Silent Partners: Uncovering Middle School and High School Students' Perceptions of Their Roles in Two School-University Partnerships

The purpose of this study was to explore middle school and high school band students' perceptions of two ongoing school-university partnerships. Interviews and focus group interviews were conducted with school students to capture their unique perspectives and to support the tenets of formative and action research designs. Findings indicated that the students' overall assessment of the partnerships was positive, supportive, and enthusiastic, although students cited unclear expectations from preservice teachers as a concern. Recommended improvements for the preservice teachers included maintaining a proper teaching persona, varying rehearsal strategies, and selecting more difficult repertoire. Finally, the students firmly and altruistically viewed themselves as socializing agents for the preservice teachers and believed their role in the partnerships was essential. Consequently, the participants believed the rewards of working with the university students outweighed the challenges. Implications included creating space for student feedback, incorporating student repertoire selection, and modifying teaching persona.