Teacher-Parent Power-Dynamics Overshadowing Other Dimensions in Teacher PD Discourse about Conflicts with Parents

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 1:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Through Teachers’ Perceptions: Recognition, Power, and Professional Realities

Abstract

We examined teachers’ emotional displays during their discussions of teacher-parent conflicts in professional development (PD). Drawing on Hargreaves’ (2001) emotional geographies framework, we analyzed teacher discourse during a year-long PD program in two schools using simulations of teacher-parent conflicts. Findings reveal that teachers’ emotional discourse overwhelmingly centered on the political-professional geography — concerns about respect, authority, and status — while other dimensions, such as the moral, physical, and sociocultural, were largely sidelined. Teachers expressed frustration, humiliation, and vulnerability in response to perceived parental disrespect and aggression. We argue that to foster more humanizing teacher-parent relationships, PD should create space for teachers to surface these emotional dynamics, critically examine their roots, and explore alternative framings, such as educational disagreements rather than power struggles.

Authors

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

• Idit Fast, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

• Karin Sarfati-Shaulov, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev