The transition from kindergarten to infant school

Abstract

A child's life is made of a chain of transitions taking him from one setting to another. The years three to five are those in which he is most likely to attend some kind of Kindergarten and those in which he attends infant or first school. During this time, he may experience a number of transitions or changes: from home to Kindergarten; from one Kindergarten to another; from home or Kindergarten to infant school; from one infant class to the next. Settings like Kindergartens and infant schools will in particular place different demands on the child, including those stemming from large numbers of peers, a variety of play and working materials as well as strange adults, who unwillingly might bring fear into the child of such a tender age. Such settings are likely to be more impersonal than the home environment. "Since starting school is a necessary transition for almost all young children, continuity could best be studied by looking at what happens when this particular change occurs". (Cleave, Jowett, Bate, 1982). The Kindergarten, unlike other places of education, accepts children who have not shared a previous common experience. This phase in the child's education offers a variety of experiences which have their own specific implications for the child coming into infant school. One must agree that continuity of these young children's experiences is important. Parents, teachers, Kindergarten assistants and others concerned with early education should study this issue, because the rapid and largely uncoordinated development of our school services might lead to incompatibilities between children's experiences in Kindergarten and infant sectors. Uncoordinated settings and programmes might cause stress in young children which could be detrimental to their development. The discontinuity for the child, whether he comes from the Kindergarten class down the corridor or another Kindergarten down the road, is surely the extended range of his territory when he comes to infant school. Discontinuities like these, however, may not be necessarily disadvantageous for all children. Some of them may settle happily at school and are clearly ready for the stimulus which the transition offers. On the other hand, however ready they are for change, other children may not be able to cope if the discontinuities are too extreme. At Kindergarten a child may often look bored, but the much-needed change, when it comes, can be so great that throughout the early weeks he may frequently look lost and bewildered. For a couple of years, he may have been used to roaming freely in the room of the Kindergarten more or less as and when he pleased. At infant school he is confined to one rather crowded boxlike classroom which he may leave only at appointed times, in a certain manner and by permission. Many toys that were present in the Kindergarten class have now disappeared, the same text books are used by the whole class and the teacher, while lessons are programmed according to a specific time-table. The introduction to new and exciting areas beyond the classroom can be a stimulating experience, but needs to be a gradual process if the child is not to be overwhelmed. Because facilities are so far apart he has to walk in line with his classmates to the various rooms, such as the toilet, the hall, the clinic and the playground. At the same time as his territory has been extended, his movement around it has been severely curtailed. Much attention is given to children going to secondary school from primary. Guidance teachers and counsellors give talks to Year Six pupils and their parents in order to affect a smooth transition for the children moving into the secondary sector. Orientation visits to this sector are also held by these pupils accompanied by their teachers. Unfortunately, little attention is paid to what goes on in the Kindergarten/infant settings and what the individual experiences of children are, particularly when moving from one section to another. It is hoped that the following will help to create awareness on this issue.