One school-university partnership model – ten years on

School experience is a critical element of initial teacher education and school-university partnerships are central to the effectiveness of school experience. At the time of writing, the University of Glasgow has operated a Partnership Model of school experience for over ten years. This paper describes the development and evolution of our institution’s specific version of a partnership model as observed by ten colleagues who undertook a range of school and university-based roles within the model during the initial decade. As researchers who have also assumed roles within the partnership model in recent years, we utilised expert interviews as a tool to capture the experiences of our colleagues and peers, where participants were asked a range of open-ended questions. The qualitative data sets were thematically analysed, with several key themes emerging: relationships and communication, identity, teacher learning, and challenges. Ten years on from the creation and implementation of our Partnership Model, the reflections gleaned from the participants of this study have highlighted the benefits obtained and challenges faced in implementation as the model continues to evolve.