Educators’ views on transition from home to preschool

• Published in: Netla
• Main Author: Pálmadóttir, Hrönn
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2020
• Subjects: preschool; transition; educators; diverse background and culture; upphaf leikskólagöngu; aðlögun; fjölbreyttur bakgrunnur og menning; samfella; starfshættir; Dunlop; Reykjavík
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/netla/article/view/3168; https://doi.org/10.24270/netla.2020.3

The aim of the article is to shed light on the attitudes and experiences of educators in a preschool in Reykjavík, in collaboration with parents and children with diverse backgrounds and cultures, in the transition to preschool. The purpose is to understand the meaning of this aspect of the work and thus add to existing knowledge. The ideological foundation of the study is largely drawn from scholars who have studied the changes that occur when children begin compulsory schooling. Although the research mainly focuses on the beginning of primary schooling, it can be argued that many of the same factors also apply to the onset of preschool for young children. Children are considered to be powerful and creative, and the learning environment and curriculum should be based on children’s interests and circumstances and take into account that they are different (Dockett & Einarsdóttir, 2017; Dunlop, 2017; Educational Transitions and Change Research group, 2011). Thus, continuity in children’s lives should allow for the experience of the children’s homes in their transition to preschool (Margetts, 2002). The changes are characterized by a complex process in which the concepts of transition and adaptation are intertwined. The process of adaptation begins at home and continues until the child and his or her family experience themselves as participants and belong to the new environment (Margetts, 2014). The child is moving from one environment to another, from home or day-care to a new place: the preschool. The process is considered to be an integrated learning experience for children, parents and preschool teachers (Drugli & Undheim, 2011).The article aims to answer two questions:What are the views of educators working with children with diverse backgrounds and cultures in the transition to preschool?How is the preschool emphasizing the continuity of the children’s lives?The preschool that participated in the study has extensive experience in working with families of foreign origin. Children under the age of two ...