Barnehagelæreres profesjonsspråk i foreldresamtalen: Faglig nok for hvem?

A professional language is crucial for kindergarten teachers' professional identity and status as a profession. What characterizes kindergarten teacher's professional language in parent--teacher conferences, and how can conversation analytic research contribute to a more nuanced debate regarding degree of academic knowledge? The data material consists of 10 audio-recorded parent--teacher conferences, and the study is inspired by the ethnomethodological tradition, institutional talk. The article argues for grounding professional language in verbal actions strengthening the kindergarten teacher's authority (deontic and epistemic), rather than academic vocabulary per se. The analysis shows that vertical frames and institutional routines organize the parent-teacher conference, where the kindergarten teacher constitutes herself as entitled to regulate talk and describe and evaluate the child as well as the parents' talk. Mostly, this is accomplished through everyday language, but there are signs of academic knowledge too, in terms of vocabulary and reference to research. While it might be desirable to intensify the expert role through more use of expert knowledge, this strategy is at the same time likely to threaten the so-called partnership ideal, already under pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]