Partnerships in education are an integral part of the learning process, as they ensure successful outcomes for all students, regardless of cultural, social, and other differences. Educational partnerships can be defined as cooperation of teachers, schools, families, businesses, and communities, aimed to achieve a common goal of enhancing students’ learning (Otrel-Cass et al., 2022). Therefore, schools, universities, and other institutions should promote partnerships, engaging teachers, families, and community groups to provide most efficient learning experience for their students (Epstein, 2018). That is why I always try to participate in partnership processes and programs. I believe that, in addition to improving learning outcomes, collaboration helps to establish a favorable environment for students to develop in, as well as fruitful and constructive relationship between parents and teachers. At the same time, I think that there is currently a lack of partnership programs that do not only involve teachers and parents, but also place emphasis on cooperating with businesses and other community groups and resources. It seems to me that integration with larger groups is an efficient way to bring variation in the studying activities.
Based on my experience related to these programs, I can say that I generally feel comfortable when communicating with other parties involved. I also take steps to raise their awareness about various existing issues that impede the learning process. Studies have shown that comprehensive approaches that involve students’ families and communities are more efficient in addressing issues such as low motivation, difficulty concentrating, lack of resources, and poor time management skills (Willemse et al., 2018). That is why I am always willing to take part in this process and enhance my own understanding of collaboration models and strategies.
References
Epstein, J. L. (2018). School, family, and community partnerships: Preparing educators and improving schools. Routledge.
Otrel-Cass, K., Laing, K. J., & Wolf, J. (2022). Partnerships in education: Risks in Transdisciplinary educational research. Springer Nature.
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. Web.