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For the past two years, a small but dedicated
team of new entrant and early childhood
teachers have been working on a Ministry
of Education Teacher-led Innovation Fund
(TLIF)
1
project on transitions to school. The
title of our report, “It’s a big deal for all
of us” (Te One et. al, 2017), reflects our
realisation of the huge impact successful (or
otherwise) transitions to school can have
on the lives of not only children, but also
on their whānau, and teachers be (Hayes
et al, 2015). Our research reinforces other
findings in the field and demonstrates
that “effective transitions are critical to
the development of children’s self-worth,
confidence and resilience, and ongoing
success at school” (Education Review Office
2015, p. 1).
Our project was set in the Petone Basin, a
defined geographical space comprising of
six primary schools and 27 ECE services
(including kindergartens, community
ECE services, independent ECE services,
kōhanga reo and playcentres in Lower Hutt,
Wellington). Some of the teachers were part
of a network that met regularly to discuss
common issues. My own journey began with
phone call out of the blue asking if I would
like to be part of the project, and without
taking too much time to think about it my
answer was ‘yes’! The impact of my quick
answer would be far reaching!
1
In 2015 the Ministry of Education approved the
funding of the first research projects out of it’s
$18 million TLIF fund
TOO MANY MESSAGES,
TOO MANY DIFFERENT
EXPECTATIONS
Teachers in both sectors were concerned
by the huge range of transition to school
approaches being used. If we, as teachers,
were concerned about the lack of a
consistent, coherent approach to transition
to school, what must it be like for the
children and their families/whānau? We
wanted to take our ideas further and so
applied successfully for the TLIF grant.
This meant we were funded to design and
implement our project.
Our intended outcome was to produce a
toolkit of resources based on the findings
of our innovations and wider contextual
research. This toolkit would be available for
use by all early childhood education services
and schools in the Petone Basin.
Our first steps were to identify a Project
Team and, over the first six months, we
developed our ideas and our action plans.
We asked two questions:
01. How can we ensure that each
and every child has a smooth and
consistent pathway between ECE and
school in the Petone Basin?
02. How can current practices in ECE
services and schools within the Petone
Basin be developed, adapted and
shared to ensure successful, coherent
transition practices for all children?
We used action research and teacher inquiry
models (for example, Cardno, 2003) to
examine our transition to school practices
and each introduced an innovation. We
interviewed teachers in both sectors, as
well as children and whānau, around their
expectations and experiences of transition
to school. We also conducted two focus
group interviews with community-based
service experts and leaders and managers
in early childhood education (ECE) services
and schools. At the same time, we continued
to hold network hui with teachers in both
settings to work through our emerging
findings. We also used recent New Zealand
research (Boyle and Petriwskyj, 2014) about
the transition to school, notably the work
of Associate Professor Sally Peters (who we
were thrilled to be able to invite to speak at
one of our hui) and we used sociocultural
theory to examine our findings.
NOT ABOUT NATIONAL
STANDARDS
Our project did not measure student
achievement or academic progress. The
‘space’ for our inquiry was in a borderland:
transitioning to school. We learnt that
transitions can be traumatic for some
children and when this happens, their
confidence as capable and competent
learners is disrupted, sometimes for many
years, and that this impacts on their school
work. Therefore, to ensure that children’s
views of themselves as ready, willing and
able to learn are important attitudes to
foster, especially when starting school.
The step-up to ‘teacher as researcher’ was
at times overwhelming. We learnt so much
about the processes of undertaking research,
particularly the importance of well-thought
out project planning aligned with our budget
and having expert guidance. We employed
an administrator with a strong accounting
background and a research advisor and
critical friend, Dr Sarah Te One. Together, we
were able to meet our checkpoints in time
and, most, on task. We also employed a
research assistant who interviewed parents
and whānau and teachers as well as writing
sections of the final report.
For me, finding out about the pressures on
my primary colleagues was a big part of
my discovery. Hearing about the impacts
of testing and the demands on their time,
meant I could now see how it might be
difficult for them to be as flexible as we in
ECE might like.
TRANSITION FOR ME TOO
As the demands of the project grew I began
to see my participation as having parallels
IT’S A
BIG DEAL
FOR ALL OF US
SUPPORTING TRANSITIONS FROM EARLY
CHILDHOOD SERVICES TO SCHOOL
PETONE BASINS TRANSITIONS TO SCHOOL - A TEACHER-LED INNOVATION FUND PROJECT
By Nichola Kirkwood, with Dr Sarah Te One and the Petone Basin Transitions to School Project Team
December 2017
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