Approximations of Communication: Comparing Two Approaches for Family Communication Preparation in Preservice Teacher Education

• In Event: Engagement Is a Practice: Rethinking Equity in School-Community Partnerships

Abstract

Objectives

Responding to the evidence that equitable family communication is as potent as it is rare (Sheridan et al., 2019) and that preservice teacher education rarely explicitly addresses family communication (Smith & Sheridan, 2019), this study analyzes teacher education pedagogy for family communication. Teacher educators (TEs) can influence preservice teachers’ (PSTs) opportunities to envision and attempt complex instructional practices (Kavanagh et al., 2025), often through subtle decisions in their teaching and instructional design (Author, 2023). Creating a framework for these pedagogical and instructional decisions requires attention toward developing a shared language of practice for supporting preservice teachers’ family communication. Therefore, this study conducts a fine-grained analysis of two teacher education practices aimed at preparing PSTs for family communication.

Perspectives

We use the Framework for Approximations of Practice to ground this work (Author, 2024). This framework draws on broader literature related to practice-based teacher education to provide conceptual language for teacher educators’ pedagogical decision-making. For this study, both practices promoted reflection-in-action through uncertainty and improvisation with low-levels of TE intervention (Author, 2024; McDonald, et al., 2013; Shulman, 1987, 2005). Positioning family communication within this Framework and as a core practice, establishes it as a regular part of teaching that is conceptually rich, requires improvisation, and can be learned through approximations (Author, 2024; Grossman et al., 2009).

Methods

This comparative case study considers two approaches to preparing PSTs for equitable family communication (Yin, 2014): Family Communication Scenarios and Critical Simulations (Author, 2023). In both, TEs created approximations that placed PSTs in simulated and semi-scripted parent-teacher discussions. One approach takes place in a local school with real parents who rely on semi-structured scenarios and their personal experiences to engage triads of PSTs in discussions. The other takes place virtually, where PSTs meet one-to-one with a trained live actor playing the part of a parent.

Data Sources

Data sources included think-aloud interviews where TEs recalled their instructional design decisions as prompts to recollect their pedagogical decision-making (Leighton, 2017), course materials related to the approximations, and videos of the approximations as evidence of enactment. Data were analyzed independently using a (post)qualitative approach to Grounded Theory (Corbin & Strauss, 2015; Le Grange, 2018).

Results

Preliminary analysis suggests three analytical themes: First, both approximations created opportunities for PSTs to use course content and personal experiences to engage in reflexive praxis. Second, interviews, course materials, and videos of practice indicated how similarities and differences in teacher educator pedagogy and conceptions of family communication were reflected in the opportunities for practice afforded to their students. Finally, analysis pointed to the importance of context in PST’s learning.

Significance

This study affirms the potential and the importance of engaging PSTs in deep learning related to family communication and highlights the pedagogical complexity of the task. As future research and practice refines teacher education’s ability to teach family communication, this study recommends careful attention to the nuances in TE pedagogy, creating approximations for engaging PSTs in enactments of family communication across contexts, and providing opportunities for PST’s reflexive praxis.

Authors

• Lightning Jay, Binghamton University - SUNY

• MaryBeth Yerdon, SUNY - College at Cortland

• Naorah Rimkunas, Binghamton University - SUNY