Teacher Communication With Native English and Native Spanish Speaking Parents During Head Start Parent -Teacher Conferences

This study seeks to investigate communication between native English- and native Spanish-speaking parents and their children's native English-speaking teachers during Head Start parent-teacher conferences for young children from at-risk environments and those with special needs. Results of qualitative analysis of participant interviews suggested that teachers and parents tended to expect teachers to control conferences and act as experts. Parents were expected to be passive and defer to teacher expertise. Results of conversation analysis and utterance counts of conference talk indicated that parents, particularly bilingual and native Spanish-speaking parents, acquiesced to teachers' control and expertise. From a theoretical perspective, teachers' asymmetrical power (as a product of their education, training, and institutional roles) was essential to limiting parent participation during conferences.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Special Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Cheatham, Gregory A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ostrosky, Michaelene M.

• Education, Bilingual and Multicultural

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3301111

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/80006