A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Signs of Trust – Parent’s Vulnerability and Trust when Collaborating with Their Child’s Teacher




AuthorsKoskela, Teija

PublisherJuventa Verlag ein Imprint der Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG

Publication year2025

JournalZeitschrift Fur Soziologie Der Erziehung Und Sozialisation

Journal name in sourceZSE Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung und Sozialisation

Volume45

Issue3

First page 171

Last page188

ISSN1436-1957

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3262/ZSE2503171

Web address https://doi.org/10.3262/zse2503171


Abstract

This research focuses on parental experiences of trustful collaboration with teachers and school personnel in Finnish schools when they have children needing support. According to previous research, the relationship between schools and parents when a child needs support is usually seen as a subject of continuous negotiation. Parents often have limited influence, while experts, such as teachers, leverage their authority and status in decision-making processes related to supporting children. The parent’s position seems to be questioned; as such, their position as an influential authority is vulnerable. Based on interview data, this study qualitatively examines how parents experience trust, or the lack thereof, towards their child’s teachers. The phenomenographic result, “outcome space”, with three categories, is introduced: experiences of strong trust, experiences of concern about loss of trust and experiences of broken trust. The discussion deals with the importance of the outcome space in understanding the meaning of trust in order to improve maintaining trust.



Last updated on 2025-04-08 at 11:18