Negotiating “readiness” across educational boundaries: a conversation-analytic study of Parent–Teacher Conferences in the primary-secondary school transition

Abstract

The transition from primary to secondary school marks a pivotal moment in children’s educational trajectories. For parents and teachers, it entails not only administrative change but the negotiation of developmental expectations, identities, and responsibilities. Drawing on recorded and transcribed parent–teacher conferences, this study employs Conversation Analysis to examine how adults collaboratively construct the notion of a “successful transition.” The analysis reveals that such transitions are treated as evaluative moments in which past performance is reinterpreted through the lens of future secondary-school demands. Teachers mobilize discourses of readiness and autonomy, while parents display alignment or resistance through affiliative or justificatory moves. These interactions invoke broader cultural norms of parental responsibility and professional accountability, shaping the child’s institutional pathway. The paper argues that educational transitions are not merely structural passages but interactional accomplishments, co-producing institutional discourses of development and competence. By illuminating the micro-dynamics of these encounters, the study contributes to debates on parental involvement, teacher professionalism, and the talk-based negotiation of educational futures.