Tuia te Rangi e tū iho nei, Tuia te papa e takoto nei
Join the sky above to earth below, Just as people join together
This paper was prepared by Jocelyn Wright, University of Canterbury, 2009.
Key question
How can relationships between early childhood and primary support transitioning children and families?
Introduction
Frequently our knowledge is informed by prior experiences that may be outdated. Things are likely to have changed since our own schooling or that of our own children, especially in light of the current implementation of the New Zealand Curriculum (2007).
Children's movement from one education sector to the other can be enhanced by:
- teachers in both settings (ie, early childhood and primary) sharing common goals for children's learning;
- working together to reduce the discontinuities children experience. Supporting children and families/whanau through their transition between sectors involves early childhood and school sharing this responsibility.
Teachers from each sector need to develop relationships that involve sharing knowledge and understanding of each other's environment, pedagogy and curriculum. Teachers can be influential mediators of children's experiences when they have an understanding of where transitioning children are moving to, where they come from and what they bring to their new learning context.
Reflective questions
- How confidently can you talk about school programmes, environments and people with families/whanau in your setting?
- Are you equipped to support parents/whanau with their queries or anxieties?
- Can you engage in meaningful conversation with children when their curiosities are aroused by their or their friends' experiences of beginning school?
- On what do you base your decisions about provision of transition programmes?
- Do you feel confident about sharing, with children, what today's schooling is really like?