Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies

Community-Driven Literacy: An Asset-Based Quality Improvement Approach to Educational Recovery

Erin West — 2026-06-16

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified existing educational inequities, particularly in rural communities where access to instructional resources and out-of-school learning opportunities is often limited. In response, a rural faith community partnered with educators, university partners, an undergraduate-level teacher candidate, community volunteers, and families to design and implement a six-week summer literacy program grounded in asset-based community development and culturally sustaining practice. Using a mixed-methods quality improvement framework, this study examines the implementation and outcomes of the initiative, with particular attention to how partnership shaped literacy learning. The project aimed to increase reading engagement and confidence among participating students in rising kindergarten through sixth grade by 20% through meaningful, community-based literacy experiences. Data sources included attendance records, instructional observations, reading attitude measures, oral reading records, and parent feedback. Findings indicated increased participation, reading confidence, and engagement, along with observed improvements in oral reading fluency. The findings suggest that partnership-based approaches increased access within this rural community.

Informal Clinical Leadership Development: Cohort-Based Quality Improvement

Courtney Walker — 2026-06-16

Introduction: Informal clinical nurse leaders, bedside nurses without formal training and authority who influence their peers, are essential to quality care and team functioning, yet often lack structured leadership preparation. A needs assessment of a unit coordinating council in a 37-bed cardiovascular progressive care unit identified gaps in leadership confidence, leadership competencies, and change management skills.

Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to increase the intrinsic leadership capability and preparation among unit-based informal nurse leaders through a structured development cohort.

Methods: Based on the theoretical framework of partnership, a three-month cohort intervention was implemented at a large Midwestern academic medical center. The program included three didactic sessions aligned with American Organization for Nursing Leadership “Leader Within” competencies, individualized mentoring, and visual cue reinforcement. Using iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, the curriculum was co-developed with participants. Pre- and post-intervention surveys assessed self-reported leadership identity, knowledge, confidence, and application.

Results: Eight participants completed the project. Mean scores from pre and post Likert questions improved across all domains, with the largest increase in competency identification. Neutral responses were largely eliminated post-intervention in favor of positive results. Qualitative leadership findings shifted from relational descriptions of leadership to systems-level influence, change management, and accountability.

Conclusion: A cohort-based leadership development model was associated with self-reported improved leadership confidence, knowledge, and application among informal nurse leaders. Collectively, these findings suggest that intentional, unit-based leadership development initiatives provide measurable value for informal nurse leaders at the bedside.

Happenstance and Innovation: Implementing Tonies to Bridge Literacy Gaps and Strengthen Family Bonds for Incarcerated Parents and Their Children

Kyle Roberson — 2026-07-14

Low literacy among justice-involved individuals perpetuates cycles of disadvantage, hindering reentry while affecting children's emergent literacy and family bonds. This article explores family literacy interventions that foster parental involvement, empathy, and reading motivation despite incarceration. Central to this work is the tonies®, a screen-free, recordable audio storytelling device shown to enhance young children's comprehension, vocabulary, and attention. The project emerged through a chance encounter at the 2024 American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) National Conference, where the author met representatives from tonies®. That unexpected conversation led to a partnership grounded in a shared vision of incorporating tonies® as educational tools in correctional settings. A pilot program at a local detention center involved seven incarcerated parents recording stories for their families. The success of the pilot generated a $7,600 crowdfunding campaign, expansion into a 4-H Christmas reading program serving more than 40 families, a juvenile detention facility pilot involving five participants, a federal correctional facility pilot with ten participants, and planned integration with the Women's Storybook Project of Texas in a state women's correctional facility. Emerging collaborations, including a theater arts curriculum integrated with tonies® recordings, further enrich participant skill development and family reconnection. Collectively, these initiatives demonstrate tonies®' potential as an accessible tool for strengthening literacy, emotional connections, and rehabilitation among justice-involved families and communities.

Artists' Statement: Trail Blazer

Judith Pechacek — 2026-06-16

Artist’s Statement for the cover art of Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, Volume 13, Issue 1: Trail Blazer, Blanket knitted with hand dyed merino wool.

Cultural Transformation in Minnesota: Partnership and Domination During the Surge of ICE

Angelica Walton — 2026-06-16

In December 2025, Minnesota experienced "Operation Metro Surge," a massive federal immigration enforcement action that profoundly disrupted the state’s social fabric. This period of significant disequilibrium served as a flashpoint between two competing social configurations: the "domination" model of militarized enforcement and the "partnership" model of community resilience. This paper applies Riane Eisler’s Cultural Transformation Theory and bell hooks’ relational ethics to analyze the systemic and intimate impacts of the surge. It seeks to name patterns of domination to make them visible and to document the counter-narratives of partnership that emerged in response. We explore the "Minnesota Model" of collectivism, a "Love Your Neighbor" praxis that activated deep-seated mutual aid networks. This radical collectivism transformed ordinary neighborhoods into "Frontiers" of protection, where residents mobilized beyond charity toward true solidarity. Through coordinated rent-relief hubs, sanctuary school teams, and neighborhood rapid-alert systems, Minnesotans demonstrated a partnership configuration that treats the safety of the immigrant neighbor as inseparable from the safety of the whole. Cultural transformation is a choice. By documenting these lived experiences, a model of partnership that centers human dignity, environmental stewardship, and relational accountability can be actualized, even in contexts of militarized pressure.