Towards Effective Preschool to Primary School Transitions

Dr Divya Jindal-Snape

University of Dundee

OverviewOverview

• Educational Transitions- Conceptualisation• Scottish Case Study• Theoretical perspectives (Resilience, Self-Esteem,

Emotional Intelligence)• Examples of good transition practice across the

world and some suggestions• Discussion questions

What is educational transition?

Moving from one context and set of interpersonal relationships to another

Transition can be:

•Satisfying and fulfilling

• Opportunity to ‘move on’ and ‘move up’ with increased choices

Challenging and stressful

Transition can be:

Conceptualisation*

• One off event/Ongoing process• Horizontal/Vertical• Ready children/Ready Educational Institutions• Clean slate/Virtual backpacks**• Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological systems theory• Effect on child-young person/ family/ practitioners

* From Jindal-Snape, D. (Editor) (forthcoming in December 2009). Educational Transitions: Moving Stories from around the world. New York: Routledge.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1992). Ecological systems theory. In R. Vasta (Ed.), Six theories of child development (pp. 187–249). London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

One off event/Ongoing process

• One off event- research focuses on meeting the teachers prior to transition, school visits, induction

• Ongoing process- research focuses on the constant adaptation and negotiation

Horizontal/Vertical*

*Pietarinen, J., Soini, T., & PyhaltoY, K. (forthcoming). Learning and Well-Being in Transitions: How to Promote Pupils’ Active Learning Agency? In D. Jindal-Snape (Ed.), Educational Transitions: Moving Stories

from around the world. New York: Routledge.

Ready children/Ready Educational Institutions

• Maturational v/s Interactionist Approach

• Vernon-Feagans and colleagues (2008) provide a way to conceptualize readiness which puts the definition of readiness, not within the child but at the “interaction and fit between the child and his/her family and the ‘readiness’ of the classroom/school to teach that child” (p. 63).*Vernon-Feagans, L., Odom, E., Panscofar, N., & Kainz, K. (2008). Comments on Farkas and Hibel: A transactional/ecological model of readiness and inequality.In A. Booth & A. C. Crouter (Eds.), Disparities in school readiness (pp. 61–78).New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Clean slate/Virtual backpacks

• Clean slates- start afresh approach

• Opening their ‘virtual backpacks’ in the school setting*

*Peters, S. (forthcoming). Shifting the Lens: Re-Framing the View of Learners and Learning During the Transition From Early Childhood Education to School in New Zealand. In D. Jindal-Snape (Ed.), Educational Transitions: Moving Stories from around the world. New York: Routledge.

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

Adapted by Fabian & Dunlop, 2002, 151Fabian, H., & Dunlop, A. W. A. (Eds.) (2002). Transitions in the Early Years. Debating continuity and progression for children in early education. London: Routledge Falmer.

Effect on child-young person/ family/ practitioners

Transition has an impact not only on the child/young person but also his/her family– Families experience

joys and anxieties during their child’s transitions

– They should also be provided support

• to deal with the transition themselves

• to be actively involved in making the transition smooth for the child.

Effect on child-young person/ family/ practitioners

• Professionals play an important role in supporting children and parents during transitions

• However, it is possible that their own needs, especially training needs, have not been identified

The community can also play a significant part in transitions and readiness to learn

Issues for young children starting school

• Move out of an environment of autonomy into one of conformity

• Perceived lack of choice

• Lack of explanation regarding what is happening

Fabian & Dunlop, 2002, 2006; Fortune-Wood, 2002 cited in Hannah, E., Gorton, H., & Jindal-Snape, D. (forthcoming 2009). Small steps: Perspectives on understanding and supporting children starting school in Scotland. In D. Jindal-Snape (Ed.), Educational Transitions: Moving Stories from around the world. New York: Routledge.

Setting the sceneScottish Case Study*

Rationale

• Several studies have explored transitions from the perspectives of the child and professionals, but less so from the perspective of parents

• Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (especially, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem) as applied to the child’s transition to school helps capture the multiplicity of inter-related factors which may influence transition experience

*Hannah, E., Gorton, H., & Jindal-Snape, D. (forthcoming 2009). Small steps: Perspectives on understanding and supporting children starting school in Scotland. In D. Jindal-Snape (Ed.), Educational Transitions: Moving Stories from around the world. New York: Routledge.

Objectives

To explore parents’ views of:– their child’s experience of transition to primary

school– their experience of transition– what systems/transitional activities were

beneficial for them and their child, and ways of improving them

Methodology

Case study of a Scottish Primary school– Participants- 20 P1 parents, 6 months after start of

school

– Questionnaire• closed questions requiring agreement to statements, some

factual and some related to their experience• 8 open questions seeking detailed responses about their

experiences• made available both as a paper version and online

– Analysis• based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model

Results

• 5 reported that children faced difficulties during transition

• 18 said preparation from school was helpful to their child

• 16 said that it was helpful to them

• 17 happy that the school did all it could to make the move smooth, 3 were not

Microsystem

Child-home• along with their children, parents also need support

to prepare for the transition • this would help them in explaining transition related

issues to their child• need for good communication with the teachers

including feedback regarding how their child was settling in; and more and timely information about the school systems, routines and procedures

Parent’s view 1

Microsystem

Child-school• helping the child adjust to

– a new learning environment » which includes both physical/organisational elements » relationships (adults and peers)

• explicitly teaching expected behaviour • very important not only for a child to be familiar with the

teacher but also to start forming a relationship before s/he started school

• school visits had been very useful (n=16)• booklets provided about the school were useful,

especially the ones that had photos of teachers (n=7)• However- Parent’s view 2

Microsystem

Child-peer group

Table 1: Cross-tabulation between ‘My child moved to P1 with some of her/his friends from nursery’ and ‘My child faced problems when s/he moved to P1’

My child faced problems when s/he moved to P1Moved with

friend

Did not move with

friend

Total

Yes 3 2 5

No 12 3 15

Total 15 5 20

However, the comments from parents highlighted the importance of moving with friends.

... on the first day the teacher understood that sitting next to your best friend was important.

Parent

Mesosystem

Home-school • Good relationship between the parents and

school professionals is important– ongoing accurate information– greater knowledge of schools– opportunities to discuss expectations

…there is a feeling that more communication generally would be welcome. A drop-in event every month perhaps where parents can raise general issues?

Parent

Mesosystem

• Pre-school-school

Table 2: Cross tabulation between ‘Immediately before starting at this primary school, my child attended:’ and ‘I think there was good communication between the Nursery and the School regarding my child and his/her needs’

I think there was good communication between the Nursery and the School regarding my child and his/her needs.

Feeder Nursery

Private Nursery in city

Other(including other

city/country)

Totals

Good 6 3 3 12

Poor 1 1 1 3

Don't Know 1 3 1 5

Totals 8 7 5 20

Exosystem

• Parent-Parent relationship – Supporting parents going through transitions

...this is a positive aspect of school community.

...all the information I get was from the parent chats in the playground.

It would be good if in the first few weeks of school, members of the Parent Council (or other parents) were available to and advertised at drop-off times to answer practical questions from new parents.

Parents

Parent’s View 1

More communication on the first day so I could put my child at ease if I knew what was happening. For instance on arriving in the classroom although the teacher spoke to our child she ignored us. She didn’t introduce herself or explain what to do with coats or bags. We also were not told where to pick our children up when we came back. As parents we were left hanging around like spare parts and ruined the experience of our child’s first day at school.

Back

Parent’s View 2

• Rather than one 4 hour morning where the children visit the school - would be better if it was maybe 1 hour a week for 4 weeks prior to them starting school…Gives the children a familiarity with going to school and lets them meet their classmates on a regular basis. This could also allow out of school play dates to take place prior to school starting.

Back

Discussion and Conclusions

• Beneficial aspects of the work that the school did – the school visits– booklets provided about the school, especially the ones with

photos of teachers – inputs from the Head Teacher and Depute Head Teacher

• Suggestions from parents for effective transitions– need for good communication with the teachers including

feedback regarding how child was settling in– and timely information about the school systems, routines and

procedures – child practising any new procedures before using them (e.g.,

ordering dinner)– opportunities of informal chats with other parents and Parent

Council members

Theoretical Perspectives

Resilience

Resilience is “a phenomenon or process reflecting relatively positive adaptation despite experiences of adversity or trauma,” Luthar (2003, p. 6).*

Cited in Jindal-Snape, D. & Miller, D.J. (forthcoming 2009). Understanding Transitions through Self-Esteem and Resilience. In D. Jindal-Snape (Ed.), Educational Transitions: Moving Stories from around the world. New York: Routledge.

Protective processes to facilitate resilience

Rutter (1987)* suggested four main protective processes which mediate risk at key life turning points

• to lessen the impact of risk by altering the experience of risk or exposure to the risk

• to decrease the number of risk factors in order to avoid an accumulation of unmanageable risks

• to increase self-esteem and self-efficacy, in order• to provide access to opportunities such as part-time

work and out of school activities, to increase confidence

Cited in Jindal-Snape, D. & Miller, D.J. (forthcoming 2009). Understanding Transitions through Self-Esteem and Resilience. In D. Jindal-Snape (Ed.), Educational Transitions: Moving Stories from around the world. New York: Routledge.

Resilience & Transitions

Transition research suggests several such stressors for a child/young person at this time

• Discontinuity• Change in expectations• Change in organisational culture• Peer relationships

To minimise risk or stressors, research emphasises the importance of

• the internal protective factors (for example, self-esteem) • external protective factors (such as positive relationships

at home and school)

Self-esteem

• Clear enough idea of what we mean when we talk about self-esteem

• However, there is little consensus in terms of definitions, models or measures

• Two-dimensional model of self-esteem as an integrated sum of self-worth and self-competence (Mruk, 1999)** Cited in Jindal-Snape D., & Miller D. J. (2008). A challenge of living? Understanding the psycho-social processes of the child during primary–secondary transition through resilience and self-esteem theories. Educational Psychology Review, 20, 217–236.

Self-esteem & Transitions

• During ‘challenges of living’ individual’s sense of worth and competence are particularly vulnerable

• Epstein (1979)* proposed three major experiences which can significantly affect an individual’s self-esteem– exposure to a new environment– being required to make new responses– the establishment or loss of significant relationships

* Cited in Jindal-Snape, D. & Miller, D.J. (forthcoming 2009). Understanding Transitions through Self-Esteem and Resilience. In D. Jindal-Snape (Ed.), Educational Transitions: Moving Stories from around the world. New York: Routledge.

Emotional Intelligence

Goleman identified the five 'domains' of EI as: – Knowing your emotions – Managing your own emotions– Motivating yourself– Recognising and understanding other

people's emotions– Managing relationships, i.e., managing the

emotions of others

Emotional IntelligenceIt is the set of abilities that underlie competency in dealing with and acting upon emotion-relevant information (Salovey & Mayer, 1990)*.

It encompasses the ability to: – perceive, appraise, and express emotion accurately and

adaptively– understand emotion and emotional knowledge– use feeling to facilitate cognitive activities and adaptive

action– regulate emotion in oneself and others**Adeyemo, D.A. (forthcoming 2009). Educational Transition and Emotional Intelligence. In

D. Jindal-Snape (Ed.), Educational Transitions: Moving Stories from around the world. New York: Routledge.

Emotional Intelligence & Transitions

• School/university work and cultivation of intellectual competencies demand the ability to use and regulate emotion to facilitate thinking, enhance concentration, control impulsive behaviour, perform effectively under stress, and nurture intrinsic motivation

• Adjustment requires establishing meaningful relationship with people such as teachers and peers

Role of parents/family during the transitions and education

Role of parents/family during the transitions and education

A stable and supportive family environment was considered to be very important. Some commented on how certain parents were not supporting their children which was leading to issues at school.*

“…But they need a lot more support and they need their parents to be a lot more involved.”

Parent

 “The family can have a big role. Particularly in terms of supporting the school with discipline. Some parents are good at contacting the school and saying that this has happened but others feel that because the school has a no bullying policy, they can prevent anything and everything. Some parents aren’t prepared to listen and accept that their son or daughter may not be a victim but might actually be a part of it.”

Professional

*Jindal-Snape, D. & Foggie, J. (2008). A holistic approach to primary-secondary transitions. Improving Schools, 11, 5-18.

Role of parents/family during the transitions and education (continued)

There was a feeling amongst some participants that if the parents had negative experiences of schooling, then it was likely that their children would feel the same way about school.

“She just didn’t seem to cope at all with moving up to the ‘secondary school A’. Saying that, I was at the ‘secondary school B’ for first year and then I moved to the ‘secondary school A’ cos [because] we moved and I hated it as well so moved back to the ‘secondary school B’ for third year. So you can imagine what it’s like now.”

Parent

Role of parents/family during the transitions and education (continued)

Professionals and some parents also discussed about the parents’ attitudes towards education having an impact on their children’s attitudes towards education. They felt that if parents did not value education, it was likely that the children would not value education as well.

“Some don’t bother. I mean some parents think ‘okay we’ll just get your uniform, your bag and that’s it’. They don’t say ‘right, okay, it is going to be harder, you have to try your best’ I mean ‘you can only do your best’ and the ones that do that, I mean I’m happy but it’s also…giving them a kick up the backside at times and my child needs that.”

Parent

“Some families are not keen to get involved. A lot of the children’s dislike for school comes from their parents. If the parents maybe don’t value education or don’t want to come up to school – there’s reluctance there.”

Professional

Role of parents/family during the transitions and education (continued)

There were some indications that parents might be having problems with dealing with transition themselves.

 

“It is a big school, but there’s so many bigger people there. There’s so many more pupils there than there are at a primary school. I found it was

like a maze myself.” Parent

“…support should be offered to families. It’s about targeting the support. If there’s anxiety at home, it makes it difficult.”

Professional 3

Examples of good transition practice across the world and some suggestions*

i. Five bridges of transition and bridging units as part of local pyramids which are meaningful to children

ii. Induction days, whether a day long or over several shorter sessions

iii. Parental involvement - during their own child’s transition - to support other parents

iv. Artifacts or portfolios from the previous educational setting to the new one - for emotional support of the individual - providing professionals an indication of the individual’s strengths/ interests

v. Information packs meaningful to parents/carers and child/young person, e.g., photographs of significant others and places in the new context

Examples of good transition practice across the world and some suggestions (continued)

vi. Sharing pedagogy across schools and other educational contexts - team teaching - sharing of ideas, practice and resources

vii. Prepare and document transition plans, and review and monitor them periodically

viii. Create transition teams in the district and the school for development and implementation of a systematic transition programme

ix. Involving the child/young person as an active learner and participant in the transition process

x. Teachers and other practitioners working with researchers to undertake action research to improve their practice related to transitions

Examples of good transition practice across the world and some suggestions (continued)

xi. Educational transitions are in line with developmental transitions of an individual

xii. Undertake staff training needs assessment in the context of transitions

xiii. Should research, evaluate, and document transition programme effectiveness on an ongoing basis

xiv. Using emotional intelligence intervention to facilitate effective transitions

xv. Prior to transition, children/young people are involved in simulated role, drama, storytelling to provide opportunities to express their transition concerns and tackle them in a secure and familiar environment

Examples of good transition practice across the world and some suggestions (continued)

xvi. Having named transitional professionals xvii. Information passed from one stage to another

- academic attainment- personal and social factors

xviii. Secure attachments opportunities - buddy system - guidance and counselling staff

* From Jindal-Snape, D. (Editor) (forthcoming in December 2009). Educational Transitions: Moving Stories from around the world. New York: Routledge.

Contact Details

Dr Divya Jindal-SnapeSchool of Education, Social Work and Community Education University of DundeeNethergateDundee DD1 4HNScotland

Tel:  +44(0) 1382 381472e-mail d.jindalsnape@dundee.ac.uk

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/eswce/staff/djindalsnape.php