Diagnosing and treating parents: a new perspective on teacher-parent relationships

Policymakers and researchers support teacher-parent collaboration. However, collaboration can be challenging for teachers, especially given parents’ growing involvement in education. We analyzed in-depth semi-structured interviews with classroom educators in Israel to illuminate how teachers manage the gap between perceptions of ideal parent involvement and teachers’ daily work. We found that teachers see parents as part of their professional jurisdiction and a task they must address rather than partners or collaborators. We also found that teachers apply the professional skills of diagnosis, treatment, and inference to manage parents’ involvement rather than to encourage it. Further, teachers develop on-the-job classifications of parents that they apply as they interact with parents. These findings have theoretical implications for teacher professionalism and practical implications for teacher-parent relationships and teacher training.