Tracing the Development of a Rural University–District Partnership: Encouraging District Voice and Challenging Assumptions Leadership

Abstract

The increase in accountability on both preK–12 districts and institutes of higher education has heightened the demands for partnerships between the two. Such programs have the ability to provide contextually focused, meaningful experiences by combining the theory and research knowledge of university faculty with the practical experience of district leadership (Grogan, Bredeson, Sherman, Preis, & Beaty, 2009; Preis, Grogan, Sherman, & Beaty, 2007). This article provides a Year 1 account of one such partnership between a university and a rural school district, focusing on how the project incorporated and encouraged district voice and input into leadership preparation and how the partnership challenged standing assumptions about what quality instruction is and what makes a good leader. Based on a design-based research methodology, the findings are categorized into the following themes, which emerged through a constant comparison analysis (Strauss, 1987): the application of knowledge to specific district-based issues, leadership exploration, emergent and iterative program design, and embedded leadership training.