Partner Up: The Role of Collaboration in Education

Abstract

Individuals and organizations collaborate when they are unable to achieve their goals on their own. Considering the complex and ambitious goals of many education organizations, the education sector would appear ripe for collaboration. This capstone explores the unique challenges and opportunities inherent in collaboration between education organizations by focusing on district-university partnerships. District-university partnerships must navigate significant challenges, including differences in organizational culture, ways of working, theories of action, and goals. But these differences must not be viewed solely as challenges to overcome; they are also opportunities to be leveraged. Indeed, differences are precisely what lead to unique capabilities and perspectives: essential elements for effective collaboration. District-university partnerships provide a complex context for leadership. Effective leaders must be able to cross organizational boundaries, work effectively in situations with little or ambiguous formal authority, create systems and structures where currently none exist, develop partnership goals and processes that can coexist with those of each partner organization, and lead a learning organization. To do so, leaders must draw upon expertise not only in education, but from other disciplines and processes as well, including negotiation, collaboration, and business.