Summary

This report presents case studies of schools participating in the External Partnerships component of the Low Socioeconomic Status Schools National Partnership project. The report provides six case studies of government, Catholic and independent schools that implemented partnerships with universities, as well as updating six case studies from an earlier progress report bearing on schools that had engaged in parent partnerships. Schools reported that the creation of external partnerships with universities had raised awareness of pathways for students. The case studies demonstrated that successful partnerships are: supported by school leaders, avoid deficit approaches, have a strong focus on student learning, are characterised by reciprocal trust and mutual benefit, entail the construction of new enabling structures and need to be adequately resourced.