‘It's almost like a secondment’: parenting as professional development for teachers

Abstract

There are many sources of professional development. This article considers the experience of parenting as a source of personal and professional development in Scotland. Nias (1989), in her work on teacher identity, stresses the importance of the personal dimension in effective teaching. Becoming a parent has been identified as a significant transition in adult life. Such a major influence on personal development seems likely to impinge on how teachers play their professional roles. Some of this influence would be expected to relate to the effect of having increased family and domestic commitments, which compete with limited time. Sikes (1997) explores the impact of parenthood on teachers' definitions of their job. In contrast to the emphasis on problems associated with being a parent teacher, Sikes identified a productive link between parenting and teaching, with parent teachers reporting increased tolerance and understanding. This article reinforces and clarifies this link: identifying the impact of parenting on teachers' reported capacity to understand pupils' and parents' points of view, on teacher behaviour in reporting with parents and on school policy and practice in relation to home-school partnerships and communication and homework policy.