Refereed journal article or data article (A1)
The Concordance between Teachers' and Parents' Perceptions of School Transition Practices: A Solid Base for the Future
List of Authors: Ahtola A, Bjorn PM, Turunen T, Poikonen PL, Kontoniemi M, Lerkkanen MK, Nurmi JE
Publisher: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Publication year: 2016
Journal: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research
Journal name in source: SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Journal acronym: SCAND J EDUC RES
Volume number: 60
Issue number: 2
Number of pages: 14
ISSN: 0031-3831
eISSN: 1470-1170
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2014.996598
This study focuses on parents' and teachers' perceptions of practices aimed at easing the transition to formal schooling (e.g., familiarization with the school, discussions about the school entrants). A total of 230 preschool teachers, 131 elementary school teachers, and 2,662 mothers and fathers filled in a questionnaire containing items on how important they considered different preschool-school transition practices. The participants considered the various transition practices to be at least somewhat important. On average, familiarization with the school was considered to be most important, whereas teacher co-operation and joint writing of curricula were considered to be least important. The perceptions of the participant groups differed from each other significantly in almost all practices. We suggest that the information on school entrants should be transferred within joint meetings between transition partners and other professionals whenever possible.