1. Parent-Teacher Trust and the Cooperation during the Preschool year
The 17th EECERA Annual conference 2007
Marita Kontoniemi
Pirjo-Liisa Poikonen, Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen & Anna-Maija Poikkeus
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
and
Airi Niilo & Eve Kikas
University of Tartu, Estonia

2. PARTNERSHIP Congruence Trust FIRST STEPS:
Learning Interactions between Children, Parents and Teachers
TEACHER
PARENT
Beliefs, expectations & attributions concerning a child
Instructional styles & practices, teacher-student interaction
Collaboration between teachers
Beliefs, expectations & attributions concerning a child
Parenting styles, parental efficacy
Parental involvement
PARTNERSHIP
Congruence
Trust
CHILD
Development of academic skills: preschool, 1st through 4th grade
Learning motivation
Subproject of the CoE on Learning and Motivation Research

3. TRUST - a complex concept
Trust relates to organisational processes such as communication, collaboration, climate, organizational citizenship, collective efficacy, achievement and effectiveness (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2000).
Hoy and Tschannen-Moran (1999) demonstrated in their factor-analytic study that all of facets of trust covary together and form a coherent construct of trust.
Trust is one party’s willingness to be vulnerable to another party based on the confidence that the latter party is benevolent, reliable, competent, honest and open (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy 1998, 1999).

4. The Aims of the Study
(1) To examine the level of trust between parents and teachers at the end of the preschool year in two countries Estonia and Finland.
(2) To analyse the level of parents’ trust and co-operation towards the preschool teacher in the beginning and in the end of their child’s preschool year.

5. Methods and measures Participants
16 Finnish and 67 Estonian preschool teachers
Parents of 139 Finnish and 302 Estonian preschool children (6-year-olds)
115 Finnish and 256 Estonian mothers
97 Finnish and 23 Estonian fathers
Design
Parents and teachers answered to the questionnaire at the beginning (October) and in the end (April) of the preschool year in Finland, and in March - April in Estonia

6. Methods and measures (2)
Parents’ questionnaires
Beliefs, expectations & attributions concerning a child
Parenting styles and parental efficacy
Parental involvement
Trust and cooperation with teacher: 13 items concerning trust (Trust Scale by Adams & Christenson, 2000) and 4 open questions about cooperation
Teachers’ questionnaires
Instructional styles & practices
Collaboration between teachers

7. Methods and measures (3)
ANALYSIS
Quantitative analysis: paired samples t-tests, factor analyses, ANOVAs (post-hoc analysis with LSD)
Qualitative analyses: open questions

8. Number of children in the family
Estonia %
Finland 1
47,0
9,2 2
38,7
28,6 3
11,6
32,7 4
2,0
12,2 5
0,7
7,1 6 -
4,1
7-11
6,0
Mean
1,71
3,29

9. Parental employment in the Finnish sample
STATUS OF EMPLOYMENT
Fathers
Mothers
Currently working
93,8 %
58,8 %
Unemployed
4,1 %
12,3 %
Studying
1,0 %
3,5 %
Maternity / parental leave -
Housewife
13,2 %
Retired
100 %

10. Family structure in the Finnish sample%
Married spouses and their biological children
68,4
Unmarried spouses and their biological children
18,4
Spouses with children from previous relationships
10,2
Single parent with children
1,0
Other, e.g., shared parenthood after divorce
2,0

11. Finnish teachers and preschools
Teacher's professional experience in day care (n = 16)
Years %
Freq.
1-5
18,6 3
6-10
11-15
More than 15
43,8 7
Group size
Number of children
Freq.
5-10 6
11-15 3
16-20
>20 1

12. FACTOR ANALYSIS: 2 factors
The first factor was named parent-teacher relationship: kindness, respect and positive attitude and the atmosphere of communication.
 it explained most of the total variance in trust in all groups: mothers 45%, fathers 63%, and teachers 64%.
2. The second factor was named competence of guidance: teaching skills and the support for the child.
explanation of variance in trust: mothers 9%, fathers 8% and teachers 11%.

13. TRUST IN ESTONIAN AND FINNISH SAMPLES: means
Finland
Fathers
Mothers
Teachers

14. THE BIRTH ORDER OF THE CHILD AND THE PARENTS’ TRUST TOWARDS THE TEACHER
firstborn with siblings
only child
child with older and younger siblings
youngest child

15. The level of trust declined during the preschool year
 Scores on item 13 “The preschool teacher is worth of my respect.” declined for both mothers and fathers.
Paired Samples Test
Means
Agree or strongly agree % t
Sig.
2-tailed
Item 13. The preschool teacher is worthy of my respect
Fall
Spring
Fathers
3.70
3.40
97.9
90.5
3.20
.000
Mothers
3,77
3.60
97.4
94.4
3.19
.002
 Especially mothers’ trust in teachers differentiated and became more multifaceted.
Mothers became also more critical about the competence of the teacher.

16. Agree or strongly agree % Agree or strongly agree %
Paired Samples Test
Means
Agree or strongly agree % t
Sig.
2-tailed
Fathers
Fall
Spring
Item 5. The teacher is easy to reach when I have a problem or a question.
3,62
3,48
91,8
89,5
4.31
.000
Item 12. The teacher cares about my child
3,54
3,32
96,9
91,6
3.20
.002
Item 3. The teacher keeps me well-informed about my child’s progress.
3,23
3,10
82,3
82,1
1.37
.ns
Paired Samples Test
Means
Agree or strongly agree % t
Sig.
2-tailed
Mothers
Fall
Spring
Item 5. The teacher is easy to reach when I have a problem or a question.
3,80
3,65
96,5
93,5
2.40
.018
Item 6. The teacher encourages my child’s sense of self-esteem.
3,67
3,45
98,3
92,5
3.12
.002
Item. 3 The teacher keeps me well-informed about my child’s progress.
3,38
3,19
88,7
80,4
2.21
.030

17. Cooperation with the teacher (open questions for Finnish parents)
Could you please mention one thing which the preschool teacher could do to promote your trust?
Most of the parents were very satisfied and expressed trust:
“I trust wholly on her”, “Everything is OK”, “We have a wonderful teacher”
Only some parents wished to gain more information about their child’s progress and the preschool program or just to have a chance to communicate more often with the teacher:
“I would like the teacher to tell more about the daily activities”, “More information of the child's improvement”

18. Cooperation with the teacher 2 (open questions for Finnish parents)
If you could change one thing in your child's preschool, what would it be?
25 % of parents answered “nothing” or commented that “everything is perfectly”
Some wished that group sizes would be smaller or they wished changes in the length of the preschool day or the beginning time

19. Cooperation with the teacher 3 (open questions for Finnish parents)
What is especially good in cooperation with the preschool teacher(s)?
Openness, trust and respect:
“They understand us”, “I can tell them everything”, “Warm and open atmosphere of communication”
Cooperation:
“Daily contacts”, “Information on the child's improvement and problems”, “Natural interaction”

20. Cooperation with the teacher 4 (open questions for Finnish parents)
What kind of problems or worries have you had concerning your child’s preschool teacher(s)?
The majority of the parents have no problems or worries at all
 The worries were most often linked to the big group sizes: parent were concerned whether the teacher has enough time for each child and whether she / he has a chance to pay attention to things happening in the child’s group.

21. Cooperation with the parents (open questions for Finnish preschool teachers)
Could you please mention one thing which parents could do to promote your trust to them in relation to the child?
 To get more information of the child from the parents.
 More openness in the discussions with the parents.

22. Cooperation with the parents 2 (open questions for preschool teachers)
What kind of problems and worries have you had with parents in this particular preschool group?
 Parents’ lack of time for their children.

23. Cooperation with the parents 3 (open questions for preschool teachers)
What is especially good in cooperation with parents in this preschool group?
Trust
 Daily contacts and collaboration
 Open interaction

24. Cooperation with the parents 4 (open questions for preschool teachers)
What kind of wishes and expectations of cooperation with parents have you had?
 Openness in communication and interaction
 Mutual trust and partnership in education and rearing

25. Conclusions Open communication and information enhance trust
Cooperation (daily contacts and discussions) promotes trust
Trust is a prerequisite for cooperation
It is important to pay attention to the climate of communication and interaction between parents and preschool teachers throughout the school year

26. Trust Scale (Adams & Christenson, 2000) Parent form
I am confident that the teacher
1. is doing a good job teaching my child academic subjects.
2. is doing a good job helping my child resolve conflicts with peers.
3. is doing a good job keeping me well-informed of my child’s progress.
4. is doing a good job disciplining my child.
5. is easy to reach when I have a problem or question.
6. is doing a good job encouraging my child’s sense of self-esteem.
7. is doing a good job encouraging my child to have a positive attitude toward learning.
8. is friendly and approachable.
9. is receptive to my input and suggestions.
10. is sensitive to cultural differences.
11. respects me as a competent parent.
12. cares about my child.
13. is worthy of my respect.

27. Trust Scale (Adams & Christenson, 2000) Teacher form
I am confident that parents / guardians:
1. are doing a good job teaching their child academic subjects at home.
2. are doing a good job helping their child resolve conflicts with peers.
3. are doing a good job disciplining their child.
4. are easy to reach when I have a question or problem.
5. make me aware of all information I need about their child.
6. are doing a good job encouraging their child’s sense of self-esteem.
7. are doing a good job encouraging their child to have a positive attitude toward learning.
8. are friendly and approachable.
9. are receptive to my input and suggestions.
10. are sensitive to cultural differences.
11. respect me as a competent teacher.
12. are clearly committed to their child’s education.
13. are worthy of my respect.