Till Örebro universitet

International studies indicate that preservice teachers are inadequately prepared to conduct effective family–school partnerships (FSP), and first-year preschool teachers may find working with families especially challenging. This issue calls for more attention in teacher-training programs toward preparing teachers with sufficient competence for FSP. This study is intended to provide knowledge about Swedish preschool student teachers’ perceptions and experiences working with FSP to inform development areas within teacher education. Data were collected using an online survey of 153 preschool student teachers. The results show that most participants have a positive view of FSP based on their knowledge and previous experience. Communication is regarded as the most important prerequisite but also one of the top challenges. However, they estimate their preparedness to work with parents at varying levels and recognize that competence is created and developed through experience and a reflective approach. It calls for more practical training in combination with theoretical knowledge in teacher education to prepare future preschool teachers to work with families effectively.

This article aims to explore parents’ perspectives on, and experiences of, home and preschool collaboration in a Swedish context. The research question is: How do parents perceive the process of building good relationships with preschool practitioners? The data consist of interviews with 10 parents with one or more children attending preschool. The research process follows the procedures significant to constructivist grounded theory. In the results, parents stress the necessity of continuity in building trusting and authentic relationships with preschool practitioners in order to shoulder parental responsibilities from afar and facilitate children’s well-being, development and learning at preschool. Parents attempt to create prerequisites for collaboration when choosing a preschool. The relationship-building process is described in different ways; some see it as effortless, while others see it as a struggle.