"Discipline And Autonomy"-Research On The Operation Of Preschool Parent-Teacher Power Relationship

Parent-teacher relationship is an important focus of preschool education reform in the world.Harmonious parent-teacher relationship helps to improve the quality of preschool education.However,parent-teacher relationship in reality is not always harmonious,but is manifested as a power relationship in which conflict and harmony coexist.Only by fully understanding this can we really grasp the essence of parentteacher relationship,but there is not much research on parent-teacher power relationship,and there are few studies on the operation of parent-teacher power relationship.Therefore,the research on the operation of parent-teacher power relations based on Foucault’s micro-power theory has important theoretical and practical significance for understanding parent-teacher relations.This research is based on Foucault’s micro-power theory and follows a qualitative research paradigm.It uses interview,observation and physical analysis to investigate B and H kindergartens.The methods and results of the power discipline and selfresistance of teachers and parents are explored,and the factors that affect the operation of parent-teacher power relations are further explored.Specifically,this research is divided into three parts: theoretical explanation,reality investigation and cause analysis.First,construct a theoretical analysis framework based on Foucault’s micro-power theory.Affected by Foucault’s concept of power relations,this study does not focus on examining the powers of preschool teachers and parents,but emphasizes the power of relationships,and builds a theoretical framework starting from the carrier,operation mode and results of parent-teacher power relations.On this basis,it conducts an indepth analysis on the power operation of preschool teachers and parents.Secondly,conduct a practical inspection on the operation of teachers’ power and parental power respectively.The operation of preschool teachers’ power is that teachers use their own professional authority,use discipline control techniques such as activity control,hierarchical monitoring,standardized rulings,discourse strategies and diplomatic means to achieve systematic and comprehensive discipline for parents.Faced with teachers’ power discipline,parents are obedient and autonomous.On the one hand,parents will consciously stand on the same front with teachers,take the initiative to change their educational behaviors and aspire to gain teacher recognition.On the other hand,parents exercise their autonomy and resist teachers’ power discipline through active actions,maintaining neutrality and negative resistance.Different from the teachers’ power operation,which has a strict and systematic power network and complex discipline techniques,parental power operation is fragmented.Parents exercise their power mainly through the use of discourse technology and discipline by taking up teachers’ time and monitoring teachers.On the one hand,the operation of parental power requires teachers to respond.On the other hand,it also causes teachers’ tension and pressure.However,teachers have always adhered to professional positions,trying to resist parents’ power by changing parents,keeping a safe distance and ignoring them.Finally,the factors of the operation of parent-teacher power relations are discussed from the institutional level and the individual level.The study finds the difficulty of entering kindergartens and their organizational culture of home-school cooperation,teacher’s communication competence with parents,family capital and parents’ self-efficacy affect the operation of parent-teacher power relations from different aspects.In general,the operation of the power relationship between parents and teachers is a process of continuous changes.Foucault believes that the existence of power necessarily means inequality and there is no need to give the best and decisive way to operate power.Therefore,there is no ideal mode of operation for the kindergarten parent-teacher power relationship.Despite this,the operation of parent-teacher power relations in reality has the value of maintaining order and producing knowledge.In order to better realize this value,teachers and parents should respect and trust each other,adhere to the principle of symbiosis and altruism,and conduct dialogue on the basis of maintaining self-independence.