The purposes of this study were to: (1) determine to what extent collaborations between schools and business are perceived as successful by the partners, and (2) to identify those factors which contribute to the success of the collaboration. The population was the school and business partners in the Adopt-A-School program in the Columbus Public School district (N = 519), Columbus, Ohio.
The design of the study utilized both an ex post facto static-group comparison and correlational methodology. Data collection was by the survey method. The instrument was designed to measure the dependent variable, success, and the six independent variables: environment, member, process/structure, communication, purpose, and resources. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Fisher's z Transformation and Comparison between Independent rs, simultaneous multiple regression, and semi-partial regression analysis.
The major findings of the study were: (1) The school/business partners perceived themselves as having achieved slightly better than average success in the collaborative effort and in regards to the factors which may contribute to success. (2) There was a significantly lower correlation between purpose and success for the business partners than the school partners. (3) The greatest variance in success was explained by the common contribution of all six independent variables. (4) The majority of the partnerships focused on classroom and special service involvement which have a low impact on the educational system.
The major recommendations for practice were: (1) to consider all six variables in all phases of the collaborative process as they are interrelated; it is their common contribution that largely influences success; (2) for the partners to reevaluate their goals to determine if agreement exists; and, if they are measurable; (3) to focus on management and policy development if greater impact on the educational system is desired; (4) to retain the name, "Adopt-A-School".
Recommendations for further research included: (1) replication of this study on all types of school/business partnerships; (2) case studies; (3) factor analysis; (4) more research on the pre-collaborative phase; (5) mandated research; and, (6) methods for building the factors into the collaborative process.