Privacy in early childhood education and care: The management of family information in parent–teacher conferences

The study explores how information about children’s home life is addressed and managed during parent meetings in Norwegian kindergartens, and analyses the interaction between kindergarten teachers and parents when such topics are discussed. The researcher investigates the strategies kindergarten teachers use to obtain family-related information and how parents respond to these. The study also highlights the role that power dynamics play when kindergarten teachers initiate conversations about children’s home environment and parents’ sharing of information.

The results show that kindergarten teachers use different strategies to collect family information, from voluntary sharing from parents to structured questions that can push parents to share details. Some methods protected privacy better than others, but the general practice emphasised a norm where visibility in child-rearing was expected. The analysis shows that while parents often meet expectations, they can also show subtle resistance or provide reserved answers indicating the need for privacy. The kindergarten teachers showed some awareness of crossing into the private realm, but the approach varied.

The data material consists of audio recordings of ten conversations with parents from two kindergartens. Conversation analysis was used to identify interaction patterns, focusing on how kindergarten teachers introduced topics about home life and how parents responded. The coding of the interactions highlighted instances of direct questions, indirect prompts, and parents’ spontaneous sharing of information.

Solberg, J. (2024). Privacy in early childhood education and care: The management of family information in parent–teacher conferences. Human Studies, 47(2), 367–388.

Online year: 2023

Issue year: 2024

Review year: 2023