The positive nature and quality of the relationships between the individual teachers and academics, between the coordinators in the schools and in the University, and within and between the teams as a whole on each site are apparent from much of what has been written above. Overall the pairing of the teachers with their academic equivalent was positive and worked very well in both years, although the relationships in 2003 have not been able to be as close or intense across four schools as in 2003 with only the one. Nevertheless collaboration, cooperation and mutuality of support have been positive elements at both the individual and group level in both years, with staff from within the University as well as the schools commenting upon its impact.
It wasn’t just support [from the University] but more the professional relationship between all the staff involved in the program [which] has created a very strong bond (a teacher)
One of the things I am really enjoying is the interaction between our staff and the high school staff…it is a very interesting development because it is breaking ground and what could be seen as artificial barriers between secondary and tertiary education…and I find that a very positive spin-off of the whole exercise (an academic)
[A] genuine partnership…mutual support and recognition…ease of the professional relationship…professional goodwill and excellence…[a] common language and perspective (a principal)171
I’ve got back more than I have given (an academic)
In addition there are several other significant outcomes of the relationship between the schools and the University which were unexpected.
For the University, the experience of seeing the first stage of the credit-bearing Diploma being taught face to face, by teachers and in a school setting, has had some positive implications. Firstly the teachers’ feedback on the courses, and through them, from their students, has been influential in changes subsequently made to the Diploma program. The professional nature of that feedback and the openness of the University staff to consider its implications have both been significant elements reflective of the mutual respect which has developed between the staff of the partner institutions. The changes made to the Diploma as a direct result of the UniSA-PAL pilot include structural changes to the award as a whole and a significant revision of at least one course within it. In the Program Director’s words,
That transfer of information and feeding into the development of the course is just brilliant from our perspective…The PAL project is showing us new insights that we can take on board to make ourselves more effective in what we do. And it’s had a huge impact on the review of [the Diploma]…a number of changes are a direct result of the PAL trial and what’s happening this year. So for that I think the University’s got a lot to be thankful for. So I think UniSA-PAL has had a …major impact on the developments for the Diploma…So that’s a big bonus for us.
Since the changes envisaged for the Diploma included offering it internally in 2004, there have also been some exchanges between the academics and their teacher pairs about how to do this, and some learning about supportive pedagogy of the sort more common in schools than in universities.
Similarly some of the teachers have commented upon the wider benefits to their schools from their participation in the UniSA-PAL pilot, and in particular that some of the content and the intellectual frameworks of the PAL courses are enriching the teaching of the senior secondary subjects for which they and other staff are responsible.
So [other, non PAL] students, who are highly disadvantaged,…are still benefiting from some of the methodologies, from some of the ideas that those who are teaching [PAL] are cross-referencing into other classes…that’s very powerful…the sharing, of the skills and the knowledge that comes from the PAL program, wider here on the campus.
The teachers also commented upon the benefits from the PAL courses for students who may not get into university at the end of their PAL course, or who may not complete it, perhaps not even continuing to the end of the year, enhancing their engagement with other programs available in the school to which they had transferred and preparing them for more successful engagement with post-secondary education therafter.
One of [the students] said today that even if he didn’t get into uni [and he will], he’s learned so much that he can take to some other field, and that nothing would be lost because his writing skills have improved, his ability to read a text, and interpret…and the others [students] agreed that was the case [for them as well].
There may be some who persist with a couple of subjects and sit the STAT test…they will have acquired the skill…[and]…still will potentially be quite successful university students.
[They will] use the skills they’ve learnt to better sit the STAT tests, and perhaps better prepare for university.