Page 155 - 《社会》2026年第2期

社会·2026·2

are increasingly deployed as a means of communication between family and
educational institution，making“visibility” a key aspect of early childhood educators’
work environment. Drawing on the theoretical perspective of professional autonomy，
this paper examines the impact of visibility on teachers’ professional practice. The
study finds that，ECEC institutions adopt different modes of visibility based on their
positions in the market，aiming to meet parents’ demands for information access and
remote care via media representation. However，such practices pose new challenges
to the professional autonomy of early childhood educators. This is not only because
media technologies have made the process of caregiving more visible to parents，but
also，more fundamentally，because there is a mismatch between the nature of media
representation and the logic of caregiving. And thus，its open鄄ended interpretations
likely lead to conflicts between teachers and parents.Faced with the possibility that
their work might be scrutinised，judged，or even interfered with，preschool teachers
attempt to regain control over their work through three strategies：information control，
relationship management，and conditional resistance. Meanwhile，the pursuit of
visibility has led to unintended and paradoxical consequences for teachers：meeting
the visibility demands，addressing the challenges it poses，and taking strategic
actions to safeguard professional autonomy，have all become an integral part of their
professional practice，thereby reducing the attentiveness and positive emotional
engagement required for high鄄quality care and education.On the practical level，this
study focuses and reflects on the impact of technology on teacher鄄child interactions
and early childhood development； on the theoretical level，it proposes an analytical
framework of “negotiated professional autonomy”，advocating for an inquiry that is
grounded in micro鄄level workplaces to explore how practitioners strive to gain
control over professional matters through multi鄄agent interactions and everyday work
practices，thereby expanding the scope of the sociological analysis of diverse
occupations.
Keywords：preschool teachers ， visibility ， professional autonomy ， family 鄄 school
interaction

一、 问题的提出

近年来，媒体曝光的数起托幼机构虐童事件引发公众关注和讨论，
机构化抚育面临着质疑与信任危机。 在这一背景下，媒介技术越来越多
地被用于托幼机构中，作为家长获取信息、家园沟通的手段。 笔者在北

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