In this symposium we invite participants to explore understandings and practices of partnership in the education sector from a leadership perspective. We are interested in how leaders frame and enact their roles when involved in partnerships, and furthermore, how a focus on leadership practices might enable richer understandings of partnerships in education.

Partnership is an elusive and imprecise concept (Tomlinson, 2005), and partnerships have various intentions and structures according to context as well as the organisations and individuals involved. Partnerships are imbued with positive expectations, largely based on an assumption that more can be achieved through co-operation than by individuals (Tomlinson, 2005). Within the education sector, there are long traditions of partnerships between higher education institutions (HE) and schools, reinforced in recent years by being mandated in many countries (Bernay et al, 2020). There exists a considerable body of research about these partnerships in their various forms (e.g. training, developing competence, carrying out research and bringing about improvement), but there has been little attention afforded to the role of leaders, especially within a European context (Valli et al, 2018). Outside of the education sector, emphasis has been placed on leaders as vital to the sustainability of partnerships, and their centrality in developing relationships characterised by trust, respect and dialogue (Lasker & Weiss, 2003). This symposium is, therefore, intended to shed light on leading partnerships within the education sector in different countries, providing an opportunity for exploring leadership practices within partnerships, and potentially creating a springboard for future knowledge-creation.

Why partnerships may be positive and for whom is not always clearly defined (Tomlinson, 2005). Whilst the importance of egalitarianism and mutual respect in partnerships within the education sector has been widely emphasised (Lefever-Davis et al, 2007) and despite intentions of ‘power sharing’ (Farrell et al, 2021), there are considerable barriers (Walsh & Backe, 2013).  The intention of this symposium, therefore, is not to seek prescriptive or normative solutions for leading partnerships. Rather, we consider the idea of leading in partnership: understanding and working with aspects of power, formal demands and the dynamic needs of those involved. We seek a critical and hopeful approach to the question: how might educational leaders bring about positive change by leading in partnership?

The presentation of findings and reflections from four different partnership projects in Norway, Sweden and England will be an introduction to exploring how partnerships in different educational contexts are framed, organised and led. Whilst the four projects vary in purpose, organisation and outcomes, the roles and actions of leaders are equally significant. In Norway, research was conducted on partnerships for improvement between underperforming municipalities, a county governor and two universities. Findings suggest that although an egalitarian approach was mandated, there were considerable barriers. In Sweden, findings from researching a partnership between a university and a network of schools indicate two key aspects of leading partnerships: the need to lead for unpredictability, and how partnerships enable leaders to expand their understandings and practices of leading. The first project from England is a university-school partnership in which schools are being supported to develop curricula shaped by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This project reveals the efforts of leaders navigating tensions between moral obligations and the limitations of compliance. The second project from England is a case study of eight partnerships in different regions, demonstrating the importance of contextual factors in the framing and practice of leading partnerships.

The diversity in experiences and understandings presented reflect and highlight the complex nature of partnerships. The projects provide rich ground on which to develop critical perspectives and further thinking about the roles and significance of leaders in partnerships.

Bernay, R., Stringer, P., Milne, J., & Jhagroo, J. (2020). Three models of effective school–university partnerships. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 55, 133-148. Farrell, C.C., Penuel, W.R., Coburn, C., Daniel, J., & Steup, L. (2021). Research-practice partnerships in education: The state of the field. William T. Grant Foundation.Journal of Educational Research, 100(4), 204-210. Lasker, R. D., & Weiss, E. S. (2003). Creating partnership synergy: the critical role of community stakeholders. Journal of health and human services administration, 119-139. Lefever-Davis, S., Johnson, C., & Pearman, C. (2007). Two sides of a partnership: Egalitarianism and empowerment in school-university partnerships. The Journal of Educational Research, 100(4), 204-210. Tomlinson, F. (2005). Idealistic and pragmatic versions of the discourse of partnership. Organization Studies, 26(8), 1169-1188. Valli, L., Stefanski, A., & Jacobson, R. (2018) School-community partnership models: implications for leadership, International Journal of Leadership in Education, 21(1), 31-49. Walsh, M. E., & Backe, S. (2013). School–university partnerships: Reflections and opportunities. Peabody Journal of Education, 88(5), 594-607.