Exploring the role-player expectations of the parent-teacher relationship within a multicultural primary school

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorDaniels, Doria
dc.contributor.authorWatson, Lauren Lacey
dc.contributor.otherStellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept of Educational Psychology.
dc.date.accessioned2024-03-04T09:30:01Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-26T16:20:30Z
dc.date.available2024-03-04T09:30:01Z
dc.date.available2024-04-26T16:20:30Z
dc.date.issued2024-03
dc.descriptionThesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2024.
dc.description.abstractENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis explored role-players’ expectations and experiences of the parent-teacher relationship at an urban multicultural public primary school in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Literature on the topic attributed poor parent-teacher relationships to misunderstood and/or miscommunicated educational roles and expectations, teachers’ deficit views of parents based on assumptions, teacher professionalism and training, and the role of power, bias, and privilege that favours the school and its teachers. South African research on the topic overlooked the urban multicultural school setting. The aim of this study was to gain a critical understanding of how the parent-teacher relationship is navigated in a former monoracial school. After nearly 30 years of a new South Africa and with parental involvement tributed as a crucial aspect of a child’s healthy development and academic success, a critical race theory lens was used to understand the influence of parent-teacher relationship expectations and experiences on parent-teacher interactions and parental involvement. This study assumed the bio-ecological model’s mesosystemic conceptualisation of the parent-teacher relationship and approached the education of children as role-players’shared responsibility as represented in communities of practice. A constructivist paradigm was adopted and a qualitative case study research design with components of narrative inquiry was employed. Purposeful sampling was used to select five parent participants and five teacher participants at one multicultural primary school. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, focus group discussions, and artefacts. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Data analysis uncovered five themes representative of role-players’ expectations and experiences of the parent-teacher relationship, namely (i) open communication, (ii)displaying an attitude of care, (iii) meeting each other halfway, (iv) our way of doing things: challenging divisive attitudes and rules, and (v) parental participation at school. The findings revealed that open communication is highly valued by all the role-players in the parent-teacher relationship and leads parents to feel a sense of involvement in their children’s schooling, encouraging greater parental involvement and action. An attitude of care presented as a significant aspect of the parent-teacher relationship for parents. Parents establish a sense of trust in teachers they perceive to display care towards them and their children. Likewise, teachers are more likely to engage with parents whom they perceive to display an attitude of care. Teachers feel unsupported by parents who do not meet them halfway in the education of the children, attributing it to parents having relinquished parental role responsibility to educate children at home. Engaging parents is often teacher-/ school controlled,which perpetuates ‘our way of doing things’ and resembles traditional practices.Therefore, parents who challenge divisive attitudes and rules are often left unsatisfied. The expectation of parental participation at school through meetings, committees, functions, and sport events often overlooks extenuating circumstances inhibiting and discouraging many parents from active participation. The findings motivate for reimagining the parent-teacher relationship as a community of practice, necessitating the exercise of cultural humility and sensitivity by schools and their staff to generate authentic parent-teacher interactions, improve parental involvement, and promote genuine inclusivity.
dc.description.abstractAFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis verken rolspelers se verwagtinge en ervarings van die ouer-onderwyserverhouding by ’n stedelike multikulturele openbare laerskool in die Oos-Kaap, Suid-Afrika. Literatuur oor die onderwerp skryf swak ouer-onderwyser-verhoudings toe aan misverstande en/of swak kommunikasie oor opvoedkundige rolle en verwagtinge, onderwysers se tekort-siening van ouers op grond van aannames, onderwyserprofessionaliteit en -opleiding, en die oorwig van mag, vooroordeel en bevoorregting ten gunste van die skool en sy opvoeders. Die stedelike multikulturele skoolomgewing word tot dusver in Suid-Afrikaanse navorsing oor die hoof gesien. Daarom wil hierdie studie ’n kritiese begrip ontwikkel van hoe die ouer-onderwyser-verhouding in ’n voormalige enkelrassige skool hanteer word. Ná bykans 30 jaar van ’n nuwe Suid-Afrika, en in die lig daarvan dat ouerbetrokkenheid as noodsaaklik vir ’n kind se gesonde ontwikkeling en akademiese sukses beskou word, word ’n kritiese rasseteorielens ingespan om te bepaal hoe verwagtinge en ervarings van die ouer-onderwyser-verhouding die interaksies tussen ouers en onderwysers sowel as ouerbetrokkenheid beinvloed.Die studie is gegrond op die bio-ekologiese model se mesosistemiese konseptualisering van die ouer-onderwyser-verhouding en benader dus kinders se onderwys as die gesamentlike verantwoordelikheid van alle belanghebbendes, as lede van ’n praktykgemeenskap. Die navorsing gebruik ’n konstruktivistiese paradigma en ’n kwalitatiewe gevallestudie-ontwerp met komponente van narratiewe ondersoek. Met behulp van doelbewuste steekproefneming is vyf ouer- en vyf onderwyserdeelnemers by een multikulturele laerskool gekies. Data is deur middel van semigestruktureerde onderhoude, fokusgroepgesprekke en artefakte ingesamel en daarna tematies ontleed. Data-ontleding bring vyf temas aan die lig wat rolspelers se verwagtinge en ervarings van die ouer-onderwyser-verhouding kenmerk, naamlik (i) oop kommunikasie, (ii) ’n sigbare ingesteldheid van sorg, (iii) ’n bereidheid om mekaar tegemoet te kom, (iv) ‘ons manier van dinge doen’: die bevraagtekening van houdings en reels wat verdeeldheid saai, en (v)ouerdeelname aan skoolwerksaamhede. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat alle rolspelers in die ouer-onderwyser-verhouding oop kommunikasie op prys stel. Onbelemmerde kommunikasie gee ouers ’n gevoel van betrokkenheid by hulle kinders se onderwys, wat op sy beurt meer ouerdeelname en -aksie aanmoedig. Vir ouers blyk ’n ingesteldheid van sorg ’n belangrike aspek van die ouer-onderwyser-verhouding te wees. Ouers voel hulle kan onderwysers vertrou wat hulle en hulle kinders met sorg hanteer. Onderwysers is eweneens meer geneig om ouers te betrek wat volgens hulle ’n ingesteldheid van sorg toon. Onderwysers voel in die steek gelaat deur ouers wat hulle nie in kinders se onderwys tegemoet kom nie, en skryf dit toe aan ouers wat hulle ouerlike verantwoordelikheid om kinders tuis op te voed geheel en al laat vaar het en alles aan die skool oorlaat. Skakeling met ouers word gewoonlik deur onderwysers of skole beheer. Die tradisionele praktyk versterk ons manier van dinge doen, en daarom moet ouers wat omstrede houdings en reels bevraagteken dikwels onvergenoegd die aftog blaas. Die verwagting van ouerdeelname aan skoolwerksaamhede deur vergaderings, komitees, geleenthede en sportbyeenkomste laat dikwels buite rekening dat daar versagtende omstandighede bestaan wat ouers verhinder en ontmoedig om aktief deel te neem. Die bevindinge bied genoeg rede om nuut te dink oor die ouer-onderwyser-verhouding as ’n praktykgemeenskap, wat vereis dat skole en hulle personeellede kulturele nederigheid en sensitiwiteit aan die dag le om outentieke ouer-onderwyser-interaksies aan te moedig, ouerbetrokkenheid te verbeter en ware inklusiwiteit te bevorder.
dc.description.versionMasters
dc.format.extentxiii, 113 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/130403
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
dc.rights.holderStellenbosch University
dc.subject.lcshEducation, Primary -- Parent participation
dc.subject.lcshParent-teacher relationships
dc.subject.lcshMulticultural education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
dc.subject.lcshSchool children -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
dc.subject.nameUCTD
dc.titleExploring the role-player expectations of the parent-teacher relationship within a multicultural primary schoolen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
watson_exploring_2024.pdf
Size:
9.5 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
Collections
Masters Degrees (Educational Psychology)