School-University Partnerships: A Model for Supporting Transition and Persistence from K-16

Abstract

The reasons why students persist in their post-secondary learning are complex. This paper proposes a model for the development of K-16 partnerships that promote student success through the transition from secondary school to post-secondary, supported by teachers, faculty members, and educational developers. This model proposes that each of the partners engage in developing sustainable, collaborative projects. These projects have at their core a focus on students’ transition from one educational institution to the next, with the intended outcome of increasing rates of persistence, while reducing rates of attrition. Not all students may have post-secondary education as their personal goal, but for those that do, this support model aims to provide a framework to scaffold the transition so that learners are successful, and teachers and faculty are prepared to support learners as they move from one institution to another.
 
 Les raisons qui expliquent pourquoi les étudiants persistent dans leur apprentissage postsecondaire sont complexes. Le présent article propose un modèle pour l’élaboration de partenariats K-16 qui vise à favoriser la réussite étudiante lors de la transition de l’école secondaire à l’éducation postsecondaire avec l’appui d’enseignants, de professeurs et de concepteurs pédagogiques. À la base, ces projets se focalisent sur la transition des étudiants d’un établissement d’éducation vers un autre. Ils visent à faire augmenter le taux de persistance et à faire diminuer le taux d’abandon. L’éducation postsecondaire ne constitue pas forcément un but personnel pour tous les étudiants, mais pour ceux dont c’est l’objectif, le présent modèle vise à fournir un cadre pour structurer la transition et soutenir la réussite des apprenants de même que la préparation des enseignants et des professeurs qui appuieront les étudiants dans leur transition.

The K-16 education movement: common themes across K-12 and higher education systems to inform development and evaluation

“…The K-16 movement broadly refers to efforts to streamline educational pathways across K-12 and higher academic and other systems, in part to enhance adult and career readiness and in part to address inequitable opportunities and resources faced by many vulnerable students who become disconnected from formal schooling (Hondzel et al, 2019). The movement often involves linkages among school districts, higher education centers, job training facilities, employers, and other entities that serve to bridge K-12 completion with ongoing readiness development into emerging adulthood (Lee and Jaeger, 2021).…”