A mixed methods study examining a successful international collaborative partnership: The efficacy of textbooks/educational resources on student achievement

For nearly three decades, foreign assistance from the United States and Europe was the major contributor to funding education development in Sub-Saharan Africa. There was, however limited research on international collaboration as a strategic approach. Many African countries are facing a serious education crisis, at the heart of which lays a severe shortage of textbooks. The problem under investigation was a unique international collaboration that focused on the efficacy of educational resources to improve the education process, specifically student achievement. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to examine, analyze, and divulge the impact of a successful collaborative partnership and educational resources on the education process in general and student achievement in particular. This mixed methods study employed both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches in analyzing an international collaboration between university researcher and secondary school teachers.;In Phase 1-Qualitative, this case study investigated complex and multidimensional collaborative processes that came into being, the development of millions of educational resources, and its efficacy on student achievement. The study further examined the ways the international collaboration attempted to impact capacity building and comprehend cultural differences. The analysis of archival documents, observations, and interviews with collaborative leaders, collaborative writers, principals, teachers, and students generated the theory of "visionary" leadership as an essential characteristic of successful international collaboration. The visionary leadership style is developed through consensus building, cross-cultural communication, constructing mutual respect and understandings, as well as transforming educational infrastructure. Thus, a theory of visionary leadership was generated and employed by this study's international collaborations and had a significant impact on the outcome of the collaborative partnership.;In Phase II-Quantitative, through data analysis using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS -- Series 9.0), Descriptive Statistics, Cronbach Alpha Reliability, and Analysis of Variance, the researcher examined Pre-project and Post-project student achievement in science subjects as measured by national examination results. The Results indicates that the availability of science and mathematics educational resources positively impacted student achievement in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.;The collaboration between university researchers and teachers was found to generate an overwhelming strategic philosophy of joint ownership in knowledge creation and knowledge exchange. The study argues that in its attempt to build institutional and individual capacity, as well as produce educational resources, successful collaborations embodied certain core themes. The investigation revealed five emergent themes essential to successful international collaboration between organizations, particularly university researchers and secondary school teachers: visionary leadership, communication, environment, purpose, and process and structure. This study illuminated the ways that future collaboration in the context of creating sustainable programs in a communitarian society inevitably incorporates visionary leadership, multiculturalism, and communication strategy into solving traditional but complex communal problems.;INDEX WORDS Collaborative Partnership Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Educational Resources Grounded Theory Knowledge Creation Knowledge Transfer Participatory Research Theory Pre-Collaboration Planning Student Achievement Textbook Development Instrument Visionary Leadership Disclaimer: The researcher was a senior member of an international education development program that was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). As such, the researcher acknowledges USAID for its support of the Africa Education Initiative (AEI) --Textbooks and Learning Materials Program RLA-A-00-09-00082, without which, this study would have not been possible.