A multiple case study of an interorganizational collaboration: Exploring the first year of an industry partnership focused on middle school engineering education

Abstract

Background Calls to improve learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and particularly engineering, present significant challenges for school systems. Partnerships among engineering industry, universities, and school systems to support learning appear promising, but current work is limited in its conclusions because it lacks a strong connection to theoretical work in interorganizational collaboration. Purpose/Hypothesis This study aims to reflect more critically on the process of how organizations build relationships to address the following research question: In a public–private partnership to integrate engineering into middle school science curriculum, how do stakeholder characterizations of the collaborative process align with existing frameworks of interorganizational collaboration? Design/Method This qualitative, embedded multiple case study considered in‐depth pre‐ and post‐year interviews with teachers, administrators, industry, and university personnel during the first year of the Partnering with Educators and Engineers in Rural Schools (PEERS) program. Transcripts were analyzed using a framework of interorganizational collaboration operationalized for our context. Results Results provide insights into stakeholder perceptions of collaborative processes in the first year of the PEERS program across dimensions of collaboration. These dimensions mapped to three central discussion points with relevance for school–university–industry partnerships: school collaboration as an emergent and negotiated process, tension in collaborating across organizations, and fair share in collaborating toward a social goal. Conclusions Taking a macro‐level look at the collaborative processes involved enabled us to develop implications for collaborative stakeholders to be intentional about designing for future success. By systematically applying a framework of collaboration and capitalizing on the rich situational findings possible through a qualitative approach, we shift our understanding of collaborative processes in school–university–industry partnerships for engineering education and contribute to the development of collaboration theory.

Resiliency through partnerships: Prioritizing STEM workforce pathways amid macro challenges

“…Often, these partnerships result from connections among individuals, specifically teachers reaching out within their network to bridge gaps between student interest and curriculum availability (Hands, 2006). While interpersonal relationships are essential to the success of programs targeting students' vocational success, theories on interorganizational collaboration also emphasize organization-level factors such as hierarchy, shared vision, and resource allocation (Gillen et al, 2021;Badgett, 2016) Researchers have identified that young rural Virginians face issues related to educational attainment such as higher dropout rates, lower graduation rates, and generally lower rates of high school degrees or the equivalent when compared to their peers across the commonwealth in suburban and urban communities (Alleman & Holly, 2012). In rural regions of Virginia, only 27% of the population holds an associate degree or higher, compared to the 51% of the rest of the commonwealth and 46% for the nation (National Center for Education Statistics & U.S. Department of Education, 2017; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), 2017).…”

“…Gillen et al examine the tension in interorganizational collaboration between public-private partnerships, noting factors that can mitigate or amplify the perception of pull between collaboration demands and organizational demands. Gillen et al also identified stressors to collaboration such as organizational culture, beliefs/skill deficits, environment, and available resources (Gillen et al, 2021). COVID-19 exacerbated this tension in STW partnerships.…”

Collaborative construction of artificial intelligence curriculum in primary schools

“…The complex curriculum development environment exemplified by AI education appears to be increasingly common in precollege engineering education (Andrée & Hansson, 2019; Gillen et al, 2021). The planning and development of engineering education policies and programs often goes beyond the public schooling system and is participated in by various external agencies (Olitsky, 2017; Tytler et al, 2017).…”

Work in Progress: A Systematic Literature Review of Engineering Education in Middle School Classrooms

“…Additionally, more than half of the studies (56%) integrated science learning into the engineering unit. This was primarily through the use of science concepts to justify design decisions [25] [38]. Table 3 highlights which NGSS core ideas were emphasized during the engineering lesson.…”

“…Table 3 highlights which NGSS core ideas were emphasized during the engineering lesson. Physical science concepts were dominant, including ideas like energy transfer [38] and forces and motion [16] [21] [22] [36] [44]. For example, students designed a solar oven using ideas of heat transfer [38].…”