General and specific characteristics of a university-school partnership: Promoting learning opportunities for students with deafness or hearing impairments

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify six key features involved in the development and enhancement of a university-school partnership and to share insights on how these features can be used to promote richer experiential learning opportunities of both university students and young children with deafness or hearing impairments, eventually resulting in synergistic university-school interactions. The key features are categorized into general characteristics which are applicable to many university-school partnerships (shared goals, availability of funding for a highly successful revamped partnership, and inter-impact mechanisms) and specific characteristics for university partnerships with specialized schools (interdisciplinary collaboration, distinct roles, and expertise resources) in the process of building and implementing university-school partnerships. The key features and their implications for the successful future university-school partnerships are discussed in an educational context.