With teacher education reform currently a key priority in government agendas, there is a need to better understand the scope, structure and sustainability of partnerships on a global scale (Jackson & Burch, 2019; National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education [NCATE], 2010; OECD, 2006; Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group [TEMAG], 2014). By bringing together twenty writing teams across 6 continents through a global project which commenced in 2021, we found striking models of school-university partnerships with innovative applications of policy, research and practice showcasing the breadth, depth and often complex nature of partnerships in action. These examples offer insight into how to implement successful partnerships where there is a common understanding, genuine reciprocity, and a desire to think outside the corporate benefits to consider a higher moral and cultural imperative with a focus on outreach and the development of citizenship.

The importance of school-university partnerships between universities and schools is becoming widely recognised with the purpose and function of such partnerships rapidly evolving (Burton & Greher, 2007). Moving beyond transactional relationships between universities and schools focused solely on the provision of professional experience, progressive models of school university partnerships are driven by innovation and transformation and in many cases able to make a marked impact on society. But this approach is not widespread. Shifting from a one-dimensional transactional relationship to a transformational partnership which values each perspective, takes concerted effort over a sustained period of time.

What we have learned by drawing these papers together from a diverse range of school-university partnerships is that success requires investment from all partners. Partnerships that are driven solely by universities set the tone of the partnership and limit the opportunity for a mutually enriching alliance arising from a shared vision and approach. If we look back over time, partnerships between schools and universities more broadly have served to bridge the practice theory divide which is fundamental in the provision of quality initial teacher education, however this limited view of partnerships may in fact be causing us to miss a fundamental driver that could be the key to successful sustainable partnerships. Moving beyond traditional notions limited to providing placements for pre-service teachers, contemporary understandings of the potential of school-university partnerships opens a myriad of benefits for both schools and universities and society more broadly.

The objectives and approaches that are captured in this symposium challenge us to think about the purpose and sustainability of school-university partnerships and the opportunities to shift from a transactional partnership to one on collaboration, reciprocity, the opportunity for co-design and the ability to impact on multiple levels. Within this symposium, we draw together international scholarship on policy-informed school-university partnerships from across the globe, each paper presenting an in-depth understanding of the policy context and initial teacher education reform agenda which defines their partnership model.

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