Editorial: Editors' introduction

Citation

Morrison, J.D., Knotts, S. and Currin, E. (2024), "Editorial: Editors' introduction", PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 93-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/PDSP-08-2024-043

Welcome to this issue of PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice, which marks the halfway point of our term as an editorial team. Like teaching itself, serving as editors has been a bundle of possibilities, learning curves, triumphs and tribulations. To borrow the melodious words of Cross et al. in this issue’s Thank You for Your Service column, it has reflected the “beautiful complexity” of organizational change and evolution. Wondering about other uses of this intriguing phrase, we examined a range of articles addressing the nuances of scientific exploration and thought – from physics (Souillard, 1983) to sociology (Nockur & Phattheicher, 2021) to chemistry (Wüst, Li, & Landau, 2011) to telecommunications (Keegan, 2023). Scholars have also turned to the phrase to describe distinctly artistic endeavors, including photography (Miller & Rosso, 2023), aesthetics (Forsythe, Nadal, Sheehy, Cela-Conde, & Sawey, 2011), poetry (Fulton, 2005) and multilingual creative writing (Acosta, 2023). These diverse applications inspired us to consider the “beautiful complexity” constituting the science and art of school–university partnerships.

Undergirding the science of effective partnerships is a clear list of definitive characteristics – the Nine Essentials (Cosenza et al., 2023). Using these criteria to guide our practice, we can measure our impact, study our work and draw conclusions from quantitative and qualitative data. We can predict how certain actions and interventions might transfer from one context to another and make data-driven decisions for continuous improvement.

However, effective partnership is also an art, crafted from trusting relationships that transcend the constraints of Likert scales or even qualitative coding. Partnership requires time, negotiation and committed effort from all community members. It is about the interplay of factors – people, circumstances, ideas, resources, institutional histories, prior knowledge, educational beliefs and future visions – that can only flourish with skilled and willing participants.

This issue, dedicated to partnership’s “beautiful complexity,” recognizes that partnering can be difficult. Amid challenges, obstacles and failures, we also maintain that partnering can be exhilarating. We are stronger together as we forge relationships that ultimately strengthen and support teaching and learning. The articles in this issue call attention to the science and art of effective partnerships in exemplary ways.

We begin with Wolfe and Hartman discussing how forced adaptation to remote mentoring of teaching candidates during the COVID-19 pandemic provided a longitudinal alternative to in-person clinical mentoring. In the crux of the crisis, Essential 6, regarding articulated agreements, became a centering strategy that facilitated ongoing support and fostered mentoring relationships. As Goree et al. (2023) argued in their explanation of that grounding principle – “It is not simple or easy to establish a partnership that addresses the needs, values and desired outcomes that are central to the goals of all parties involved” (p. 133) – that Wolfe and Hartman not only navigated this extraordinary hurdle but also gleaned insights worth sharing with readers reflects beautiful complexity indeed.

Next, Guillaume and Hands demonstrate the art of partnership by reconceptualizing the National Network for Educational Renewal’s tripartite model as an important framework for building strong school–university partnerships with the potential to impact school culture and climate. They argue that such a reconceptualization could positively impact recruitment of math teachers during a dire teaching shortage and ultimately support a more democratic society. Likewise, we see potential for applying their ideas in a range of subjects and spaces.

Then, Hall Pistorio and Hendricks underline that meaningful partnerships are instituted and reinforced through future educators’ ongoing professional learning experiences, as highlighted in Essentials 2 and 4. Their article focuses on these preservice educators, who are deeply committed to their work at professional development schools, their reflective practice and constructive knowledge. The authors substantiate these educators’ commitments by sharing how an international book exchange project between an elementary school in Uganda and an elementary school in the United States of America had a uniquely positive impact on the preservice teachers participating in the project-based learning initiative.

In the following article, Drew et al. advocate for addressing the very real and pervasive issues of teacher burnout and attrition through an ethic of care. As they argue, current school settings and structures are not attuned to and ultimately in conflict with teachers’ well-being, which impacts their ability to remain in classrooms and the teaching field as a whole. While centering the science of psychology and resilience, the article also taps into the art of addressing moral dimensions and the social-emotional impact of schooling for teachers as well as students, thereby evoking the beautiful complexity of the other pieces in this issue.

Next, Hunt and Hudson consider the science of how new technology, specifically Alexa flash briefings, can expand the accessibility of virtual teaching and learning for student teachers, their mentor teachers and university supervisors. Citing steep learning curves and considerable time investment for consistent content development as challenges to the implementation of this program, the article also showcases a number of advantageous outcomes resulting from such beautiful complexity. To the authors, the technology’s potential for daily connection, clarity and brevity of communication, efficacy-building and substantiated multitasking make it worthwhile, especially to illuminate “the evolving relationship between [conversational agents], flash briefings, and education, paving the way for innovation and continuous improvement.”

Subsequently, Cromwell et al. reiterate that genuine collaboration and shared commitment are at the crux of effective partnerships. Throughout their discussion of how members from one college and one city school united to pilot a program to improve literacy knowledge and pedagogy, the genuine commitment is evident as participants embarked on a two-year professional development journey to enhance the literacy of the students they serve. Cromwell et al.’s article underscores how the artful collaboration among faculty members, educators and teacher candidates arose from the beautiful complexity of all participants’ shared commitment to learning and leading.

Finally, we bring the issue to a close with the piece that inspired its theme. Reprising their creative approach that caught our attention at this year’s National Association for School–University Partnerships conference, Cross et al. offer a love letter to the dedicated staff of a teacher residency project. Acknowledging the “beautiful complexity” of their collaboration in the public forum of our Thank You for Your Service column aligns with their broader aim of supporting “full engagement in this work, dedication to disruption, and continued commitment to reimagined futures for teachers and youth.” As always, we invite readers to reflect on their own beautifully complex partnerships, welcoming article submissions – research papers, practitioner inquiry, conceptual papers, case studies and literature reviews – or more viewpoint-focused submissions like Cross et al.’s contribution.