This research used Q methodology and follow-up interviews to investigate essential elements required to establish and maintain successful school-university partnerships as reported by principals, teachers, and university coordinators in 10 partnerships. Of the partnerships, five were voluntary and grant-related and the other five were required by the district for Chicago public schools on probation. Analysis of the 34 Q sorts (54 items based on a grounded theory of partnership process) identified five factors representing different perspectives on key elements for successful partnerships, with participants tending to load on factors based on member position and/or context of the partnership.
The question of what makes writing “good” touches several important areas of classroom writing instruction: assessment and evaluation, instruction, and teacher response during one‐on‐one conferences. The current paper examines contemporary views of what makes writing “good,” along with the classroom implications and limitations of these views. In addition, a research study investigating different perspectives on what makes writing “good” is reported. The study included 60 classroom teachers from urban high‐needs schools as well as suburban schools, preservice teachers, and professional writers. A Q methodological analysis identified three perspectives. Participants expressing perspective 1 defined good writing as good thinking and communication. In Perspective 2, structure and clarity were considered most essential to good writing. In Perspective 3, purpose, voice, and conventions were emphasized. Participants' views differed greatly on the need for predictable organization in writing, the value of surprise, and the necessity of correct conventions. Classroom implications are discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.