Exploring Fathers’ Communicative Experiences with Teachers in Chinese Kindergartens

This qualitative case study addresses the need to strengthen the understanding of fathers’ communicative experiences with teachers within Chinese kindergartens from the perspectives of directors, teachers, fathers and their partners. Using Bourdieusian theory, these data were explored to identify fathers’ and teachers’ beliefs and practices that may hinder their communication intended to assist children’s development in the ECE field. Data were gathered through documents provided by kindergartens, fieldnotes (observation data), personal communication (interviews after observation) and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that teachers’ gendered perceptions act as a cultural barrier hindering communication between teachers and fathers. Structural barriers include “useless and formalistic information”, “unsatisfactory feedback” and “lack of teacher training on communication”, all of which increase tensions in establishing positive and effective communication between fathers and teachers and reveal the unequal position between fathers and teachers, fathers and mothers. Additionally, fathers felt embarrassed or uncomfortable when communicating with teachers and tended to interrupt teachers less and respect teachers’ views. Further investigations are recommended to examine the impact of more open, timely, individual, and transactional communication targeting fathers.