Preliminary communication
Child as an Active Participant When Starting School
Ida Somolanji Tokić
; Fakultet za odgojne i obrazovne znanosti, Osijek
Jasna Kretić Majer
; Osnovna škola Franje Krežme u Osijeku
Abstract
Starting school is an important topic that is again in the focus of interest due to the new proposal of one year of compulsory preschool education. In Croatia, the dominant theoretical and practical approach to starting school sees that transition as a sort of maturity test and for which a child needs to be prepared at home and in kindergarten. A modern curriculum needs to abolish such approach and standardisation of children. Instead, a child needs to be observed from a broader perspective that involves a number of participants. A child is the most important participant in that process. The process of transition is very stressful to a child. There are several levels of the transition process from that need to be taken into account children's point of view. Understanding those levels contributes to the continuum of developmentally appropriate practice during the transition period. This gives priority to the child as a subject in the educational process. The aim of this study is to investigate the child's perception of preschool and primary school before and after starting school. Emphasis is on acknowledging the child's previous experience as guidelines in organization of educational work. Research is carried out through interviews with 6-7 years old children before starting school and three months after starting school. Results indicate that children are aware of the changes that occur during the process of transition and are experiencing strong positive and negative emotions.
Keywords
child; interview; preschool; pedagogy of listening, primary school
Hrčak ID:
152312
URI
Publication date:
19.6.2015.
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