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Stig BroströmStig Broström
School of EducationSchool of EducationAarhus UniversityAarhus University
Transition to school - Liberation or adjustment
18th EECERA Annual Conference 2008Stavanger, Norway 3th – 6th September 2008 Reconsidering the Basics in Early Childhood
EducationKey Note Saturday 6th September 2008
Defining transitionDefining transition
Transition can be seen as “being the passage from one place, stage, state, style or subject to another over time”
Aline-Wendy & Hilary Fabian, 2004
The time between the first visit in the new educational context and the final setting in, and here the children experience a change of teachers and also a change of the group of children, and with that a change in relation to well-known peers and friends
Inspired of Fabian, 2004; Kagan and Neuman, 1998; Niesel & Griebel 2007
Forms of transitionsForms of transitionsVertical transition:• From secure attachment in family to créche or
preschool Thyssen 2000; Kiening 2002, Dali 2002; Clark 2007; Griebel & Niesel 2002
• From one age group to another• From preschool to school
Dockett & Perry 2007; Griebel & Niesel 1999; Johansson 2002; Peters 2002; Dunlop 2002; Margetts 2002, 2007; Broström 2002, 2003, 2007; Corsaro & Molinari 2008; J. Einarsdóttir, 2006, 2003, 2002
• From preschool to leisure-time centre/after school
Horizontal transition• The daily transition
Dencik et al. 1989
• Transition from home to leisure-time centre/after and to school – and back againJohansson 2003, 2007
Problems in transitionProblems in transition
• International research suggests that moving from preschool to school can be challenging, if not traumatic, for some children
• Especially children with les-than-optimal-circumstances may be at even higher risk during this transition
Broström 2002; Shore 1998; Wagner, 2003; Napier, 2002
Problems in transitionProblems in transition• When children enter school they meet a larger,
physical environment• In preschool the children belong to the eldest
group and in school they are forced to relate to older children
• In school the social environment is much more complex
• In school there are fewer adults• In school children have less autonomy • There is a shift in the academic demands of
children• In sum “the demands go up and the support
goes down”
Fabian 2002, 2007; Merry 2007; Pienta, 2004
Discontinuities between Discontinuities between preschool and schoolspreschool and schools
• Physical discontinuitiesFabian 2002
• Social discontinuitiesBroström 2003; Fabian 2002
• Philosophical discontinuities• Broström 1999, 2001; Fabian 2002
• Communication discontinuityBroström et al 2000
• Discontinuity in children’s view on preschool and schoolEinarsdóttir 2003; Broström 2003; Lillemyr 2001
Children’s view on Children’s view on schoolschool5% of the children characterise school as
an authoritarian place, where the teacher commands the children.
A 6.5 years old boy to the question “What do you think, you will learn in school?
“Draw correctly, do homework correctly, play correctly, play outside in a good matter, eat correctly, learn to play with plaything correctly. You will be scold, if you do not play correctly. If people do not like to play with me, you have to play with yourself. The teacher will smack”
Broström 2003
Well adjust to schoolWell adjust to schoolResearch on school start shows, that children who feel relaxed and well adjusted in school are much more likely, than children who do not feel well adjusted, to experience school success beyond preschool
Thompsen 1975; Ladd & Priece 1987.
Corresponding academic, social and emotional difficulties in school start persist into later life
Belsky & MacKinnon 1994; Cowan et al. 1994; Dunlop 2000; Taylor 1998.
Elements in transitionElements in transitionSuccessful transition from preschool to school
requires attention to several related elements:
• The extend of the child’s school readiness • Support from parents, family and community • A system of high quality preschools• A teacher who is able to take the child’s
perspective• Continuity in curricula• Communication between home and school • A welcoming environment for family and
children
Broström 2002
Ecological transition Ecological transition modelmodel
Pianta & Walsh 1996; Fabian & Dunlop 2000 (Inspired of Bronfenbrenner)
Transition Transition strategies/activitiesstrategies/activities
Griebel & Niesel 2007:
• Pedagogical and programme continuity, curricula development
• Administration continuity • Personal or professional interaction
- ‘School groups’ in preschool- The school invites the parents- Lots of mutual visits during the year- A joint document defining school readiness- Meetings with parents about school readiness- Conferences on children’s readiness- Children and preschool teachers are involved in lessons in school- During spring the neighbourhood preschools have shared projects- A teacher from preschool follows the group of children in school - Formation of classes are done as regard to children’s friendship- Teaching in school on the basic of children’s portfoliosBroström 2007
Transition Transition strategies/activitiesstrategies/activitiesNeumann 2002:
• Structural continuity- ECEC and school under same administrative auspice
• Continuity with families and homes - Parents are invited to meeting before
school start- Parents and children gets letters during the summer- Parents and children collect artefacts to the child’s portfolio
Johanna Einarsdóttir, 2007
Building bridges – a critical Building bridges – a critical reflectionreflection
• Too much support can result in helplessness
• Trust in children’s agencyJames, Jenks & Proud 1998
Economical and political Economical and political demandsdemands
• National policy The aim is to create coherence and continuity between different forms of care and education and secure continuity in transition… and must contribute to a harmonious transition to school and leisure-time centre Denmark, Ministry of Welfare, 2007
• European policy- The Treaty of Lisbon, EU, 2000 - The two Starting Strong reports, OECD, 2001, 2006
• International policy- Strong Foundations, UNESCO, 2007 recommends “to integrate ECEC more closely with primary school.”
Economical and political Economical and political demandsdemands
EDUCATIONAL CHANGES
A movement towards following tendencies:
• An increasing use of standards and manuals
• A use of narrow intermediate aims and indicatives in order to measure children’s return
• A variation of evaluation batteries and test methods
• Implementation of quality reports, which make the preschool teachers responsible for their work, accountability
A critical preschool education and A critical preschool education and carecare
A CRITICAL THEORY OF SOCIETY• Western neo-liberal democracy as ‘the
end of history’, or?Fukuyama 1989
• The ‘Empire’ and the ‘Crowd’Hardt & Negri 2000, 2006
The ‘Empire’ holds three dimensions:- En exclusive circle of the most powerful countries- Multinational companies- Non government organizations and other lobby org.
The ‘Crowd’- A manifold of productive and creative subjects
A critical preschool education and A critical preschool education and carecare
A CRITICAL THEORY OF SOCIETY
Three political demands in order to develop a global direct democracy – a radical democracy:
• The right of citizen ship of the world • The right to civic pay • The right to control means of
production and also control of own body and consciousness
Hardt & Negri 2000, 2006
A critical preschool education and A critical preschool education and carecare
A CRITICAL THEORY OF SOCIETY
A demand of recognition on three levels
Private sphere ⇒ Relations of love ⇒ Basic confidence ⇒ Physical integrity
Sphere of legal relations ⇒ Legally universal rights ⇒ Self respect ⇒ Social integrity
Sphere of community of value ⇒ Cultural and political communities ⇒ Self esteem ⇒ Honour’ dignity
Honneth 1995
A critical preschool education and A critical preschool education and carecare
A FIGHT FOR DEMOCRATIC MEETING PLACESA democratic meeting place is “a concrete set of learning conditions where people come together to speak, to dialogue, to share their stories, and to struggle together within social relations that strengthen rather than weaken the possibility for active citizen ship”
Arend in Giroux 1997, s. 106
A critical preschool education and A critical preschool education and carecare
“Education should not only empower students by giving them the knowledge and skills they need to be able to function in the larger society as critical agents, but also educate them for the transformative action in the interest of creating a truly democratic society”
Giroux, 1988 s. xxxiii
A critical preschool education and A critical preschool education and carecare
Two necessary tasks in order to go beyond a traditional adjustment to school:
• Reflect on the educational aims, to formulate the long perspective: the future people in the future society
• Formulate aspect of an educational content, which is in close connection to the overall aims; in other words the involvement of critical themes.
A critical preschool education and A critical preschool education and carecareOVERALL DEMOCRATIC AIMS
A legitimating basis for a critical and emancipatory education
“Equip individuals to engage in active and democratic participation”The Treaty of Lisbon, 2000
”Day care must give children possibility for participation in decision making and joint responsibility and understanding for democracy. More contribute to children’s autonomy and abilities to participate in binding social communities” Denmark: The ministry of Welfare 2007
A critical preschool education and A critical preschool education and carecare
THE EDUCATIONAL CONTENTCategory Bildung and epoch typical
problems:- War and peace- The North-South, East-West conflict- The problem of nationalism- The ecological problem- The social produced disparity- The danger and possibility of new
management- and communications media.
Klafki 1994