A Scholar-Practitioner Approach to International Mentoring through Collaborative Partnerships.

A new international partnership in southern Belize that provided ongoing mentoring, teacher development, and resource allocation in two rural schools was examined through interviews with key individuals. This research was implemented through a scholar–practitioner approach, which embraces the concept of researcher as change agent. The results suggested that this partnership was providing increased educational capacity in the schools through the development of instructional strategies and intellectual capital. There were few problems mentioned, but inadequate communication and lack of parental involvement were factors for one volunteer. E attainment is often seen as a fundamental need in improving individual achievement and national economic development regardless of the current status of the country (Baldacci, Clements, Gupta, & Cui, 2008; Klasen, 2002). This means that national decisions on education often become politicized because of the importance of developing a generation of citizens who have a level of education that allows them to be effi cient and productive citizens (Ravitch, 2010). This politicization is exhibited in developed countries as resources for 226 Wesley D. Hickey, Peggy B. Gill, & Cathy Amonett Volume 5, Number 3 Scholar-Practitioner Quarterly education are often provided in ways aligned with a particular political party’s philosophy. Developing countries do not have the fi scal means to provide these types of resources. For example, Belize recognizes that better educational systems are an important national interest (Faber, 2010), but creating the educational capacity for student achievement may be challenging. One reason is that the educational foundation of professional teachers and administrators is often lacking (Thompson, 2008), as well as the aforementioned lack of fi nancial resources (McGillivray, Naud, & Santos-Paulino, 2010). Improving upon the problems of schools in developing countries may be analyzed through the lens of systemic change (Medley, Kennedy, O’Reilly, & Sweat, 2009). Systemic changes are recognized as important for long-term positive impacts (Peck, Gallucci, Sloan, & Lippincott, 2009). These changes in schools within developing countries may be challenging due to the variety of needs such as supplies, equipment, and educational attainment among personnel. One systemic approach to addressing these needs is the use of international partnerships that provide both resources and increased intellectual capital within the current system (Dolby & Rahman, 2008). Determining the effi cacy of these partnerships may be accomplished through participants who take a scholar–practitioner approach. Scholar–practitioners analyze information and provide feedback to determine the effectiveness of a system (Wasserman & Kram, 2009). This analysis and critique has a goal of increasing democratic behaviors and improving social justice (Jenlink, 2005). The purpose of this article is to report on one initiative, analyzed from a scholar–practitioner perspective, which provides systemic collaboration between the Belize Ministry of Education, the humanitarian organization Teachers for a Better Belize (TFABB), the United States Peace Corps, and two schools within the Toledo district of Belize. This is a partnership in which resources, mentoring, and educational knowledge are disseminated through focused Peace Corps Volunteer placement and humanitarian support. This article reports on the benefi ts and challenges of this model based upon interviews of teachers, principals, and Peace Corps volunteers who have been involved in the affected schools during the early phase. Increasing Educational Capacity through Systemic Change: A Scholar–Practitioner Approach Increasing educational capacity of schools is a strategic decision that requires collaboration among many stakeholders. Schools in developing countries may accept partnerships that are both positive and negative. Many humanitarian efforts have good intentions, but they adversely disrupt the processes that are in place. Local administrators accept initiatives that are not in the students’ best interest because of the supplies and other goods that are offered. Other efforts are benefi cial because organizers understand the context through local relationships International Mentoring Through Collaborative Partnerships 227 Scholar-Practitioner Quarterly Volume 5, Number 3 that ensure supportive improvement. The dynamics of a partnership, which may provide varying levels of comfort at the local level (Achtem, 2010), provide systemic starting points for change. The starting points of a system, along with the impact of feedback, are important long-term factors. Gribbon (2004) stated: As I understood it, what really mattered was simply that some systems are very sensitive to their starting conditions, so that a tiny difference in the initial ‘push’ you give them causes a big difference in where they end up, and there is feedback, so that what a system does affects its own behavior.