Abstract
The present research sought to clarify the process by which teachers build rapport with parents in parent-teacher conferences, and to identify the characteristics of that process. From an analysis of what elementary school teachers said in parent-teacher conferences, 8 categories were identified and then consolidated into 2 processes: “substantiating support” and “building relationships with parents.” While building relationships by collecting information from the parents by means of attentive comments and self-disclosing statements, the teachers substantiated their support by confirming the goals of the conference, providing information about current circumstances, analyzing situations, reflecting, examining steps to be taken, and constantly collecting information from the parents. A comparison with existing models suggested that although parent-teacher conferences are characterized by reflection upon the teacher's response and positive proposals regarding steps to take, there is a tendency for topic and goal-setting to become obscured. A process that seeks to create mutual understanding between teachers and parents is one in which the teachers modify their own understanding or policies while incorporating the parents' understanding and philosophy. Such a transformation by teachers is the key to building rapport with parents.
