Abstract
Until now, the process of adaptation in the education system has been researched by Czech scholars exclusively in connection to the adaptation of children. This empirical study examines the adaptation of parents in relation to the formation of the relationship between them and their child's school.
The theoretical framework of the study is based on literature conceptualizing adaptation, relationships between parents and schools, including the matter of partnership, and different roles of parents in school environments. Fourteen parents were instructed to write diary entries during the first twelve weeks of their eldest child's attendance at a public kindergarten in the Czech Republic.
Analysis of the data shows that the parents' perspectives are not sufficiently considered in the process of adaptation in kindergarten. Still, the development of the child's adaptation, as well as the requirements, expectations and support received from the kindergarten, have a fundamental influence on the establishment of the parent's role in relation to their child's school.
The parent's role in the course of the adaptation period is characterized by their interest in their child, their limited willingness to address their problems or their doubts regarding the school, minimization of their initiatives, their reliability in fulfilling operational and material requirements and their basic appreciation and acknowledgment of the school and its limitations.