Positioning in relationships between parents and early years practitioners

Abstract

ABSTRACTEarly years care and education have been high on British political agendas. This includes partnership working between early years practitioners and parents. Yet, more research is needed to examine how childcare staff engage with parents and vice versa. This study addresses the role of position and positioning in parent–practitioner relationships, through two small-scale studies. Study 1 is a quantitative study with two groups of early years students (N = 74); study 2 is a qualitative study with parents and early years practitioners, drawing on ‘synthesised’ discourse analysis as a methodological framework. Although exploratory, in both studies parents are positioned as the infant's first and foremost educators. In addition to this, parents are positioned in terms of deficiencies, in relation to their priorities, and background. At the same time, practitioners are positioned as supportive and willing to cooperate. More research is needed, with a view to empowering both early years practitioners and parents.