STIG BROSTRÖM
The American-Scandinavian Foundation, Scandinavia House
Symposium on Nordic Perspectives on caring and teaching in early Childhood:
Implication for success in school,
New York 11-13 November 2011
Communication and continuity in the
transition from preschool to school
Introduction
My talk deals with children’s transition to school, which is a hot topic at the
international scene.
During the last two decades transition has been a big subject in the field of education.
For some children transition from one educational setting to another cause to
problem, and for that reason practicians, researchers and policy makers have focused
on this issue.
The word transition is rather open, and in spite of an increasing political and
educational interest, it is not very well defined. It deals with border crossing, a
physical movement from one physical context to another.
OH
Definition
Dunlop and Fabian define transition as “being the passage from one place, stage,
state, style or subject to another over time”. Related more specific to early childhood
education transition can be defined as the time between the first visit in the new
educational context and the final setting in, and here the children experience a change
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of teachers and also a change of the group of children, and with that a change in
relation to well-known peers and friends.
During children’s first seven years children achieve lots of transition
experiences, and most children will be involved in following forms of transitions:
OH
Forms of transitions
1) From being safe and secure in their families with well-known rhythm and
routines, and hopefully with a secure attachment to their close adults, in the age of six
months, or for some children in the age of one or two years, they enter their first
educational setting, the crèche or preschool.
2) During the next years in many preschools children transit from one age-group
to another. Actually in some extreme cases a child can experience up to six different
group memberships in six different educational settings (fort hat reasons the split up
in age groups is replaced by mixed age group).
3) In the age of five or six children experience the most extensive transition,
namely transition from preschool to school, which has been investigated by many
scholars.
4) And in combination with transition to school – at least children in the Nordic
countries, at the same time (or in Denmark some month before school start) children
enter into leisure-time centre / after-school.
5) Besides these four forms of vertical transitions another general form of
transition must be added: The horizontal transition. Here at least we see two forms of
transition. First the daily transition where children twice a day move from their home
to crèche or preschool and back again. Via this transition children experience quite
different routines, values and patterns of interactions, which for years ago have been
described by Lasse Dencik and colleagues.
And second we see another daily horizontal transition from home to leisure-time
centre and to school, and a number of hours later children do the same travel back.
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Problems in children’s transition to school
Because children have experiences with transition from their early years, one might
suggest that they have accumulated transition competencies, making them transition
experts who are able to move successfully through the transition from preschool to
school.
OH Problems in transition
However, international research on starting school suggests that moving from
preschool to school can be challenging, if not traumatic for some children, and
especially for children with less-than-optimal circumstances, for example children
with special education needs or children from dysfunctional families.
Actually from day to day preschool children will experience many changes and
differences in their life. First of all they change identity from a child in preschool to
be a student or pupil in school, which means they are expected to behave in a certain
way and understand the classroom rules, to learn the language of the classroom and to
“read” the teacher. More Fabian and also Pianta mention:
OH
Problems in transition
 When children enter school they often meet a larger, physical
environment – and it can be difficult to finds their way.
 In preschool the child belongs to the eldest group of children, and
suddenly he is the youngest and is forced to relate to older children.
 In school the social environment is much more complex, there are a
greater numbers of children compared with the numbers of children in
preschool, and with that there will be much more competition.
 In school there are fewer adult, which mean less individual attention and
interaction with adults than previously
 In school children have less autonomy and they are also forced to
discipline their body movement.
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 There is a shift in the academic demands of children, they meet new
unfamiliar challenges
 In sum with the American scholar Pianta´s word, transition to school is a
time when “the demands go up and the support goes down” (Pienta,
2004).
International transition literature describes a number of problems to overcome as
we strive to help children make a successful transition to school (e.g. Broström and
Wagner 2003; Dunlop and Fabian, 2002). In general the problem is lack of continuity
between preschool and school.
Hilary Fabian (2002) describes three categories of difference and discontinuities
between preschool settings and school, namely physical-, social- and philosophical
discontinuities. And to this I add a fourth and fifth category: communication
discontinuity and discontinuity in children view on school.
OH Discontinuity in transition
• Physical discontinuities
• Social discontinuities
• Philosophical discontinuities
• Communication discontinuity
• Discontinuity in children’s view on preschool and school
OH Physical discontinuities
Physical discontinuities is seen where physical surroundings are very different
in size, location, the number of people. For example for some children it can be a big
challenge to find the toilets and more to make use of it when a big numbers of elder
pupils are observing.
OH Social discontinuities
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Children experience social discontinuities when their identity changes, and also
their social network and the adult with whom they interact. A case study involving
four children carried through by myself (Broström, 2003) showed the fact that these
four children described as independent, active inquisitive and exploring persons, and
also well functioning with peers, all change attitudes after transition to school; they
become less active, and express a form of insecurity. They were not able to transfer
their competences from one context to another. Their learning in preschool was
bound to that context, a kind of contextual learning.
To help children’s transition the professionals should create a sort of identity
between preschool and kindergarten classes, which make it possible for children to
recognise activities and challenges. It might support children if teachers from the two
cultures use same strategies and methods in relation to planning and carrying out for
example a project, topic or problem. For example one might use the same questions
concerning planning a theme as to a narrative, e.g.: What makes us emotional
committed? What is of importance and why should children find this of interest?
What kind of conflicts is hold in the topic is there a plot? How can the content be
turned to a narrative?
OH Philosophical discontinuities
Philosophical discontinuities is expressed when children experience quite a new
approach to learning and teaching. Research from different countries illustrates the
fact, that there are big educational differences between preschool and school
(Broström, 2001, 1999). Educational contradictions between today’s preschool and
school are significant (Broström, 1998 & 1999). In Denmark preschool and
kindergarten classes in school are rooted in a shared historical, educational, and
ideological tradition. As recently as the early 1990s, kindergarten classes were very
similar to kindergarten (Broström, 1998). However, during the last decade,
fundamental differences in educational goals, content and principles may have
emerged. Though preschools in Denmark in 2004 got a curriculum, still the common
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practice in preschool to day seems to stress play and to de-emphasise the teachers’
active role in supporting children’s learning. By contrast a school-like curriculum is
often seen in today’s kindergarten class. Here children are supposed to participate in
teacher initiated activities holding a school-orientated content like reading, writing
and math (Broström, 2002, 1999). Thus there is a contradiction between children's
self-governed life in preschool and a more teacher initiated life in kindergarten class.
Consequently children are forced to do an enormous change over.
OH Communication discontinuity
Communication discontinuity is about the lack of communication between
parents, preschool teachers, leisure-time pedagogues and school teachers. A Danish
evaluation shows (Krogh-Jespersen et al., 2000), that preschool teachers have limited
knowledge of what happens in school. Many have a diffuse orientation concerning
activities in school or they think school has not changed since their own school time.
Preschool teachers often express a view that in school children are seated the whole
day. They often suggest that learning in school is labour-oriented, while learning in
preschool is free and playful.
Similarly, in Denmark kindergarten class teachers’ understanding of life in
preschool is vague. First of all, they see preschool as a place where children are
mostly cared for in a traditional (custodial) sense, but not as an educational culture
analogous to “real” school. Although Danish preschool teachers for almost a decade
have produced written activity plans and curricula, specific learning goals and
outcomes often remain vague (buried) within these plans. For example, many
preschool teachers write plans including general references to the value of play. They
use the phrase ‘children learn through play’ but they seldom describe how or what the
children will learn through play.
Although both school teachers and preschool teachers in Denmark express a
very positive attitude to transition activities (Broström, 2002) there is a lack of
communication between preschool teachers and teachers from kindergarten class in
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the period leading up to children’s transition. Thus the teachers from kindergarten
class meet the children without prior knowledge about the individual children or the
group as a whole. This lack of communication is particularly disturbing with regard
to children at risk, since the kindergarten class teachers are unable to prepare the
additional support needed for them to enter school successfully.
OH discontinuity in children’s view
As a fifth and final category of difference and discontinuities between preschool
settings and school, I will speak about discontinuity in children’s view on preschool
and school. Many, and may be most, children have a rather balanced view on school.
However, some Nordic studies (Einarsdóttir, 2003; Broström, 2003; Lillemyr 2001)
show, that many preschool children have an image of school as a place where
children are sitting quietly at their desk learning how to read, write and do
mathematics. More a number of children were worried about not being able to meet
the school’s expectations. For example the Norwegian study of Lillemyr (2001)
shows that a third of 6-7 years old children feared starting school.
In addition the Danish study from 1995 (Broström, 2001) of 565 five-six-yearold children's expectations about the first year of school shows that 12 % seemed to
be marked by insecurity and nervousness. A parallel investigation in spring 1999 of
375 five-six-year-old preschool children's expectations about school shows a similar
or heightened tendency. Here 24% expressed an expectation characterized by a
scolding teacher, who commands children to sit still and be quiet. More problematic
is the fact that among the anxiety-answers, 5% of the children expected to meet an
authoritarian school.
OH Discontinuity in children’s view
These saw the school as a place where children have to sit down and behave
quietly or the teacher will scold and smack. Children with such a view are at high risk
for school-related anxiety and nervousness. This can drain children’s energy to such
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an extent that they can’t mobilize their existing skills and talents on their own behalf
when they enter school.
However German research with 162 children produced different results,
indicating that preschool children generally have positive attitudes about school and
look forward to starting kindergarten class (Griebel & Niesel, 1999). A major
difference in the German study and the Nordic studies mentioned is that the German
study asked children more directly about their positive and negative views. Perhaps
Danish children would also express more positive
Transition activities
Because children’s transition to school is overload with barriers, from my perspective
it is not enough to rely on children’s early transition experiences, their own
competencies and possibility to act as agent for construction of own transition (James
et al., 1998). In co-operation with the children, parents, preschool teachers, leisuretime teachers and school teachers have to support children to make a smooth
transition to school. Smooth school transitions help children to feel secure, relaxed,
and comfortable in their new environments. A fundamental goal for transition to
school is to help young children feel suitable in school, that is, to have a feeling of
well being and belonging.
OH Well adjust to school
The child feel himself relaxed and comfortable (suitable) when he or she
successfully negotiates the daily challenges of kindergarten class life, including both
social (peer related) and academic (content related) challenges. Feeling comfortable
is crucial to the child’s learning and development as well as to his fundamental and
continuous sense of well-being. Research on school start shows, that children who
feel relaxed and well adjusted in kindergarten class are much more likely than
children who do not feel well adjusted to experience school success beyond preschool
(Thompsen, 1975; Ladd & Priece, 1987).
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In short smooth and successful transition from preschool to school requires
attention to several related elements (Broström, 2002):
OH Elements of transition
1) The extend of the child’s school readiness
2) Support from parents, family and community
3) A system of high quality preschools for children aged 3-5.
4) A teacher who is able to take the child’s perspectives, interests and needs into
account.
5) Continuity in curricula,
6) Communication between home and school,
7) and finally a welcoming environment for family and children.
These related elements, taken together, provide direction for the development of
activities on transition, which, when undertaken by families, preschools and school,
combine the most important areas in the child’s life before and after starting school
and support the transition. Such connections are highlighted in an ecological model of
perspective. Through the interaction and connections between the different areas the
adults strive for helping the child to experience continuity and seeing his or her life as
a unified whole with an interior progression. The term ecological process and model
is rooted in Bronfenbrenner’s (1989, 1986) ecological system theory (1989).
Examples of such ecological models in the American context are among others
described by Pianta & Walsh, (1996), and in a European perspective by Fabian and
Dunlop (2000). They all emphasis the existence of positive connections between
home, kindergarten, and school that are based on personal contact prior to school
entry followed by ongoing communication concerning curriculum and activities.
Any form of transition can be viewed and analysed in the light of
Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological developmental model with the four well-known
nested and interrelated levels: macro-, exo-, micro- and mesosystems.
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OH Ecological transition model
Related to the child’s transition Dunlop and Fabian (2002) describe in details
how the model can be used to get information of the content of the three
environments or Microsystems: children’s home world, the preschool world and the
school world. And in addition the interrelations between the three worlds which make
up what Bronfenbrenner calls the mesosystem, the system where the three worlds are
working together, exchange information and empower the children.
This ecological model helps to raise a number of important questions, and can
serve as a tool for getting a better understanding of children’s transition. For example
question like: Does the child enter in school alone or together with a friend? What
kind of information does the preschool and family give the teacher in school?
Also in Denmark such an ecological perspective is approached (Broström, 2002,
Checcin & Larsen, 2002), and a variety of transition activities are positive valued and
have increased rapidly in recent years.
According to Griebel and Niesel (2007) these transition activities or strategies
can be described on three levels or forms of continuity:
OH Transition strategies
1) Administration continuity
2) Curricula development or pedagogical and programme continuity
3) Personal or professional interaction
And in addition to this Michelle Neumann (2002) adds two more categories,
namely:
4) Structural continuity and
5) Continuity with families and homes
OH Administration strategy
A basic strategy is the existence of a superior administrative organisation, where
a leading forum have power and will to make decisions and to organize from a
administration level. This includes both strategies and initiatives taken by the
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municipality administration, and also initiatives taken by the head of the school and
the leadership of the connected preschools and leisure-time centres. Though
preschools, leisure-time centres and schools are independent organisations, they need
an overall co-ordinator who has power and economy to provide shared meeting in
order to plan and carry out the cooperation between preschool teachers and school
teachers. Both in relation to construction of means for cooperation and given equal
working conditions, common education etc.
OH pedagogical and programme continuity
An another important strategy to ease children’s transition is to make up a
pedagogical and programme continuity between Early Childhood Education and
Care and primary school. Most European countries – and Denmark in 2004, have
developed national curricula or frameworks for ECEC holding general aims and
objectives, which are in accordance with aims, goals and objectives described in
school curricula. However, though there is expressed a continuity at the rhetorical
level, this continuity is not expressed in every day life in preschool and school.
More on the local level the preschool teachers and school teachers have to make
up a coordinated curriculum between preschool, kindergarten class, and leisure time
centre, where the aims, goals and objectives and also the educational content are
described more detailed.
OH Personal and professional interaction
At the personal level a third strategy must be carried out, namely to secure a
professional continuity (see Neumann 2002 p. 16-17). In many countries for example
Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Portugal the politicians request preschool, leisure
time centres and schools to collaborate (Neumann 2002). The Danish Government’s
so-called School Start Commission published a report in 2007 in which a bunch of
transition activities were described and recommend (Broström et al, 2007):
OH School readiness
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 The preschool teachers and kindergarten class teachers make up a shared
document defining school readiness.
 The preschool teachers and kindergarten class teachers have dialogues with the
parent about the individual child’s school readiness.
 The preschool teachers and kindergarten class teachers have conferences
before school start about children's life, development and school readiness.
OH school group
 During the last year before school start the coming school children are gathered
in a so called “school group” where they meet relevant challenges.
OH Mutal visits
 The school invites the child and his/her parents to visit the leisure-time centre
and kindergarten class before school start.
 The preschool teachers and children visit the class before school start.
 The preschool teachers and children visit leisure time centre.
 The coming school teacher visits the children in their preschools.
OH Preschool project in school
 During spring the 4-6 preschools connected to the school have shared projects
with the coming school children - like this the children become acquainted
with their coming class mates. If possible one of the preschool teachers follows
the children into school and becomes their kindergarten teacher. Because
children themselves find it difficult to transfer skills and knowledge from one
arena to another a well-known adult can function as mediator. Thus a teacher
from kindergarten follows the group of children in school the first weeks of
their school time. This makes it possible to support children and learn them to
make use of their existing competencies and capacity in general. A variation is
seen in some municipalities where kindergarten children transit to leisure-time
centre in the month of April. Thus there is a time interval between the two
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transitions, and more the leisure-time teacher can stay with the children in
school.
OH Test your school
 Children and preschool teachers are involved in a number of lesions in school
before school start (Broström, 2005).
OH Formation of classes
 Formations of new classes are done in regard to children’s friendship while
research (Ladd, 1989, 1990) show, that children gets a more positive view on
school when their enter school with a friend and with that establish a secure
base (Griebel & Niesel, 1999; Bernd & Perry, 1986).
OH Make use of children’s portfolio from preschool
 During the time in preschool the children themselves, the preschool teachers
and also the parents have collected photos, drawings, praxis- and learning
stories plus memories of significant moments, which form the basis for the
individual child’s portfolio. Each child brings his/her portfolio to school, and
the teacher uses the children’s ‘tracks’ (Canevaro, 1988) as a tool to research,
reflect and improve on their work with the children. And together with the
children the pile of portfolios – often collected in a suitcase, are used as a
shared starting point. Thus the children will be involved in themes and
activities, which they are familiar with and manage. This will give them a
feeling of being good enough.
OH Children visit their former preschool
NB tekst mangler
OH structural continuity
As a forth strategy there is a need for structural continuity. However, many
countries do not provide a structural continuity as long as policy and provision for
children belonging to crèche, preschool, leisure-time centre and school falls under
different administrative auspice (see for example Neumann, 2002). Among other
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countries for example Sweden and Norway and from 2011 also Denmark have
managed to make up an integrating responsibility for all forms of Early Childhood
Education and Care into the educational system with compulsory schooling, which
gives the best possibilities for being able to combine care and learning and to realize
the idea of lifelong learning.
Finally it must be stressed that the parents are a central part of a proper
transition, thus there is a need for continuity with families and homes. When it comes
to the transition from home to crèche and later to preschool, the parents often are
actively involved in the transition process. In some countries for example Italy and
Sweden their involvement are supported by mandate parental leave so there are able
to stay with their child for hours in the new setting. However, when it comes to
transition to school such a parental involvement is seldom seen. But coherence with
the homes can be established via many other activities through which the parents can
be involved in the school life in order to get knowledge about school and their child’s
learning – and also to be able to influence school life. – Examples of parental
activities:
OH continuity with families and homes
 Parents are invited to meeting before school start in order to get knowledge
about the idea of being school ready and also about the form and content of the
first year in school
 Parents and child get letters during the summer holiday before school start
 During the summer the parents are invited to add artefacts, writings, photos
etc. to the portfolio their child have brought from preschool
Building bridges – a critical reflection
I have expressed a transition model where parents, preschool teachers and
kindergarten class teachers play an important role in order to support children’s
transition to school. Though I think children need a support in relation to all five
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mentioned transition strategies, I want to end my speech with two self-critical
comments:
OH Building bridge – a critical reflection
First from a critical approach for example expressed by James, Jenks & Prout
one might argue, that too much support can lead to a child characterized by
helplessness. Opposite one should trust in the children’s agency, which means to
understand the child as a goal seeking person, who is able to set purpose for himself,
to deliberate, to reflect, to judge and to involve himself in action in different contexts.
The agency understanding assumes children as resilient and competent and able to
make use of their transition experiences, and thus transition is seen as a part of life, a
natural process, a learning process.
In line with that we also need to include a child’s perspective, which means
situations in which children themselves take a more active role as participants and
thus act as contributing members of a democratic society. Related to the transition
process it means we need to listen much more to the involved children. What kind of
experiences do they have? What wishes and specific suggestions do they express?
And how can we together with the children carry out their ideas.
My second self-critical remark deals with the fact, that the transition project is a
political program for strengthen the educational effectiveness.
Nevertheless one might see transition as a part of a bigger system of adjustment,
the children have an actual life where at least some of them have problems with
transition to school. Therefore I stand up for those children and like to support their
school success.
And never the less one might say that transition is a natural part of life, which
children have to cope with and learn from, still it courses to problems for some
children, especially children from linguistically, culturally and ethnical diverse
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families (Neuman, 2002), and also those with special educational needs and those
from dysfunctional families (Napier, 2000).
Thus children need attention and support in their transition journey, so we have
ways where teachers and pedagogues can to put attention both to children’s agency
and the teachers ability to support their transition.
OH Thank you for listing
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