Pressure Changes in Parent Teacher Relations: The Case of Iceland

• In Event: The Nordic Model of Education and Home-School Relations

Abstract

Home-school relationship is described in an exalted way in compulsory school law from 2008 and in National curriculum from 2014. Parents and school professionals in Iceland completely agreed that working together is important for children’s education, favoured parental participation which primarily involves social activities, even though both groups considered parental support important for academic achievement (Jónsdóttir, 2013). In this presentation, the focus is on pressure in parent-teacher relationships; how it seems to be changing from being perceived as teachers’ private problem to handle, to be recognised as a professional matter in a broad context.

Public discourse will be explored in the first part of the presentation, focusing on disturbances in the image of harmony in home-school relations. Teachers have regularly been overtly criticised for example for poor student achievement in national tests in reading and international tests such as PISA. Teachers union hasn´t fought back directly but pointed at increased responsibilities due to diversity of all kind in Icelandic schools, and relatively low salaries. Furthermore, teachers sometimes feel disrespected by parents, and unprepared to meet them in school settings (Jónsdóttir and Björnsdóttir, 2019, Bæck, 2010). Increase in sick leaves, difficulties in recruiting new teachers, and lack of enrolment into teacher education programs, became apparent signs of a profession in trouble. In the second part of the presentation reactions of local and national authorities will be in the spotlight. An investigation brought forth that teachers feel, firstly, overloaded in class, and secondly, challenged by some parents that are apparently demanding (Reykjavíkurborg, 2017). Reykjavik municipalities´ reaction was to introduce new guidelines for parent-teacher relations. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture launched an action plan in 2019 backed by substantial amount of money, to resurrect respect for teachers and reawaken interest in teacher education.

The analysis shows changes in perception of pressure in parent-teacher relations, from being mostly a personal matter to become a professional matter in a broad context, that might be of importance for school development and parental involvement in general.

References:
Bæck, U.-D. K. (2010). 'We are the professionals': a study of teachers' views on parental
involvement in school. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31(3), 323-335.

Jónsdóttir, K. (2013). Desirable parental participation in activities in compulsory schools.
BARN, 4, pp. 29-44.

Jónsdóttir, K. and Björnsdóttir, A. (2019). Iceland: Home–School Cooperation in Iceland:
Characteristics and Values. In Paseka, A. and Byrne, D., ed. (2019) Parental Involvement Across European Education Systems. Critical Perspectives. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351066341

Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (e.d.). Action for Education: Growing the ranks of
teachers
https://www.stjornarradid.is/verkefni/menntamal/adgerdir-i-menntamalum/fjolgum-kennurum-adgerdir-i-menntamalum/

Reykjavíkurborg. (2017). Nýliðun og bætt starfsumhverfi grunnskólakennara. Skýrsla
starfshóps.
https://reykjavik.is/sites/default/files/sfs_starfsumhverfi_grunnskolakennara-skyrsla_starfshops_um_nylidun_og_baett_starfsumhverfi_grunnskolakennara_i_reykjavik_2017-lok121217.pdf

Author

• Kristín Jónsdóttir, University of Iceland