Information Sharing on Children’s Literacy Learning in the Transition From Swedish Preschool to School

This study focuses on preschool teachers' experiences with information sharing on children's literacy learning in the transition from Swedish preschool to school.

In the questionnaire survey, 85% of the informants reply that transition activities were in place between preschool and preschool class. Preschool class teachers state that information is most frequently shared about the child's interest in reading and their ability to recognise their own name, whereas preschool class teachers assess that information sharing is most often about the child's ability to write their own name and letters. Furthermore, the questionnaire survey shows that a relatively large percentage of the informants (about 40%) consider their training to be inadequate with regard to literacy learning.

The participating preschool teachers experience that children's literacy learning at transition meetings, for example, is mostly described in general terms on the basis of whether they are interested in the written language. Descriptions of whether the children are age-appropriate were also sometimes shared with the preschool class in the transition work. In addition, the preschool teachers generally experience that information about a child's literacy learning is only shared if something is not right.

In the questionnaire and the interviews, both preschool teachers and preschool class teachers comment on factors which they consider limit information sharing between preschool and preschool class. These factors include rules regarding confidentiality, lack of resources and fear of assessment. Several participants also mention a distance between preschool and preschool class and lack of knowledge about each other's practices. Teachers from both preschool and preschool class suggest increasing collaboration between the two types of institution to reduce the distance and promote children's learning and development.

The empirical material was collected through questionnaires and qualitative interviews. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed, resulting in 74 responses from preschool teachers and preschool class teachers in Sweden. In addition, interviews were conducted with four preschool teachers and four preschool class teachers. The questionnaire contained questions regarding the preschool teachers’ work with the children's language development and their experiences with the transition from preschool to preschool class in Sweden. The qualitative interviews dealt with collaboration between preschool and preschool class, the transition process and information sharing on the children's literacy learning.

The questionnaire responses were analysed using descriptive statistical tools in the software program SPSS Statistics. Comments and responses to open questions in the questionnaire were interpreted in line with the research question. Data from the questionnaire and the interviews formed the basis for the authors' analysis inspired by Wenger's theory on communities of practice and Vygotsky's concept of zone of proximal development.

Alatalo, T., Meier, J., & Frank, E. (2017). Information Sharing on Children’s Literacy Learning in the Transition From Swedish Preschool to School. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 31(2), 240-254.

Alatalo, T., Meier, J., & Frank, E. (2016). Transition Between Swedish Preschool and Preschool Class: A Question About Interweaving Care and Knowledge. Early Childhood Education Journal, 44(2), 155-167.