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