The Challenges and Benefits Presented by Partnerships within Rural Education in Wales

This paper examines the implementation of partnership working in education in rural Wales, contributing both to advancing critical understanding of the dynamics and experiences of partnership working in rural areas, and to the development of rural education policy and practice. By direct liaison with key stakeholders, the benefits and challenges faced by current partnerships are addressed and considered in detail. The main benefits of partnership working centre around greater efficiency being achieved, enhancing choice to the learner, allowing equity between different representatives and enriching understanding through the pooling of resources. The overriding challenges are based upon geographical difficulties, securing funding and ascertaining accountability. The article concludes by suggesting a number of core principles that should be addressed whilst drawing up a partnership agreement. Finally, the paper summarizes that an effective, well-planned partnership can result in many benefits for education sectors in Wales.