“Sometimes relationships with parents wear you out”. A qualitative study on teachers’ perceptions of the parent-teacher relationship in current times

Although parents and teachers interact frequently at school, only a few studies have investigated which aspects of their relationship are perceived as supportive or challenging by teachers and whether teachers experience possible consequences of this relationship for their well-being at work. To fill this gap, the present study aimed to explore how teachers perceive the parent-teacher relationship in contemporary times and to investigate whether they experience potential consequences on their well-being. To do so, we conducted an interview-based study with 23 Italian primary, middle, and secondary school teachers. Data was analysed through reflexive thematic analysis. Results showed that although teachers often establish cooperative relationships with parents based on trust and mutual respect, such cooperation is not always achieved. In these cases, parents are perceived as either uninvolved or overinvolved, and teachers acknowledge that managing challenging relationships may have implications for their well-being and behaviours. Additionally, teachers identified broader societal factors that contribute to the transformation of the parent-teacher relationship in current times. Overall, our results contribute to the literature by providing a complex and wide overview of teachers’ perceptions of parents and parent-teacher relationships, including a focus on teachers’ well-being.