(1) "At preschool
they read to you, at school you learn to read": Perspectives on starting
school.
Bob Perry, Sue Dockett, and Danielle Tracey
Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 23(4), 6-11
Starting school represents a critical period in the life of young children. Parent / guardians and early childhood educators in school and prior to school settings are concerned to make the transition to formal schooling as smooth as possible and, to this end, engage in a range of actions and interactions designed to help prepare children for school. Underpinning these are sets of beliefs about what will facilitate the transition to school and what it means to be ready for school. This article explores some of those beliefs and adds to the literature in this area by considering the perspectives of the children involved in the transition to school.
(2) Changes in
parents' perceptions of their children's transition to school: first child
and later children
Helen Meredith, Bob Perry, Therese Borg, and Sue Dockett
Journal of Australian Research in Early Childhood Education, 6(2),
228-239
There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that first born children are different in many ways from their younger siblings. But do parents' perceptions about events which have involved their first born change when these same events involve later born children? In particular do parents' perceptions of what is important for their children who are starting school change depending on whether or not it is their first experience with this event?
This paper reports the results of a survey completed by parents in both school and prior-to-school settings across NSW about their perceptions of children starting school. Using parent interviews to supplement this data the paper examines parents' perceptions of what is important regarding their first and later born children's experience of starting school. It explores possible explanations for and ramifications of these perceptions.
(3) Starting school:
Issues for children, parents and teachers
Bob Perry, Sue Dockett, and Peter Howard Journal of Australian Research
in Early Childhood Education, 7(1), 41-53
This paper reports on perceptions about children starting school which are espoused by children, parents and teachers. Fifty children were interviewed soon after they had started school. Teachers, in both school and prior-to-school settings, and parents across NSW completed an extensive written survey. In particular, data were gathered in the areas of children's knowledge, adjustment, skills, disposition, rule development and physical well being. These areas had been identified through a grounded theory approach in a series of pilot studies. Analysis has reaffirmed these dimensions and facilitated comparisons among various groups of respondents. Differences were found across the groups in terms of which areas were espoused more often. This paper investigates these differences and explores possible explanations for these.
(4) Starting school: What do the children say Sue Dockett and Bob Perry Early Child Development and Care, in press
As part of an ongoing study of young children's transition to school, a group of 50 young children who had recently started school were interviewed about their experiences, expectations and perceptions. Their responses indicated a strong focus on the rules they encountered in the school context and their feelings, or dispositions, about going to school. Children's responses are analysed according to the types of rules mentioned, the perceived consequences of infringing these rules and the nature of the dispositions mentioned. Underlying the study is a commitment to listening to the voices of children and a regard for their active role in research that seeks to understand the transition to school.
(1) Guidelines
for transition to school
Sue Dockett,
Bob Perry and Peter Howard
Australian Research in Early Childhood Annual Conference, Canberra,
2000
Since 1997, the Starting School Research Project at UWS Macarthur has been investigating what parents, children and educators regard as important in children's transition to school. In this paper, the results of the research so far are distilled into a set of guidelines which set the foundations for successful transition programs in a number of contexts. The paper outlines the methods employed in the research so far, the analysis which has resulted in the guidelines and ways in which these guidelines will be employed to develop contextually specific transition programs.
(2) Parent's Transition
to School
Kris Westcott, Bob Perry, Kathy Jones, Sue Dockett
Australian Research in Early Childhood Annual Conference, Canberra,
2000
Parental participation in the schooling of their children is becoming more widely accepted as beneficial in positive school adjustment, academic achievement and self esteem for both the children and their parents.
This pilot study was designed to collect base line data from a group of parents whose first child was enrolled to commence Kindergarten in the year 2000. The informants participated in a focus group or were interviewed individually by telephone or in their home. Questions were designed to gain insights into their current perceptions of the impact of their first child commencing school and possible involvement within the school in respect of both activities they would be willing to become involved in and the frequency of their perceived involvement. Participants were also asked to infer if their own school memories would impact on their anticipated involvement. The finds support those reported in the literature, providing impetus for further study.
(3) Children's
Responses to Starting School: Some Victorian Stories
Margaret Clyde
Australian Research in Early Childhood Annual Conference, Canberra,
2000
This paper explores the perceptions of young children as they start school. The children, aged four and a half years to five and a half years, had spent the previous year in a pre-school and/or a child care setting. The implications of these perceptions for the actions of teachers, parents and school staff are explored. It is interesting to note that the children's stories highlight several practices that serve to confuse, rather than familiarise, children within the school environment and identify areas in which interactions or support could limit the problems associated with the transition to school.
(4) Smoothing the
way: An evaluation of a transition to school program
Peter Howard, Sue Dockett and Bob Perry
Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference,
Melbourne, 1999
Children's transition to school represents a major change for all concerned as children, families and school all need to make adjustments to the changing demands and expectations. This paper reports an evaluation of one transition to school program instituted in an urban school in Sydney in response to the needs of a specific group of Arabic-speaking children and their families who had had limited experience in formal early childhood settings. With the assistance of local consultants and the authors, the school implemented the transition program in term 4, 1998. This paper describes the program and the theoretical base underpinning it, as well as an evaluation of the program and the outcomes for children, families and school personnel. The evaluation, in the context of ongoing research in the area by the authors, and a review of the transition to school literature provides the basis for the identification of a set of guidelines underpinning effective transition to school programs.
(5) What do early
childhood educators and parents think is important about children's transition
to school? A comparison between data from the city and the bush.
Sue Dockett, Bob Perry, Peter Howard and Alice Meckley ???, 1999
During 1998 and 1999, the Starting School Project at the University of Western Sydney Macarthur has conducted a New South Wales-wide survey on what key stakeholders see as being important to ensure smooth transitions to school for young children. This paper uses data from this survey and a series of focus group interviews to report on the responses from early childhood educators - in both school and prior-to-school settings - and parents who have children recently starting school or preparing to start school. In particular, it compares data derived from country New South Wales - including rural and remote areas - and city locations within the state. Differences found include: the perceived importance of prior-to-school experiences; the nature of these experiences; the particular effects of geographical isolation; school and class size; nature of local communities; distance education; the effects of the rural recession; the role of technology in children's education and the nature of transition to school programs.
The paper considers each of these and derives some initial recommendations for successful transition to school programs which involve all the stakeholders in this transition.
(6) Perceptions
of children starting school: Parents and educators
Sue Dockett, Bob Perry, Peter Howard, Danielle Tracey
Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference,
Adelaide, 1998
An extensive survey, developed through collaboration with project partners, was administered to teachers, in both school and prior-to-school settings, and parents across NSW seeking their perceptions about children starting school. In particular, data was gathered in the areas of children's knowledge, adjustment, skills, disposition, rule development and physical well being. These areas were identified through a grounded theory approach in a series of pilot studies. Analysis has reaffirmed these dimensions and facilitated comparisons among various groups of respondents. This paper investigates the differences that were identified and explores possible explanations for these.
(7) Research in
early childhood education: Partnerships count
Bob Perry, Peter Howard, Sue Dockett and Danielle Tracey
Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference,
Adelaide, 1998
The project on which the Starting School: Beliefs, myths and consequences symposium is based has come about through a genuine concern regarding children's transition to school. In Australia, there have been few unified attempts to investigate, identify and compare the perceptions and expectations of parents and educators towards children starting school. Even less has been reported on children's perceptions of starting school. The project has brought together educational and community agencies in collaboration with a university research team to form a partnership to provide data upon which transition programs may be developed and evaluated. This paper investigates the constitution of these collaborative partnerships and the methodological questions which were confronted in the study. It also provides a critical summary of the literature related to children's transition to school.
(8) Starting School:
The voices of children
Sue Dockett, Margaret Clyde and Bob Perry
Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference,
Adelaide, 1998
This paper explores the perceptions of young children as they start school. It reports on the perceptions about starting school of 50 children, aged four-an-a-half to five-and-a-half years, in the south western suburbs of Sydney. The implications of these perceptions for the actions of teachers, parents and school executive staff are explored. In particular, the perceptions of young children highlight several practices that serve to confuse, rather than to familiarise, children with the school environment and identify areas in which adult interaction and support would facilitate the transition to school.
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