Understanding Korean early childhood teachers' challenges in parent–teacher partnerships: Beyond individual matters

Abstract

We conducted individual and group interviews with six early childhood teachers to better understand their difficulties in establishing parent–teacher partnerships, and to explore the underlying causes of such difficulties. The results show that all the teachers experienced various challenges in their relationships with parents because of fear of conflict, unexpected struggles, parents' distrust, and unreasonable demands. However, these difficulties interconnect with broader sociocultural and structural factors that teachers cannot overcome simply through their individual efforts. Despite this, under the current system, teachers reported that they had to solve problems by themselves, no matter how unreasonable. In conflict with their intention to collaborate better with parents, the teachers became discouraged, passive, and defensive in their relationships, making it increasingly difficult for parent–teacher partnerships to form. The underlying causes that hinder parent–teacher partnerships and the implications of our findings are discussed.

Professional Development of Preschool Teacher Assistants in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts

“…Beyond demographic factors, there are psychological factors such as parents' motivational beliefs, parents' personal life contexts, parents' perceptions of invitations for involvement, or how welcoming the preschool staff is (Hoover-Dempsey et al, 2005). Likewise, teachers experience various challenges and difficulties in their relationships with parents, as for example, in conflicts, unexpected struggles, parents' distrust, and unreasonable demands (Bang, et al, 2021). Partnerships between teachers and parents will be more fulfilling when both are able to collaborate from equal positions to attain the same aims (Epstein, 2018).…”

“…Teacher-parent relationships are intertwined with wideranging social-cultural dynamics (Dusi, 2012). These relationships are affected by individual behaviors and attitudes, which are influenced by social and cultural orientation (Bang et al, 2021). Although it is well known that teacher-parent relationships have great value for children's development and functioning, most preschool teachers and TAs do not receive training to work with parents, in general, and with parents from different cultures, in particular.…”