Barns övergång från förskola till skola: en multipel fallstudie om övergångsaktiviteter

The study describes and analyses children’s transition from kindergarten to school in two Swedish municipalities, and the activities that are initiated to make the transition good for both children and parents. The research questions are: 1) What types of transitions do children make from kindergarten to school in the municipalities involved in the study? 2) What type of activities support a smooth transition between kindergarten and school in the two municipalities? 3) What type of challenges and potential for improvement can be identified in the work to make the transitions better in the two municipalities?

The results show that the transitions from kindergarten to school were different and that different activities were carried out to ease the transitions. The transitional activities were both general (arranged for all children) and individual (arranged for children in need of extra support). General activities where the children were allowed to participate were the most common. However, few individual activities were arranged in which the child participated. Several areas of development appeared to be important in the work to make the transitions between kindergarten and school better: 1) Staff in the after-school programme should be more involved. 2) Transitional activities should be evaluated to a greater extent and developed so that it becomes clear who is doing what and which activities are most important. 3) The children should be more involved in the planning and evaluation of the activities, so that these are adapted to the children’s needs. (4) Specific people in kindergartens and schools should be responsible for the transitional work so that it is safeguarded and coordinated. 5) There should be more exchange of experience between kindergartens, schools and after-school programmes to ensure continuity and development. 6) All children should be offered the opportunity to participate in transitional activities.

The study is part of a research project that deals with transitions from kindergarten to school. The method used is a qualitative multi-case study involving quantitative elements. A total of 37 employees in kindergartens, schools and after-school programmes from two Swedish municipalities participated in the study. The data material was collected through focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with kindergarten coordinators, headteachers and teachers, after-school programme staff, kindergarten employees and special needs teachers during 2017. The researchers also observed some transitional activities in the municipalities (information meetings, open days, visiting days). The data material was thematically analysed.

Lundqvist, J. & Sandström, M. (2020). «Barns övergång från förskola till skola: en multipel fallstudie om övergångsaktiviteter». Nordic Studies in Education, 40(2):129–148.