Session Information
04 SES 06 B, Transitions
Paper Session
Contribution
School Starts now! Transitions to School from a Perspective of Inclusive Education
In most countries, children pass through several transitions during their years in the educational system. Characterized as being more or less marked, these transitions might be considered as natural, something everyone has to pass, or regarded as critical, with risks for the well-being of the individual. In previous research, we found how a marked transition between primary and lower secondary school, from young peoples’ perspectives, might be interpreted as an important step between childhood and adolescence, a rite of passage recognized by the adult world. An even more evident transition in the world of school children is the school start. Much research about the transition to school is focused on the perspective of the teachers or the perspective of goal achievement in different subjects. Few studies are longitudinal case studies, not many concern the perspective of the children, and they seldom apply a perspective of inclusive education. Applying a perspective of inclusive education, our current research is focused on the transition from the pre-school class (age-group 6) to the first year of the compulsory school (age-group 7-8), in particular the new expectations, i.e. learning how to read and write. The aim of our research is, to deepen our understanding of what transitions during the educational career mean for the diversity of children involved, especially meeting the challenges in a new educational setting with reference to learning, participation and marginalization. Data is collected from two pre-school classes and two first year school classes. The data material collected will be scrutinized from the children’s as well as the teachers’ perspectives. Through our analysis we hope to get an even deeper understanding of the meaning of the school start for children from a school perspective as well as from a life perspective, especially with reference to the concept “Rites of passage”.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
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