Phenomenology of the Expectations of Parents and Elementary School Teachers from One Another: Challenges and Solutions

Document Type : Qualitative Research Paper

Authors

1 Master of Science in Elementary Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran Official education teacher

2 Batool Sabzeh. Assistant Prof. of Department of Educational Science, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

3 department of education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/jsa.2025.143535.2572

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the challenges and expectations of parents and elementary school teachers.The research was applied in terms of its purpose and qualitative in terms of its data collection method and descriptive phenomenology. Participants included two groups—teachers and parents of elementary school students in Rudsar during the academic year (2024–2025). Purposeful sampling with maximum variation was employed to ensure the inclusion of diverse individuals.The data collection tool was semi-structured interviews. The questions were developed based on the research problem and focused on four key areas: teachers’ expectations, parents’ expectations, challenges, and solutions.To analyze the collected data, Colaizzi’s (1987) coding method was used. Content analysis was coded using MAXQDA software. In total, after data analysis, teachers’ expectations of parents were presented under five main categories: educational, developmental, behavioral, health-related, and administrative and the identified challenges were grouped into three categories: school structure, conflicting perspectives between teachers and parents, and lack of mutual trust. In conclusion, the study found that teachers' most significant expectations were related to parents’ behavioral roles; parents’ key expectations from teachers were administrative. The critical challenge was the lack of mutual trust, and the solution was strengthening communication channels between teachers and parents

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Abbaszadeh, H., Amani, M., & Rahimi Pordanjani, T. (2023). The relationship between achievement goals and intelligence beliefs with academic self-efficacy: The mediating role of parental educational expectations. Child Mental Health Journal, 10(1), 63–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.61186/jcmh.10.1.5 [in Persian]
Akbari Booreng, M., Soorgi, F., Rostami Nezhad, M. A., & Poorshafei, H. (2023). Investigating the interactions between parents and teachers in a Shad network space: Virtual ethnography. New Educational Research, 8(32), 50–74. https://journals.cfu.ac.ir/article_2458.html?lang=en [in Persian]
Appiah, S., Appiah-Kubi, E., & Boe-Doe, K. (2023). What teachers expect: The relationship between student learning behaviour and teacher expectation. East African Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 6(1), 431–445. https://doi.org/10.37284/eajass.6.1.1312
Aydin, Ö., & Ok, A. (2022). A systematic review on teacher's expectations and classroom behaviors. International Journal of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, 12(1), 247–274. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1349631
Baker, M., & Bishop, F. L. (2015). Out of school: A phenomenological exploration of extended non-attendance. Educational Psychology in Practice, 31(3), 354–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/02667363.2015.1065473
Beheshti, M. L. (2023). The importance of developing communication skills between parents and teachers. Psychological and Educational Sciences Studies, 6(68), 469–477. [in Persian]
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Theoretical models of human development (6th ed., pp. 793–828). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470147658.chpsy0114
Dragojević, T. N., & Letić, L. M. M. (2022). The effects of teacher expectations on student motivation to learn. Norma, 27(1), 29–40. https://bic-pk.ceon.rs/article.aspx?query=RELRID%26and%262407505
Epstein, J. L. (1987). Toward a theory of family-school connections: Teacher practices and parent involvement. In K. Hurrelmann, F. Kaufmann, & F. Losel (Eds.), Social intervention: Potential and constraints (pp. 121–136). DeGruyter. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110850963.121/pdf
Epstein, R., Brown, G., & O’Flynn, S. (2019). Prosecuting parents for truancy: Who pays the price? Coventry University. https://pureportal.coventry.ac.uk
Farhadian, A., & Zarrati, H. (2023). The relationship between self-efficacy and teachers’ expectations with the occupational performance of primary school teachers in Astaran. The 2nd International Conference on Research in Accounting, Management, Economics, and Humanities. https://civilica.com/doc/1774221/ [in Persian]
Fazli, N. (2018). Parents' demands and expectations from schools. Roshd School Management Journal, 17(1), 15–17. https://www.roshdmag.ir/Roshdmag_content/media/article/14.17... [in Persian]
Green, E. B. (2013). Parent expectations of elementary schools and the leaders, teachers, and staff: An examination of elementary schools in a southeastern Georgia school district (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Georgia Southern University. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/876
Hangen, E. J., Elliot, A. J., & Jamieson, J. P. (2024). A HEAP of perceived parental expectations: College students’ experience of high expectations. The Journal of Experimental Education, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2024.2310686
Hollenstein, L., Affolter, B., & Brühwiler, C. (2019). Die Bedeutung der Leistungserwartung von Lehrpersonen für die Mathematikleistungen von Schülerinnen und Schülern. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 22(4), 791–809. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-019-00901-4
Hollenstein, L., Brühwiler, C., & König, J. (2024). Who benefits the most? Teacher expectations and their relation with students’ achievement in mathematics in primary school. European Journal of Social Psychology, 54(3), 658–669. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.3035
Javadian, N. S., Dehghani Firoozabadi, M. H., & Norian Ardakani, M. (2022). Examining the relationship between parents’ expectations and marital conflicts with the academic progress of middle school students in Meybod County. Journal of Modern Advances in Behavioral Sciences, 7(55), 312–324. http://ijndibs.com/article-1-725-fa.html [in Persian]
Jeynes, W. H. (2024). A meta-analysis: The relationship between the parental expectations component of parental involvement with students’ academic achievement. Urban Education, 59(1), 63–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420859211073892
Kent, C., du Boulay, B., & Cukurova, M. (2022). Keeping the parents outside the school gate—A critical review. Education Sciences, 12(10), 683. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12100683
Kim, Y. A., Kim, J., & Jo, Y. J. (2023). Teacher efficacy and expectations of minority children: The mediating role of teachers’ beliefs about minority parents’ efficacy. International Journal of Educational Research, 120, 102190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102190
Laff, R., & Ruiz, W. (n.d.). 1.1: Theories developed for understanding the family. LibreTexts. https://libretexts.org
Leenders, H., De Jong, J., Monfrance, M., & Haelermans, C. (2019). Building strong parent–teacher relationships in primary education: The challenge of two-way communication. Cambridge Journal of Education, 49(4), 519–533. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2019.1566442
Muntoni, F., Dunekacke, S., Heinze, A., & Retelsdorf, J. (2020). Geschlechtsspezifische Erwartungseffekte in Mathematik. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie. https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637/a000212
Nanda, A., & Ganguli, T. (2021). Effect of parental support and expectations on child’s academic performance during a global pandemic. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.25215/0904.026
Nihal Lindberg, E., Yıldırım, E., Elvan, Ö., Öztürk, D., & Recepoğlu, S. (2019). Parents' educational expectations: Does it matter for academic success? SDU International Journal of Educational Studies, 6(2), 150–160. https://doi.org/10.33710/sduijes.596569
Ozmen, F., Akuzum, C., Zıncırlı, M., & Selcuk, G. (2016). The communication barriers between teachers and parents in primary schools. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 16(66), 27–46.
Ryder, R., Edwards, A., & Rix, K. (2017). Children missing education: Families’ experiences. National Children’s Bureau. https://oro.open.ac.uk
Simić, N., Marušić Jablanović, M., & Grbić, S. (2022). Why teaching? A validation of the fit-choice scale in the Serbian context. Journal of Education for Teaching, 48(1), 35–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2021.1958655
Soduri, S., & Ahmadi, M. (2025). A qualitative study of the effective components of parent-teacher interaction from the perspective of physical education teachers. Mind, Movement, and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.22034/mmbj.2025.64499.1136 [in Persian]
Soto-Ardila, L. M., Caballero-Carrasco, A., & Casas-García, L. M. (2022). Teacher expectations and students’ achievement in solving elementary arithmetic problems. Heliyon, 8(5). https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(22)00735-6
Yaqoubnejad Qayen, N., Behrangi, M. R., & Zainabadi, H. R. (2015). Expectations of novice teacher about parents, Results of mixed method research at primary school in Tehran City. Journal of Educational Sciences, 22(2), 5–20. https://doi.org/10.22055/edu.2016.12892 [in Persian]
School Administration
Volume 13, Issue 2
July 2025
Pages 21-34

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 21 February 2025
  • Revise Date: 09 April 2025
  • Accept Date: 22 June 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics