The study explores the concept of parent pedagogicalisation, with the purpose to provide analytical substance to the concept and to foster a broader understanding of the processes involved. Parent pedagogicalization was introduced by Popkewitz in 2003. The concept describes a need for parents to be educated in order to qualify for supporting children’s academic achievement, with a strategic aim to increase future chances in life. Popkewitz indicates that pedagogicalisation rests on normalising forces, in particular targeting the child whose achievement is at risk. Through empirical exploration, the study investigates the concept of pedagogicalisation: what elements are involved, how these occur and what they might do. Hence, the empirical sample has been strategically chosen. It consists of twenty-seven parents who have a child who uses a cochlear implant, which is a surgically implanted hearing device. Research states that this particular parent group is in need of professional support, teaching parents how to support the child’s language learning. As such, these parents risk being subject to pedagogicalizing forces. Data consists of parental narratives on their experience with the professional support and involves 27 written responses and verbatim transcripts of 14 follow-up interviews. The thematic, interpretive data analysis follows the model of Braun and Clarke (2006, p. 87). The initial phase is anchored in an inductive approach based on reading and rereading the data; it focussed on what parents told about their experiences with the professional support. Subsequently, the search for themes lead to generating initial codes; in a process of open coding, three preliminary themes were identified. In the next phase, a reviewing process confirmed the three themes through checking whether they worked in relation to the entire data set. Through this analytical process, the following three interrelated themes emerged as central characteristics of pedagogicalisation: 1) Parents’ perceived need for qualification, 2) An instrumental perspective on the child’s achievement, and 3) No respite. Our hypothesis is that these analytical aspects make up the main conceptual construct of parent pedagogicalisation, offering a broad understanding of the concept and how its normalising forces operate. The theoretical model and its normalising forces are discussed in relation to a) Parents caught in the nexus between empowerment and disempowerment, and b) Parents’ support of the child’s education - the counterproductive paradox. To explore the strength of the proposed hypothesis, new empirical studies are required.

Popkewitz T.S. (2003) Governing the Child and Pedagogicalization of the Parent. In: Bloch M.N., Holmlund K., Moqvist I., Popkewitz T.S. (eds) Governing Children, Families, and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York