The role of partnerships in education is becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide, in order to meet social and educational needs. Educational establishments are joining forces with each other, with social care and health services, with voluntary organizations, and with employers and many other organizations, to improve the provision of education and other services (eg Billet et al, 2007).  In England, policy reforms in 14-19 education under the 1997-2010 New Labour Government placed an implicit requirement on schools, colleges and other organizations to join together in order to deliver more choice and flexibility in young people’s education (DCSF, 2008). Apprenticeships, Diplomas and Foundation Learning which incorporate vocational education were introduced, to run alongside more traditional academic qualifications such as GCSEs and A-levels. The current Coalition Government is supporting the development of academies and free schools and has introduced changes to educational funding mechanisms. This has created a new landscape for partnership work in England: schools and colleges will need to work with other educational institutions to raise standards, and with employers, local community organisations and the voluntary sector to deliver the full range of educational opportunities for young people and address the skills shortage (BIS, 2010; DfE, 2010). These partnerships are expected to be developed by schools and colleges themselves, rather than imposed upon them by local authorities or central government. The requirements for partnership, however, are complicated by the increasing marketisation of the English education system, whereby schools are placed in competition with one another for pupils and funding (eg Bagley, 2006; Baker, 2009).

Theoretical Perspective: The literature on partnership approaches in education, particularly with respect to vocational learning, has been growing steadily over recent years. Partnerships have been conceptualised in terms of the ways in which they develop (Billet et al, 2007); their structure (Hodgson and Spours, 2006); and purpose (Higham and Yeomans, 2010). This paper focuses on partnership processes, particularly the degree to which educational institutions have integrated joint working into their planning and structures.

Context: This paper reports research undertaken as part of a much larger longitudinal project, the Centre Research Study (CReSt), looking at responses to policy reforms in the field of 14-19 education in 52 schools, colleges and other centres in England. The participating centres were selected as a cross-sectional representation of the different types of educational provision available for 14-19 year olds in England. The research in this paper is based on interviews and focus groups from case-study visits to 18 of these centres.

Research Questions: How do different organisations work together in 14-19 education partnerships? Which factors contribute to the ways in which a school or college engages in partnership working?

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