Benefits and limitations of partnerships amongst families, schools and universities: A systematic literature review

This systematic literature review aggregates and analyses existing research over the past three decades that has examined the partnerships amongst families, schools, and universities. The review, consisting of 24 papers, teases out the benefits of partnerships not only to their participants but also to the broader communities, with the ultimate goal of nurturing children and young people. The review unearths two key agendas of existing partnerships research, namely teacher education and social justice. As extant literature on partnerships amongst families, schools, and universities is generally theoretically light, we take a sociological perspective to grapple with power imbalances as well as educational and social inequalities that either explicitly or implicitly ripple through those partnerships. Implications are provided for future practice and research.