Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2004-07
Helping schools to know themselves: exploring partnerships between schools and Higher Education Institutions to generate trustful,critical dialogue for review and development
This article examines three projects in which a Higher Education Institution (HEI)
worked in partnership with individual secondary schools to support school
self-review. Each project was designed and negotiated to meet the needs of the
school. External ‘visitors’ from the HEI worked alongside
teachers to gather evidence and develop critical and reflective dialogue as well as
working to identify and explore the perspectives of students/learners and other
members of the school community. Evidence was presented back to the schools in a
variety of forms, supporting accumulation of knowledge through dialogue. The
article’s discussion is based on a meeting involving representatives of
the HEI and the schools, in which the processes and outcomes of the three projects
were examined to consider the values of this kind of approach and the lessons
learnt. Issues and challenges both for Higher Education and for schools were
identified to foster the use of evidence and dialogue in supporting school improvement.
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