Pre-service teachers’ perceived agency in developing family–school cooperation for language learning

Although substantial research highlights the positive impact of family–school cooperation on students’ academic success and well-being, language teachers—both in-service and pre-service—often feel underprepared to take agentic roles in fostering collaboration with families. In Norway, where multilingualism is common and multiple languages are taught in schools, such cooperation is vital. This qualitative study from the Norwegian context investigates 13 pre-service language teachers’ awareness of the role of families and family language policy in children’s language development, and their readiness to engage agentically in family–school cooperation. Data from focus group discussions were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings reveal that while participants recognised families as valuable linguistic resources, they were hesitant to initiate cooperation due to structural, institutional, and cultural constraints. Pre-service teachers identified several hindrances in collaborating with families. These included parents’ inadequate language knowledge, language barriers present in families with an immigration background, and teachers’ limited time. The study underscores the need to integrate knowledge of family language policy, the influence of home linguistic environments, and strategies for effective family–school cooperation into language teacher education programmes to better prepare future educators for effective cooperation with families.