Teacher-parent relationship in ECE and primary education. A Cross-National Study in Six European Countries

Positive teacher-parent relationships act as a protective factor for all children but especially for those most exposed to the risk of academic failure (i.e. pupils with an immigrant background and/or coming from low-income families), favouring children’s well-being and successful school functioning. Despite the importance of family-school partnerships throughout the children’s (pre)school career, the nature of this relationship changes across grades as a reflection of distinctly different histories and cultures of the two institutions, which ultimately result in different understandings, expectations, values and teaching practices. The present paper, gathering data from six European countries (i.e., England, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Poland), explores the nature of teachers’ relationship with low SES and ethnic minority parents focusing on the differences between ECEC and primary education. 449 early childhood and primary school teachers completed an online survey with questions on their background, their culturally sensitive classroom practices and classroom diversity, and their relationship with parents. Results show that early childhood teachers tend to report comparatively more positive and less negative relations with parents compared to school teachers. Implications for improving the teacher-parent relationship on the part of the teacher, especially in the primary school context, will be discussed.