In Denmark as well as in many other countries, there is a long tradition of school-home collaboration. However, this collaboration has been characterized by various historical developments. Ravn (2011) points out how, over time, there has been a movement from school-home collaboration as a collective responsibility towards an individual responsibility. While the school-home collaboration of the 1960s and 1970s aimed to create equality and community by creating agreement between school and home, we have from around the 1990s, moved to a market rationale with an increased focus on evaluation, testing and efficiency. Thus under the market rationale a focus on the individual student's development of knowledge has emerged with competitiveness as a main goal. Ravn thus illustrates how the school-home collaboration reflects the societal development within which it takes place, both in a national but also in a global context (Ravn, 2011; Akselvoll, 2016). The focus on efficiency contributes to a greater social inequality in society, as students and parents are made responsible for accommodating state-determined and increasingly precise academic requirements (Morrison, 2014).

In this project, we have studied how the increased individualization and responsibilisation (Morrison, 2014) of students (and parents), is reflected in the organization, content and positionings of the school-home collaboration. We focus separately on the part of the collaboration that takes place during the parent-teacher conferences, where teachers, students and parents meet for a conversation about the student's academic, social and personal development. In addition, we have a special focus on lower secondary school, as the conferences here have a distinct focus on exams, grades and the students' future educational paths.

Our preliminary study as well as both European and national research (e.g. Bilton, Jackson & Hymer, 2018; Knudsen, 2010) indicates that both the organization, the content and the positions that teachers, students and parents are expected to take on at the conferences, are problematic. Often there is a one-way communication from teachers to student and parents, many students are afraid to participate in the conference, as they expect a ‘judgement’ and the strong focus on grades and test results contributes to experiences of not being able to perform in school which can lead to demotivation in relation to taking a youth education. With this project, we therefore want to create a counterweight to the market rationale and discuss how the parent-teacher conference, can be organized in ways with a greater focus on the students' general well-being in school and on their potentials rather than on their academic deficiencies. With this, we ask the following research question: Which organizations and positionings characterize the parent-teacher conferences and how can these be organized and carried out in ways that counteract a strong individualization and responsibilisation of the student?

Theoretically, we draw upon Basil Bernstein’s educational sociology. We examine the pedagogical practices in the conferences based on Bernstein’s concepts of classification (the relations of power) and framing (the control of the pedagogical settings) (Bernstein 1998; 2000; 2001). As Bernstein points out the classification as well as the framing can be respectively strong or weak and the strength of these determines which positions and opportunities for participation the students are given in the pedagogical practice (Bernstein 2000, p. 5ff & 2001, p. 74). In addition, we draw upon the positioning theory by Davies, Harré and Mogahaddam (Davies & Harré, 1990; Harré & Moghaddam, 2009) in order to further analyze both the implicit and explicit reasoning patterns that emerges in the conversations and which contributes to positioning the participants in different ways. Through these analyzes, it is our aim to point out opportunities for re-positioning that can counteract the strong individualization and responsibilisation of the student.

In our methodological approach, we draw upon a practice theoretical perspective (Schatzki 1996, Kemmis et. al. 2014) with inspiration from classroom research as described by Lindblad & Sahlström (1998). By observing and recording the practices in the parent-teacher conferences as well as interviewing students, parents and teachers’ about their perspectives on these (sayings, doings and relatings) we try to create patterns of understanding (practice architectures) around the conferences. Lindblad & Sahlström emphasize that classroom research draws upon a particular form of ethnography (school ethnography or ethnographic classroom research) where the ethnographic inspiration lies in the desire to create knowledge ‘from below’ and thus look at specific interactions, negotiations and strategies in the everyday life (Lindblad & Sahlström, 1998, p. 226). We will draw upon Bernstein's (2001) concepts of classification and framing to uncover conditions in the parent-teacher conferences that may seem counterproductive. Here we also find inspiration in the critical ethnography (Madison 2012). Madison describes critical ethnography as a methodological approach to address injustices within specific 'lived' domains. Thus, in the critical ethnography lies an ambition to change injustice or oppression by changing the existing conditions towards greater freedom and equality. The ambition for this requires uncovering what is not immediately visible to us, to disrupt what is and thereby to illuminate what is, taken for granted by making underlying power and control relations visible. This is in line with Bernstein as well as the positioning theory - thus, critical ethnography, Bernstein and positioning theory share the notion that there are forms of power and control that are not immediately visible, and which contribute to disadvantage certain groups of individuals. Critical ethnography emphasizes the researcher position as a helper in changing the conditions of the disadvantaged. Therefore, we also have a pro-active part of our research where we intend to collaborate with students, teachers and parents in creating more productive parent-teacher conferences.

Within the first part of the research project, we expect to uncover the current practices concerning parent-teacher conferences in lower secondary school. Based on analyzes of these practices we expect to be able to draw some patterns of understanding that both shed light on problematic issues, and also can work as inspiration pointing to how the conferences can be organized in ways where students are not afraid to participate, where they feel heard and where there is a focus on more than their academic achievements. Based on these analyzes, it is our expectation, in collaboration with students, teachers and parents, to develop and strengthen the content and organization of the school-home conferences, so that all students experience these conferences as supportive and motivating for their further development and general well-being. Thus, we also draw on action research methods where we as researchers collaborate with students, teachers and parents in developing and testing designs and initiatives that can contribute to counteract the strong individualization and responsibilisation of the students. Our aim is to enhance the participation opportunities for the students and to decrease the problematic positionings that seem to characterize the conferences.

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