Innovations in Mentoring: Creating Partnership Links in a Florida School-University Collaborative

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to invite school and university faculty to participate in an action study of mentoring to promote deeper, more extensive partnership links. A faculty support group was formed in 1997 to promote professional development within the school-university collaborative at The Florida State University (FSU) and The Florida State University School (FSUS). Through an applied study of mentoring, a diverse group of teachers, professors, and administrators was guided to make a contribution to teacher research and the mentoring literature. Members of the Partnership Support Group (PSG) produced original research material that was published as an edited book. This discussion is organized to emphasize the purpose and scope of the study; the sociopolitical framework that underscored its implementation; strategies for developing co- mentoring research and group structures; and assessments and results.