Supporting and stimulating the learning of socioeconomically disadvantaged children – perspectives of parents and educators in the transition from preschool to primary school

Abstract

When children move from preschool to primary school in Germany, this involves a transition between two distinct systems with regard to political responsibility. Following Rimm-Kaufman and Pianta's (2000) ecological and dynamic model of transition, the research project focuses on the perspectives of parents and professionals on the learning processes of children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families in the transition from preschool to school. Against the backdrop of a socio-constructive conception of learning we examine the microsystemic constructions of parents and professionals with qualitative methods in a longitudinal design. The results presented here draw attention to the 18 months before the child's school entry. It captures the perceptions of parents and educators on the support of the child's learning processes in the family and in the institutional context. Results question the ideal of an educational partnership by emphasising the conflicting demands related to preschool. RÉSUMÉ: Quand en Allemagne les enfants passent du préscolaire à l'école primaire, cela emmène également un changement de responsabilités politiques. Les points de vue des parents et des éducatrices sur le processus d'apprentissage des enfants défavorisés socio-économiquement lors de la transition ont été étudiés dans le cadre d'un projet de recherche basé sur le modèle de transition dynamique et écologique de Rimm-Kaufman et Pianta (2000). Nous étudions les constructions micro-systémiques dans une recherche longitudinale avec des méthodes qualitatives à partir d'une vision constructiviste de l'apprentissage. Les résultats présentés portent sur les 18 mois avant l'entrée réglementaire des enfants à l'école. Nous rendons compte des visions des parents et des éducateurs sur le soutien de l'apprentissage des enfants tant dans la famille que dans les institutions. Les résultats remettent en question l'idéal d'un partenariat éducatif, en mettant l'accent sur les demandes conflictuelles relatées à l'éducation préscolaire. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Während des Übergangs vom Kindergarten in die Grundschule vollziehen Kinder einen Wechsel zwischen zwei Systemen. Auf der Grundlage des Ecological and Dynamic Model of Transition von RimmKaufman und Pianta (2000) werden die Perspektiven der Eltern und ErzieherInnen auf die Lernprozesse sozioökonomisch benachteiligter Kinder in der Transition untersucht. Ausgehend von einem sozio-konstruktivistischen Lernverständnis werden die mikrosystemischen Konstruktionen in einem längsschnittlichen Design mit qualitativen Methoden erfasst. Die vorgestellten Ergebnisse beziehen sich auf anderthalb Jahre vor dem regulären Schuleintritt der Kinder. Die Perspektiven der Eltern und ErzieherInnen werden hier in Hinblick auf die wahrgenommene Unterstützung im Kontext der Familie und der Institution in ihrer Relation erfasst. Auf dieser Basis wird das Ideal einer Erziehungs-und Bildungspartnerschaft hinsichtlich konflikthafter Ansprüche an den Auftrag des Kindergartens kritisch hinterfragt.RESUMEN: En Alemania, cuando lo...

Sustaining warm and inclusive transitions across the early years: insights from the START project

“…The challenges connected to establishing trusting relationship between parents and professionals seems to be particularly salient when children and families from vulnerable groups are involved. Several studies involving migrant parents (Van Laere et al 2018;Van Laere and Vandenbroeck 2017) as well as socio-economically disadvantaged families (Rothe et al 2014;Arndt et al 2013) revealed thatin spite of a rhetoric of educational partnershipthe more formalised and learning-oriented the educational settings become (ie: from daycare to preschool, from preschool to primary school) the less parents' expertise is valued against that of professionals. In such context of unequal power dynamics, parents' concernsrelated to the social, emotional and physical support available to their children during transitions as well as to their actual belonging and participation in the classroomare often left unheard, undermining the creation of trusting relationship between families and professionals from the outset.…”

“…Studies carried out in the context of EU Member States indicate that positive experiences of transition between educational levels can be a critical factor in fostering children's development and school success, while negative experiences can produce lasting difficulties leading to under-achievement (Dumčius et al 2014). This seems to be especially the case for children and families from migrant backgrounds or belonging to vulnerable social groups (Council of European Union 2015; OECD 2017): research shows that the way in which transitions are managed tend to unintentionally favour children from more advantaged backgrounds, whose families know how to navigate the educational system including its institutional flaws (Van Laere and Vandenbroeck 2017;Amerijckx and Humblet 2015;Rothe et al 2014;Arndt et al 2013).…”

The Starting School Study: Mothers' Perspectives of Transition to School

“…Some mothers remained concerned about issues but opportunities to develop the parentteacher relationship continued as these were resolved. Mothers sometimes felt their knowledge was not as valued as the teacher's knowledge and advice (Arndt, Rothe, Urban & Werning, 2013).…”

Comparative Analysis of the Transition from Early Childhood Education to Primary Education: Factors Affecting Continuity between Stages

“…The responsible education administrations determine, at a national level, elements that differentiate countries in terms of management of the stages of ECE and PE, and their own guidelines for teacher training (Tomaszewska-Pękała et al, 2017). The macro-level regulates, on the one hand, the factors that facilitate the continuity of the transition: the teacher-student ratio (class size and student-teacher ratio) (Chan, 2010;Lehrer, 2018), the type of groupings (Huf, 2013;Margetts, 2002;Quinn & Hennessy, 2010), the funding of each stage (Greenberg, 2018), and the institutional responsibility for each stage (Arndt et al, 2013). On the other hand, the macro-level also regulates the factors related to teacher training, both for initial and lifelong learning.…”