School-University Partnerships: building capacity for effective leadership for learning in schools serving disadvantaged urban communities

Centre for Research in Educational Leadership and Management (CRELM)

Presented by Professor Christopher Day, The University of Nottingham

The seminar reports the findings of a 12 month national project in the UK, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), their implications for research-informed practices in schools and the roles played in this by universities. The project was framed by a ‘research- in- use’ agenda in which knowledge generated in academic settings is transferred to school work settings through ‘knowledge transfer and exchange’ partnerships between schools and universities. The research focussed on answering three key questions:

• What are the key improvement challenges and issues that are faced by principals of schools that serve urban disadvantaged communities?
• How can academics contribute to the transfer of new academic knowledge of effective school principals, teachers’ work and lives, effective classroom practice and collaborative inquiry that will enhance the effectiveness of the professional development work of principals in these schools?
• What are the policy, practice and research implications for school principals and practitioners in mediating change and sustaining standards for all in their schools?

The knowledge exchange activities explicitly addressed improvement concerns that emerged as a result of a dialogue with the participants about their improvement needs and through this, enhance and deepen the impact of the research outcomes.