Education-Community Partnerships: Who Uses Whom for What Purposes?

Abstract

An examination of education-community partnerships from the viewpoint of community partners reveals the importance of understanding motivations and expectations for partnership success. The analysis uses a typology of motivations: a continuum from committed to supportive, through indifferent, to protective and exploitive. Three education-community partnerships, two successful and one failed, provide "reality" examples. The lessons learned focus on leadership, goal setting, power relationships, perceptions, context, modeling, and results.