The Parent—Teacher Conference in the Swedish Preschool: A Study of an Ongoing Process as a ‘Pocket of Local Order’

Abstract

This article explores the construction of parent—teacher conferences in the Swedish preschool and focuses on processes that construct and maintain these meetings. The analysis draws upon an ethnographic study in two preschools and the empirical material consists of 11 audiotaped parent—teacher conferences and observations of everyday activities related to them. By using empirical data from a wider context than the specific speech event, it is possible to gain knowledge about the complexity of the construction of parent—teacher conferences. Using the concept of a ‘pocket of local order’, it is argued that parent—teacher conferences are practices which consist of a large number of activities linked to resources and restrictions that can be interpreted as an imperative to the participants to conduct talks in preschool and at home, to fill in forms and then use these activities in the conference. In addition, parents and teachers, as well as children, contribute to the construction and maintenance of the pocket of local order, i.e. activities that can be interpreted as an imperative to the actors to reach institutional goals.