SIGNALS Transition in Education The Icelandic Project Budapest meeting February 3 rd 2015

The Project  Theme : Transition in Education from Pre-School to Compulsory School  Compulsory Schools in the area have shown little interest in co-operation  Teachers set the framework and lead  Aim : To have all parties (parents, children, teachers and Compulsory School) participate in the transition from Preschool to Compulsory School with focus on children´s perspectives  Research Question : How to involve all parties (parents, children, teachers and Compulsory School) in transition?

The Pre-School  Two classrooms  1-3 year olds and 3-6 year olds  Teachers, the 6 year old children and their parents  The Pre-School has worked on a project about democracy in education and is also known for good parent / teacher co-operation

Laws and regulations  Icelandic law and The National Curriculum for Pre-Schools and Compulsory Schools state that the two should co-operate in transition in education  The Convention on the Rights of the Child protects the right to free speech, right to education and all actions concerning children their interest should be the primary concern

Phases Fall 2014  Presentation of the project  Interviews  Finding a theme Next steps  3 visits to compulsory school  Two with teachers  One with parents  Project between visits  What do children want to know about Compulsory School?  What do they want from each visit?

Interviews  One of the goals was to find a common interest and a theme  Did not go as planned.  People talked about the pre school generally and were still thinking about a project about democracy  When theme was suggested, people started talking  Transition in Education  Parents and teachers are enthusiastic  Both understand the importance  Parents wonder how they can help  Children want parents to come and play with them at the Pre-School

Challenges  Involving parents in the process  Co-operating with the Compulsory Schools