Overgang barnehage - skole. Komparativ studie av barnehage- og skolepedagoger sitt perspektiv
The subject of this master thesis is the transition from kindergarten to first school. Children’s different experience of confidence and security during the transition from kindergarten to first school can impact their further development, both socially and academically (Roland, Fandrem og Løge, 2011; Westergård, 2012). The recent years’ significant initiative to expand the kindergarten sector has given full kindergarten coverage and resulted in over 96% participation in kindergarten prior to starting full time first school. This means that the transition from kindergarten to first school has for most children become something they will experience and that the content of this transition has become a relevant issue. The question addressed in this master thesis is: How does one implement and organize the transition from kindergarten to first school, from the perspective of the education professionals in the kindergarten and the first school? The areas of focus are what experiences education professionals have had with the transition, and how in the transition the requirements of children with special needs are met. This is a qualitative study, where the collection of data has been performed by interview. The interviewees are education professionals at kindergartens or first schools who have responsibility for organizing and implementing the transition. The master thesis takes a systems theory approach using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory of child development (1979) as the primary theoretical perspective. The analysis of data is performed primarily using the categories of role, activity and relation, which according to Bronfenbrenner are important building blocks in microenvironments.The findings in this master thesis show that educational professionals in kindergartens and first schools have in many areas similar experiences and views on the transition. Education professionals experience that well established routines and establishing procedures through written plans provide an advantage in the transition. The possibility to build relations is seen as decisive in arranging the children’s transition. Furthermore, activities which promote social skills and competencies, together with activities which create confidence and independence, can also be beneficial. Furthermore, it is also considered important to stimulate a rich vocabulary and comprehension. That children have well developed micro and macro motorskills is also regarded as an advantage. The study does not show the same degree of correlation in fields which demand more time consuming cooperation between education professionals, for example in the evaluation of the transition. The interest for such cooperation is clearly strongest amongst education professionals in the kindergartens. It appears also that whilst education professionals in kindergartens have chosen to acquire knowledge about the first schools’ teaching plan and regulation, the education professionals at the first schools have not chosen to immerse themselves in the details of the kindergartens’ framework and regulations. This may indicate that education professionals at the kindergartens adapt to a greater extent their teaching content than those of the first schools.
Publisert i 2015
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