The Nature of Agricultural Industry School Partnerships: A Case Study

Abstract

This research analyses the perspectives of all key stakeholders in an agricultural industry school partnership (ISP), including industry partners, which are rarely identified in the literature. Understanding this range of perspectives provides people who deliver and participate in ISPs with a greater understanding of how to deliver quality partnerships that benefit students, educators, and the agricultural industry. This research aimed to explore the nature of one agricultural ISP in Gippsland, Australia, by understanding the structure, key principles identified by participants, and how the outputs met the teacher and industry partners’ objectives. A qualitative case study utilising surveys and semi-structured interviews with the teacher and three industry participants, semi-structured interviews with the Principal, an education department employee and industry managers, and pre- and post-surveys with students, were used to collect data for this narrative analysis. The findings demonstrate that the ISP has a complex ecological structure. Key principles identified by participants included having a facilitator, clear communication and collaboration, funding, the ISP being engaging and flexible, acknowledging industry partners, and reinforcing the learnings. Teacher and industry participants’ objectives were met, including: increasing student and teacher knowledge of agriculture, and for one industry partner, knowledge of how to deliver relevant content.