Taking the Parent Perspective in Teachers’ Professional Development Discourse in the Bedouin Society

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 11:45am
  In Poster Session: AERA Division K Section 6 In-Service Educators - Poster Session 3

Abstract

This case-study research examined a simulation-based professional development (PD) program for Bedouin teachers, designed to enhance teachers’ ability to manage teacher-parent conflicts. We examined how teachers developed Social Perspective Taking (SPT) in their professional discourse and translated it into suggested practices. Analysis combining data from a 30-hour program involving 21 teachers and follow-up interviews (15 teachers) revealed a developmental trajectory. Initially, teachers expressed SPT but struggled to translate it into professionally acceptable practices. During simulation debriefings, they developed "Productive SPT" - reflecting on parents’ perspective while demonstrating responsibility and ability to impact parents’ experiences through practices. The study contributes to literature on PD design for managing teacher-parent relationships by providing a framework that links teachers’ SPT with practice-oriented professional discourse.

Authors

• Hadeel Omar Edrees Dabbah, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

• Dana Vedder-Weiss, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

• Idit Fast, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

• Haled Sayed, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev