The impact of parental complaints on teachers working within Scottish schools during Covid-19

Abstract

This exploratory research examines the impact of everyday parental complaints on teachers working in Scottish Schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. Through interviews with 18 teaching professionals, our findings demonstrate that parental complaints both before and during Covid-19 are a feature of school life, even if they were not conceptualised in that way by teaching professionals. We found that teaching professionals have become accustomed to the everyday informal complaints parents voice about schools to the point only serious situations or repeat complaints were considered to be raising a ‘complaint’. Formal complaints procedures were seen as being a barrier to maintaining good relationships with parents. Complaints during Covid were rationalised as coming from anxious parents due to the pandemic, or a small group of parents with unrealistic expectations, or outdated understandings of education. Despite the fact our research was about complaints experienced by teachers during the pandemic, our respondents frequently referenced complaints prior to this, emphasising the impact complaints can have long after they have been made, which resonates with other research on the long-term practical and emotional impact of complaints.