Parent–Teacher Meetings in the Context of Inclusion: Preschool Teachers and Parents of Children with Disabilities in Counseling Situations

Abstract

Parent–teacher meetings are an important element of preschool education. Parents of children with disabilities especially show a high need for counseling, particularly at their child's transition to school. How preschool teachers address this need in their meetings with parents is heavily influenced by how they perceive their relationship with parents. This study, therefore, investigates how preschool teachers (n = 22) perceive their relationship with parents of children with disabilities in transition-related meetings. The data were collected in guideline-based interviews and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that most teachers think their own perspective on the child is more accurate than the parents’ perspective. Parents are predominantly seen as needing support. Furthermore, the teachers’ statements indicate that the children are rarely directly involved in the meetings. The teachers justify this with the children’s disabilities, for example. Overall, the findings suggest that an ‘educational partnership’ is not realized in meetings with parents of children with disabilities. The findings also imply that the concept of ‘educational partnerships’ is a questionable construct when adequately describing the relationship between parents and preschool teachers. In conclusion, the concept of educational alliances is presented as an alternative.