. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(6), 910–919.

Pessoa, A. (2008). Educational Reform in Developing Countries: Private Involvement and Partnerships. ICFAI Journal of Higher Education, 1-36.

Tomanek, D. (2005). Points of View: Effective Partnerships Between K-12 and Higher Education. Cell Biology Education, 4(1), 28–37.

Willemse, T. M., Thompson, I., Vanderlinde, R., & Mutton, T. (2018). Family-school partnerships: a challenge for teacher education. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(3), 252-257.