Whose expertise? An analysis of advice giving in early childhood parent-teacher conferences

Early childhood and early childhood special education programs have a focus on parent-educator partnerships. Parent-teacher conferences are a context for these partnerships, and advice giving is one type of exchange occurring within conferences. Parent-teacher conference advice was investigated through participant interviews and the methodology of conversation analysis. Six early childhood parent-teacher conferences were studied to determine the extent to which parent-educator partnerships were implemented. Results indicated that conference participants socially constructed their roles such that teachers were advice givers and parents were advice seekers. As such, teachers' expertise was expected and acknowledged, whereas parents' expertise was largely unrecognized. Nonetheless, teachers supported and encouraged parents' childrearing competencies and fostered positive parent-educator relationships. Implications for early childhood educators and researchers are provided.