"אספת הורים אצלי בסמרטפון": רשת הווטסאפ כפלטפורמה לתקשורת דיגיטלית בין הורים למורים

This study examines the use of shared WhatsApp groups for parents and teachers in the Israeli education system, with an emphasis on elementary school age. The research used a qualitative methodology that included in-depth interviews with 20 parents and 11 teachers, to explore the primary uses of these groups, the types of content discussed within them, and parents and teachers' motivations for participating in them. The research focused on the main challenges arising from the characteristics and affordances of WhatsApp, such as immediacy, increased availability, the public nature of the discourse and the interactivity that simulates face-to-face communication. The findings indicate that while the platform significantly contributes to enhancing parental involvement and strengthening parent-teacher communication, it also generates substantial challenges, including over-involvement, privacy violations, and erosion of teachers' authority. The study suggests that informed and structured management of these groups — by establishing rules and boundaries, both at the institutional and local group levels — may help address these challenges, realize the platform's educational potential, and improve the effectiveness of parent-teacher communication. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of informal digital communication between parents and teachers in shaping trust and collaboration in an educational landscape increasingly mediated by communication technologies. Keywords: affordances, mobile instant messaging, parental involvement, WhatsApp