Backstage accounting in preschool: analysing dealing with complaints as ‘rehearsing away’ professional knowledge

Abstract

ABSTRACTCitizens of modern societies must trust a broad range of systems and professionals. When distrust arises, professionals are expected to be accountable. This paper draws on conversational material from a preschool team meeting. When a preschool work team prepares to meet a parent who has complained about their recurring neglect to change her child’s nappies ‘in time’, they are found: (1) to carefully review the encounter with the client, (2) in a team-building fashion, to select suitable accounts to offer ‘front stage’ and (3) to internally justify their selection of accounts. Our results indicate that work team members who engaged in backstage rehearsal author the organisation for building trust and, simultaneously ‘rehearse away’ what should remain the organisations’ secrets. Communicating the intent to satisfy was deemed more important than was using evidence from their professional knowledge base.