Active Listening as A Basic Skill of Efficient Communication Between Teachers and Parents: An Empirical Study

Abstract

This study deals with active listening as a basic skill of efficient communication used by teachers in their communication with their students’ parents. Two hundred and twenty-two teachers and thirty-three principals of primary education school units participated in this empirical study. Teachers mention that they use active listening in their communication with parents with attention and observation, they accept parents’ words, they maintain a neutral position and they show empathy to share their reflections and feelings. Moreover, during the use of active listening as an active skill of efficient communication between teachers and parents, teachers mention the contribution of their verbal intervention. In this way they ask open-ended and closed-ended questions for clarifications, and they repeat the parent’s main views without expressing their personal opinion. During their verbal positioning, teachers first mention to parents the good characteristics of their children, then they focus on their learning weaknesses.