To Örebro University

In our project we seek to contribute with new knowledge about pedagogical (dis-)continuities in early childhood science. In this presentation we explore how the same science content is carried out in different ECE school forms, and how different local early childhood educational cultures may give opportunities or become obstacles for science teaching continuities. Our data was collected in three Swedish school units, each comprising at least one preschool, one preschool class and one class from the first three grades of primary school. Classroom observations of science activities were performed at 44 occasions. Activity Theory was used to describe how the teachers in different school forms deal with the same content and how their teaching is affected by local educational cultures.

Across the school forms there was a gradual shift from science learning through nature encounters and ‘doing’ towards an emphasis on concepts, facts, processes and inquiry. Tools for communicating about the subject also gradually shifted, from verbal communication and creative activities towards subject-focused drawing, writing, and reading. Subject continuity was above all ensured by the teacher’s sensitivity to the children’s former experiences, taking it into account when planning the science activities. The overall picture is one of gradual changes of science teaching across early year’s school forms. The bridge for continuity in a specific subject area is however fragile, since it is the children, rather than the teachers or the organization, who become the primary carriers of continuity. This calls for considering how to construct meeting opportunities for teachers, in order to better communicate and adapt their science teaching to what children have or will experience.

INTRODUCTION

Internationally, the growing attention towards the benefits of an early start for children has resulted in an increased public spending on early childhood education (ECE) (OECD 2017). The growing attention is also reflected in a rapid expansion of the research field of early year’s science (defined as science activities for children between 0 and 8 years of age). To our knowledge there are however no studies of pedagogical continuities in early childhood science. In our project we seek to contribute with new knowledge within this particular field.

Pedagogical (dis) -continuities across educational cultures

A growing number of ECE research suggests that the benefits of increasing public spending on ECE may disappear during the first years of primary school due to pedagogical discontinuities (OECD 2017). One potential reason for pedagogical discontinuity are the substantial historically and culturally formed differences between prior-to-school and compulsory school settings, differences that shape discrete educational cultures. For example, the school forms are governed by separate curricula that harbor divergent views of the child, learning, teaching and knowledge (Huser, Dockett & Perry, 2016). Many researchers have described this as a gap that somehow needs to be bridged. Others have emphasized the importance of distinguishable borders between different school forms (Ackesjö 2014).

In Sweden, where this project is conducted, 83 percent of all children in ages between 1-5 years are enrolled in preschool. The year children turn six they will transfer to the compulsory preschool class and the succeeding year they will start year 1 at primary school. The preschool class was specifically introduced into the educational system to enable a smooth transition between prior-to-school education and school by intertwining their divergent pedagogies. However, in accordance with the international studies compiled by the OECD, pedagogical discontinuities are still reported, describing missed opportunities to use children's subject learning experiences from preschool and preschool class in the first year of primary school (Skoog 2012, Ackesjö 2014).

Objectives and research questions

The results presented here are part of a larger project where the main objective is to explore if, and how, educational cultures may affect continuity in science teaching across early childhood school forms. In educational settings the concept continuity may be described as in Dewey's "principles of continuity" thus, that experiences in the present always are colored by previous experiences, and that the challenge for teachers is to provide learners with quality experiences that both rely on their previous experiences and will result in growth and creativity in subsequent experiences (Dewey 1938/1997). Continuity across school forms are often put forward as desirable, but the concept is seldom further elaborated as to what it is, how it can be accomplished, and for whom it is desirable (Ackesjö 2016). Ackesjö (2016) mentions several different aspects of continuity advocated in research, such as communicative (referring to communication between teachers in different school forms), social, curricular, organizational, cultural, and teaching continuity.

In this presentation, we focus on a subsample of our empirical data: science activities that deal with the same content occurring in at least two different school forms. Our aim is to explore how the same science content is carried out in three different ECE school forms. We seek to answer the following questions: 1) What characterizes science teaching of a given content, in the different school forms? 2) What opportunities for, and obstacles to, teaching continuity, in relation to a given science content, can be identified across school forms?

METHOD

Our data was collected in three Swedish school units, each comprising at least one preschool, one preschool class and one class from the first three grades of primary school. Together the three units comprise 4 preschools, 4 preschool classes and 4 grade 1-3 classes. Classroom observations of science activities were performed at 44 occasions (preschools (18), preschool classes (8), primary school (18)).

To characterize and compare the science teaching across the school forms, we draw on Activity Theory (Engeström 1987) and thus constructed triangle models for all the activities. These models include a description of seven elements; the subject (the teacher), object (the purpose), tools, rules, community/educational culture, division of labour and outcome of the activities. The descriptions of the elements of activities with recurring content across school forms were compared to a) identify how teachers in different school forms deal with the same content and b) how culturally formed differences (rules, community/educational culture, division of labour and outcome) may affect their teaching.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

We identified seven recurring contents across the school forms. These were: Water, Plant growth, Fungi, Friction, Insulation, Seasons and Animal tracks. Among these, ‘water’ was the only content that occurred across all three school forms.

Four aspects of shifts in how science teaching is carried out across the school forms were identified. Firstly, in all school forms the children’s former experiences, interests and curiosity were integral aspects of the science teaching. We however identified a shift from using children’s interests as a starting point for science education in preschool towards integrating children's views into teaching of mandatory science curriculum in primary school (subject and educational culture). Second, the teaching approaches shift from focus on verbal communication and creative activities towards subject-focused drawing, writing, and reading (tools). Third, there is a shift from nature encounters and ‘doing’ towards an emphasis on concepts, facts, processes and inquiry (objects). These three shifts are all gradual across the school forms. There is also an example of a more abrupt shift in teaching across school forms; from voluntariness (in preschool) towards mandatory participation (in school) (rules). In the presentation we will describe these trends in more details exemplifying it by how teachers handle the content ‘water’ and ‘fungi’ across school forms.

CONCLUSION

We see a potential for science teaching continuity across early childhood school forms. The subject specific continuity however, is grounded in a sensitivity among the teachers for what the children have experienced in previous school forms. This teaching continuity thus relies altogether on the information that the children choose to share. Hence, this bridge for science teaching between school forms is fragile, since it is the children, rather than the teachers or the organization, who become the primary carriers of continuity. This calls for considering how to strengthen the communicative continuity, that is to construct meeting opportunities for teachers across ECE school forms, in order to better adapt their teaching to what children have or will experience.

REFERENCES

Ackesjö, H. (2014) Barns övergångar till och från förskoleklass: Gränser, identiteter och (dis) kontinuiteter. Doctoral Thesis Växjö, Linnaeus University Press 148.

Ackesjö, H. (2016). Övergångar mellan skolformer – kontinuitet och progression från förskola till skola. Stockholm: Liber AB

Dewey, J. (1938/1997). Experience and Education. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Engeström, Y. (1987). Learning by expanding: an activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-konsultit.

Huser, C. Dockett, S. & Perry, B. (2016) Transition to school: revisiting the bridge metaphor. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24 (3) 439-449

OECD (2017) Starting Strong 2017: Key OECD Indicators on Early Childhood Education and Care, Starting Strong, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264276116-en

Skoog, M. (2012) Skriftspråkande i förskoleklass och årskurs 1. Örebro Studies in Education 33.