Parent–school mobile communication in preschool: A qualitative study in Mexico

School-family communication in early childhood is increasingly mediated by mobile applications, yet important questions remain about what counts as high-quality content, how schools allocate topics between digital and face-to-face channels, and what costs these practices impose on teachers. This qualitative study examines how a mobile application shapes day-to-day parent-school communication in a Mexican preschool. Semi-structured interviews with four teachers and three mothers, combined with field observation, were thematically analyzed. The app supported timely and consistent exchanges about classroom life. Families valued brief, concrete descriptions of children’s socio-emotional participation, peer interactions, and strategies practiced, along with simple suggestions for follow-up at home. However, participants identified a depth gap when messages focused mainly on logistics, and teachers reported a workload tension between the burden of exhaustive daily reporting and the sense of security it provides to parents. A hybrid model of communication was preferred: routine updates and nonurgent questions were handled in the app, while complex, evaluative, or sensitive topics were addressed in planned one-to-one meetings. Reported short-term gains were primarily psychosocial, including higher trust and a closer working relationship between teachers and families. Findings support a shift from tool adoption to the quality of communicative practice in early childhood settings.