Super PL: Supporting Partnerships between Employers, Community Colleges, and Research Universities

This explanatory case study describes the collaborative process through which an ongoing research-practice partnership (RPP) between the Information Technology (IT) department of a local educational agency, the Information and Engineering Technologies (IET) division of 2-year Institute of Higher Education, and academic researchers from 4-year research institutions designed and iterated upon a professional learning (PL) model for internship supervisors in response to stakeholder needs and challenges. The PL model was developed with the goal of supporting information and communication technology (ICT) career readiness and improving student internship and employment outcomes. Data sources included artifacts (e.g., planning documents, communication between partners, annual evaluation reports, and external evaluator meeting notes). The four dimensions of Henrick’s [1] framework for evaluating RPPs served as the conceptual framework and informed our inductive thematic analytic strategy [2]. Results have the potential to inform future RPPs between employers, community colleges, and research institutions to support students in internships.