| dc.description.abstract | The relationship between a parent and a teacher in group music lessons can be fraught with difficulties
because of the role conflicts that may result from the negotiations that occur between parents and teachers.
The roles of teachers and parents as well as the expectations that teachers have of parents and parents have
of teachers are often unclear, as different role players might have conflicting expectations of each others’
roles. This may result in role confusion for both parties. There is no research on this topic in group music
lessons, nor in music education literature in West Malaysia. Therefore, the aim of this collective case study
was to explore the relationship between teachers and parents of pre-school children in group music lessons
in the Klang Valley2 of West Malaysia. This study situates role theory as a conceptual framework to explore
the parents’ and teachers’ perspectives on their relationships. As such, this study describes the expectations
of both parents and teachers of their respective roles in these group music lessons in order to understand
the relationships better. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine parents and three
teachers of three group music classes for pre-school children.
In this thesis, I discuss how the teachers’ roles, parental roles, and partnerships between parents and teachers
are conceptualised by the participants. The research literature and the findings of my study show similarities
in describing parental roles as supporters, home supervisors, role models, and consumers. Among the novel
findings on the roles of the parent was the focus parents placed on the teachers; parents expected to show
support, respect, fairness, understanding and adaptability towards the teachers. In addition, parents in the
one-on-one setting were seen as playing the role of consumer as customers, drivers or pacesetters, and
bargain hunters. Furthermore, a difference between research literature and the findings of my study lies in
literature suggesting that parents play the roles of partners in education. However, apart from the finding
that parents play the role of collaborators, the notion of parents being partners in education was absent in
the findings of this study.
The investigation of the various expected roles for teachers in music lessons, show that current research
literature and the findings of this study on teacher’s roles are similar in describing the teacher’s roles as
educators, professional musicians, multi-faceted professionals, authorities on music education, role models,
and mentors. However, there are differences in that the findings of this study describe other roles for
teachers, such as, entrepreneurs and communicators. A further difference lies in the teacher’s role as a
partner in education, as described in the literature. A novel finding in the one-on-one setting showed that
there was considerable response from the parents and teachers on the role of the teacher as an entrepreneur.
Teachers were perceived as customer service providers, even baby-sitters, and were expected to be generous
with their time.
In the area of parent-teacher partnerships, parent and teacher perspectives focussed on the need for trust
and respect as two key values for successful parent-teacher relationships. It is evident from the parents’
perspectives that the presence of these values would naturally lead them to appreciate the teachers.
Furthermore, in terms of attitudes, teachers expected parents to be cooperative while parents expected
teachers to make them feel comfortable during their interactions with each other. Both the findings of this
study and the general literature stressed the importance of communication between parents and teachers,
which will clearly impact on the quality of parent-teacher relationships.
This study argues that role theory is a helpful tool in order to help parents and teachers in West Malaysia
to understand their relationships. An understanding of their roles can help parents and teachers to clarify
the many positional and personal expectations they hold as well as the expectations that teachers have of
parents and parents have of teachers. Futhermore, the concepts from role theory such as the principles of
functionality, representationality and tenability in role differentiation can be employed for the
reconceptualization of the roles of parents and teachers. | en_US |
