Role of the Parents - Interview hints!

Although the student spends a lage amount of time at school, the home life plays a major role in creating the child. This is where I would like to explore the idea of ‘habitus’. Bourdeieu defines habitus as “a system of structure and structured dispositions, which denote a process of being, a habitual state”. This habitus is produced by socialisation that is acquired in early childhood. Thus, habitus amplifies the parent’s role in childhood. This is because (within the child) the parents provide social formations that can produce and reproduce lasting, useful relationships. Therefore each family has raised their child to have a unique habitus.
Throughout my undergraduate degree the term used throughout its duration was ‘world view’. Worldview is the way in which an individual perceives the world and their place within it. It can be based on a belief of values that may derive from a series of influences. From this it is evident that worldview and habitus play a vital role in the teacher being able to fully understand their students. Habitus alludes to the security and social interactions that the student places within themself. Worldview is the students belief system and this can have high spiritual and moral motives. It can be seen by this, that habitus and worldview are intertwined and in some instances may appear as one. However, the individuals major development of their habitus occurs early in life what about during their school years? Well, the student continues to further develop their habitus in school and as they start to form their own opinions, develop their own worldview. Thus the teacher is a major stakeholder in this development. And yes, they to have their own habitus and worldview.

Within any educational institution there are many aspects that make it a school. Sense of place, community, culture, spirituality (this is not just in religious based schools) are all aspects that develop a schools worldview and habitus. It must be remembered that the school is much more than a building it is the people within the school, its stakeholders and the wider community, which go into establishing the cultural identity of a school.
It becomes apparent when talking to parents how the habitus of the parent, school and yourself may be different and sometimes oppose each other. Low lets explore talking to parents. In my short carrier as a teacher I (sometimes) still find talking to parents a daunting task. The following are some notes (that have helped me in this situation) taken from a series of lectures given by Professor Allan Coman.
The point to remember is that when organising and interview with a parent, it is usually over a negative aspect (the general parent teacher interview will be discussed later). First of all on the phone be polite and straight to the point. Have written down what you want to say to the parents on the phone. Do not discuss the main crux of the issue on the phone but rather present the issue that is to be discussed during the interview. Before the interview takes place find a suitable interview room and arrange for a college to be present as a witness (this could be a coordinator r a teacher involved with the issue). Ensure you have detailed notes on what you want to cover and have all interview and incident reports on hand. Remember to be organised and go into the interview with an open, honest and understanding frame of mind.
At the beginning of the interview do not invite the student into the interview room. This is where the most negative aspects of the interview takes place, the student does not need to hear this. At this time listen to what the parents want to say. Prompt the parents to comment on their child to obtain what they perceive to be the habitus of the child and their home. After this you can invite the student into the room to take place in the interview. Points to note here are
• By the time the student enters the room all the volatility of the negative aspects should be covered.
• The habitus of the parent/child has been established.
When the child enters the room do not revisit or dwell on the event/s, as this would have been done in the initial interview process. Rather assess what both the parent and the student perceived the habitus of the school is and notify them of any differences in what they perceive the school’s habitus is and the habitus the school is trying to convey. At this point express the differences I expectations and indicate areas change needs to occur. If the community is strong both the parent and student will want to stay and will affect change to do so. To relate parental habitus to pop culture, is Bart Simpson all that different to Homer (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdhcToHjCQ )? Is Homers attitude to work all that different t Mr Burns’? Although the creator of The Simpsons (Matt Groening) does this to get a laugh it is a laugh, it is a perfect example of how habitus, worldview and culture can affect those around you.



During the general parent teacher interview the one thing to remember is that the student is someone’s little bundle of joy. This means if the student deserves praise, give it to them. If there are negative aspects of the students engagement in the classroom address it promptly without vindicating the student. Be open with the parent and never appear to be on the defensive. Believe in yourself that you are a strong teacher who is a master of their craft and show it. Finally invite the parent to play an active role in the in their child’s learning and into the culture of the school.