I Really Want to Learn New Things! Children's Perspectives on Educational Transition

Ana Isabel  Santos; Eusébio José  Martins de Sousa

doi:10.36941/ajis-2021-0145

Authors

Ana Isabel Santos University of the Azores, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Interdisciplinary Centre for Childhood and Adolescence – NICA-UAc, CIE-ISPA, Portugal
Eusébio José Martins de Sousa Master in Preschool Education and Primary School, University of Azores, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2021-0145

Keywords:

educational transition, preschool education, primary education, children’s perspectives

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze how the process of educational transition is perceived by a group of children attending Preschool and Primary School, considering their expectations, fears, and experiences. Methodologically, this exploratory research was based on the collection of information through a conversational interview to 16 children in kindergarten and a questionnaire survey, with open and closed questions, to 35 children in basic education who attend a Portuguese School, in the Azores Archipelago. The data collected were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The results obtained corroborate what is referenced in the specialty bibliography, showing that children, in general, manifest positive and encouraging feelings towards the transition process between preschool and primary education, even though, simultaneously, they may feel some fear or discomfort towards the unknown. These results should be considered in the light of the pedagogical intervention that Preschool educators and Primary School teachers should develop to build a coherent and continuous process.

Received: 19 June 2021 / Accepted: 19 August 2021 / Published: 5 September 2021