| This analytic paper utilizes a case study approach to examine perceptions of interest groups involved in a collaborative teacher education pilot project. One goal is to provide a conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between school-university collaboration and institutional change in universities. Another goal is to explain differences in the representative perceptions of collaborating institutions by examining events and perceptions of events through an analysis of conflict management.; This paper incorporates the historical elements of literature on school-university collaboration, teacher education reform, and organizational change in universities. These three bodies of literature are utilized to explain differences in perceptions between groups internal to the collaborative effort and the emergence and handling of internal and external conflict.; The setting for this study is a university that prepares teachers for a large, urban school district. Participants include key administrators, faculty members, and teachers involved in planning and/or implementing a pilot teacher education program. Data were collected through interviews and augmented by observations and an analysis of relevant documents.; Educators across disciplines and levels of schooling modeled for aspiring teachers, a process of institutional change through collaboration. Differences in perceptions and in the emergence of conflict can be best characterized by institutional group. Conflicts generally appear to reflect differences in institutional cultures, perceived roles, and personal priorities brought into focus by groups articulating their individual and collective interests, and expectations regarding teacher education reform. |
