How teachers and parents perceive parent-teacher communication in resource-constrained primary school settings

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dc.contributor.advisor Ferreira, Ronel en
dc.contributor.postgraduate Ellis, Bronwyn Wendy en
dc.date.accessioned 2017-10-24T09:14:14Z
dc.date.available 2017-10-24T09:14:14Z
dc.date.created 2017-09-07 en
dc.date.issued 2017 en
dc.description Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. en
dc.description.abstract The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of parent-teacher communication, its purpose and how it is implemented in resource-constrained school settings. I employed a collective case study design involving four cases, namely parents of Grade 3 learners, parents of Grade 6 learners, Grade 3 teachers and Grade 6 teachers. I followed a qualitative research approach in order to gain rich, contextual information that portrays the perceptions of the participants. I identified three primary schools to participate by combining purposeful and convenience sampling strategies, and purposefully selected 11 teachers and eight parents as participants. Eight semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted to collect data. In addition, I relied on observation, field notes and a research diary. Following inductive thematic data analysis, I identified the following themes: general modes of parent-teacher communication, purposes of parent-teacher communication, role-players and their expectations, factors negatively impacting parent-teacher communication, and strategies to move towards effective parent-teacher communication. Findings of the study indicate that the participating schools utilised written communication, telephone contact and meetings in person to exchange information with parents, in support of learners’ performance. Children, School Management Teams and the Department of Basic Education were identified as additional important role-players in communication. However, the attitudes, behaviours and preferences of teachers and parents as well as resource-constrained contexts can negativity influence parent-teacher communication. On the other hand, more effective use of technology, the creation of more opportunities for open dialogue and the commitment of all role-players can potentially enhance regular two-way communication between parents and teachers. en_ZA
dc.description.availability Unrestricted en
dc.description.degree MEd en
dc.description.department Educational Psychology en
dc.identifier.citation Ellis, BW 2017, How teachers and parents perceive parent-teacher communication in resource-constrained primary school settings, MEd Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62915> en
dc.identifier.other S2017 en
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62915
dc.language.iso en en
dc.publisher University of Pretoria en
dc.rights © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. en
dc.subject Home-school support for learners en
dc.subject Modes of communication en
dc.subject Parent-teacher communication en
dc.subject Information sharing en
dc.subject UCTD en
dc.title How teachers and parents perceive parent-teacher communication in resource-constrained primary school settings en_ZA
dc.type Dissertation en


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