Making “Collaboration” Problematic in Collaborative School-University Action Research: Studying with Urban Teacher Researchers to Transform Literacy Practices

Th ose who have been involved in school-university collaborations have frequently remarked that “collaboration is not always an easy process” (Oja & Smulyan, 1989, p. x) or have characterized it as a very messy, uncertain, and time consuming enterprise (e.g., Bickel & Hattrup, 1995; Miller, 1990; Ravid & Handler, 2001). Despite these diffi culties, for several decades now, many have taken on the challenge to create communities that educate both those of the university and of the schools by expanding relationships and social networks with each other (Allen, 1999; Lieberman, 1986, 1992; Nespor & Barylske, 1991; Wells, 2001).