Regional School-University Partnerships: Searching for the Sweet Spot—An Inquiry into the Impact of a Pedagogy of Care

This chapter explores the experiences of a small group of regionally located final year pre-service teachers through one cycle of action research. During the last months of their education degree, incorporating course work and final pre-service placement of forty school days, the pre-service teachers, along with their supervising and university teachers, seek to understand the relevance and importance of interpersonal relationships to pre-service teachers’ collegial and pedagogic development. Enacting a pedagogy of care positions interpersonal relationships as central to the teaching and learning process. Educators living and working in regional communities are uniquely positioned to foster relationships with the students they teach and develop strong community connections. We analyse the locationally specific experiences of regional pre-service teachers as they negotiate collegial and pedagogic relationships in their transitional journey from pre-service to beginning teacher.