This study aims to examine the relationship between institutional quality indicators – management effectiveness, rule of law, and regulatory quality – and the intensity of school–university partnership (SUP) collaboration across Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, and to compare how this relationship differs between Western Europe and transition economies. The study adopted a cross-sectional comparative design covering 29 OECD countries. The SUP Collaboration Intensity Index, constructed from the Teaching and Learning International Survey 2024 scale scores, was used as the dependent variable. Independent variables were obtained from the World Bank World Governance Indicators (WGI, 2023). The analyses included ordinary least squares regression with heteroskedasticity-resistant standard errors (HC3), the Mann-Whitney U test, and bootstrap confidence intervals. Regulatory quality was the only statistically significant predictor of SUP cooperation intensity (ß = 0.012, p = 0.033, R2 = 0.093). Management efficiency and rule of law remain in the expected direction but below the statistical threshold. The difference in institutional capacity between Western Europe and transition economies has been documented with a large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.297, p = 0.010). Transition economies are not homogeneous; with the effect of European Union membership, Estonia and Lithuania are converging toward the Western European pattern, exhibiting minimal institutional barriers. This study is among those that apply mechanisms from institutional theory to the SUP sustainability literature, using a systematic, comparative, empirical design in the context of transition economies. It provides the first international comparative evidence documenting that regulatory quality is the primary institutional driver operating through compelling isomorphism.
Purpose This paper compares policy discourses on school–university partnerships (SUPs) and teacher education within the African diaspora, using the United States and Ghana as case studies. By examining these two nations, we explore how partnerships can sustain the development of educators who teach children of African descent across the African Diaspora. Design/methodology/approach We designed a seven-pillar conceptual framework for culturally sustaining teacher education, drawing on the literature and employed crosswalk and critical policy analysis as complementary analytic approaches to examine and compare policy. Findings The study's findings revealed six key themes: (a) re-centering identity and community, (b) reconstruction of curriculum and teacher agency, (c) partnering for justice-oriented outcomes, (d) localizing instruction, (e) bridging institutional divides in hybridized settings and (f) leveraging coaching and assessment. Originality/value By juxtaposing Black American and Ghanaian policy, this paper explores how to support teacher education, paying particular attention to how sociohistorical, political and economic factors shape SUP discourses in two nations. Ultimately, the paper examines relationships, gaps and challenges and offers implications for advancing the sustainability of partnerships in African diasporic contexts.
Purpose This preliminary study examines how school–university partnerships are conceptualized and supported in Chile and the United States through an analysis of foundational documents. In response to growing interest in developing shared knowledge about challenges of sustainability, the study highlights the critical importance of establishing a common understanding of the language used to describe partnerships across international contexts. Design/methodology/approach As an initial phase of a comparative study on school–university partnerships in Chile and the United States, this study focuses on the documentary reality constructed through foundational texts that guide partnership work. A comparative document analysis was conducted on both accreditation standards and organizational frameworks to examine how these texts articulate the purposes, structures and evaluation of school-university partnerships. Iterative cycles of qualitative content analysis were employed to support this process. Findings Findings highlight both shared language across international contexts in discussions of school-university partnerships, particularly a recurring emphasis on the concept of bidirectionality. At the same time, internal tensions were identified within each country between evaluative accreditation standards and the more aspirational frameworks developed by academic networks. Research limitations/implications This initial phase focuses exclusively on documentary analysis of school–university partnerships in Chile and the United States and therefore captures the formal, aspirational dimensions of partnership work rather than its enacted practices or lived experiences within educational communities. Originality/value This article responds to calls for greater international dialogue on school-university partnerships by offering an analytical approach that can support future cross-national comparisons of foundational documents.
Purpose School–university partnerships have increasingly emerged as important frameworks for strengthening teacher preparation and advancing educational equity in complex global education systems. While much of the existing scholarship focuses on domestic partnerships, less research has examined how such collaborations operate in international contexts or how they evolve from fragile beginnings into sustainable professional learning networks. This study examines the Teaching for the Future Now (TTFN) program, a collaborative partnership established between the University of North Georgia, Georgia State University, and several Jordanian educational institutions, including the Jordanian Ministry of Education, the University of Jordan, and the Queen Rania Teacher Academy, designed to strengthen the pedagogical knowledge, instructional practices, and English skills of English teachers in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach Using a mixed-methods survey research design, an electronic post-conference survey was conducted collecting information on demographics, innovative teaching methods, and knowledge. Survey data were descriptively analyzed using frequency distributions, percentages, and means to characterize participant responses. The survey used twenty-one Likert-scale questions and three open-ended survey questions. Findings Findings highlight improvements in instructional practice, teacher leadership development, and the formation of a sustainable learning network at the practitioner level. At the policy level, findings suggest that partnership sustainability is not solely dependent on institutional agreements but also becomes a lasting partnership between individuals and institutions through the development of ongoing communication, negotiated education outcomes, shared governance structures, and opportunities for collaborative professional learning. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to the growing body of literature on international school-university collaboration and suggests that partnership sustainability is closely linked to the development of trust, shared governance, and program design. Limitations identified in included power dynamics in partnerships in the Global North and South, lack of instructional leadership's impact on teacher professional learning, and how adaptive expertise operates within international partnerships to diffuse instructional practices within schools and directorates. Practical implications Sustained, context-specific, and collaborative teacher professional development can foster profound and lasting improvements in teacher knowledge, self-efficacy, and classroom practice, even in highly challenging environments, with findings advocating for a shift away from isolated, short-term workshops towards integrated, long-term models that prioritize peer collaboration and cultural relevance, revealing a pathway from knowledge acquisition to transformed professional identity. The role of Communities of Practice in sustaining motivation and collaborative problem-solving can support long-term improvements in teaching quality and student learning outcomes (Morrison et al., 2026). Teacher peer mentoring and participation in Communities of Practice improve teacher self-efficacy and foster emotional support, reflective practice, and collaborative teaching. Sustained teacher collaboration enhances instructional quality and holistic learner development, with findings indicating that teachers' motivation, perceived relevance of professional development, and collaborative practices significantly contribute to sustainability, yet limited reflective practice and variations in professional competence constrain sustained engagement (Ruleguka, 2026). Social implications Teachers as leaders of justice-oriented education can function as co-designers and co-authors of curricular materials and professional development agendas, as co-researchers, professional development facilitators, and as teachers inside and outside the classroom. This positioning of teachers as leaders shifts from traditional expert-driven models toward collaborative knowledge production, where teachers' expertise and lived experience are valued as central to educational improvement (Jayathirtha et al., 2025). By incorporating reflective practice into professional development programming, teachers are provided a space to discuss their learning experiences and an opportunity to better understand the purpose and outcomes of professional learning, specifically for teaching and learning. Originality/value The study contributes to the growing body of literature on international school-university collaboration and suggests that partnership sustainability is closely linked to the development of trust, shared governance, and program design. For practitioners, the results underscore the importance of structuring professional development programming that is both contextually responsive and collaboratively designed. The findings highlight the importance of positioning teachers as active contributors in knowledge creation rather than passive recipients of training (Hoskin, 2026). This study contributes new knowledge about how a fragile US-Jordanian partnership evolved into a sustainable English-language network for English teachers in Jordan.
Purpose This article examines the challenges inherent in school–university partnerships (SUPs) within initial teacher education (ITE). It identifies a range of conceptual, pedagogical, epistemological and organisational factors that necessarily shape partnership working, before presenting an historical analysis, illustrating how explicit shared principles in relation to each factor can sustain SUPs faced with specific challenges. Design/methodology/approach The article identifies five factors influencing the conception and operation of SUPs, before presenting a case study of the history of the Oxford Internship Scheme (OIS), exploring the way in which secure underlying principles equipped it to respond to various macro- and micro-level challenges. The article does not seek to use data to evaluate programme outcomes but draws on published research and internal policies to examine the role played by the partnership's principles in ensuring its sustainability. Findings The analysis identifies the complex nature of SUPs and the way in which they are conceptualised and operated. Macro-level challenges are shown to have had significant implications for the sustainability of partnership working. The partnership's response to a number of micro-level challenges demonstrates the way in which the OIS has maintained coherence and sustainability by adhering consistently to a set of shared principles. Originality/value The chapter offers an analysis of a mature SUP that has navigated multiple waves of national policy reform without losing its conceptual integrity. By bringing together theoretical insights, policy critique and practical illustrations of partnership work, it advances understanding of what enables SUPs to remain robust and adaptive – and thus sustainable – over time.
