An Ethnographic Exploration of the Starting School Transition within an English school
type: CreativeWork
description: This research aimed to investigate the starting school transition by exploring how the transition from home and/or nursery was being understood, interpreted and experienced by school staff, parents and children. Furthermore, it aimed to explore the discourses that surround the transitional experience and gain an understanding of how they may impact upon the daily experience. It found that the parents and children socially constructed the transition using the discursive notion of a ‘good’ school child (Thornberg, 2009) which was understood to represent one who is able to follow the rules, carry out the work and listen to adults. Additionally, the parents appeared to be drawing on a number of discourses (e.g. ‘good’ parents and ‘pushy’ parents) that impacted upon their overall experience of the transition and which also impacted their understanding of what the concept was about. This is because the discourses meant that the parents were peripherally positioned (Davies and Harré, 1990; 1999) within the child’s transitional experience, even though they are positioned within the wider schooling discourse as being equal partners (DfE, 2010b; 4Children, 2015). During the transitional experience, three discursive practices were observed that helped the children understand what a ‘good’ school child was and how he or she was being constructed. These were the three R’s of transition: the use of school routines, school rules and the reduction of the children’s rights. These disciplinary tools (Foucault, 1982) were used in a manner in which they shaped the children’s behaviour and expectations of the schooling experience. Finally, these tools also allowed the children to be positioned and repositioned (Drewery, 2005) in a variety of ways. These positions were related to the ‘good’ school child notion entwined with this transition. However, the use of agency (Devine, 1998; James, 2011) in the uptake or refusal of these positions was also observed meaning the children had a choic…
abstract: This research aimed to investigate the starting school transition by exploring how the transition from home and/or nursery was being understood, interpreted and experienced by school staff, parents and children. Furthermore, it aimed to explore the discourses that surround the transitional experience and gain an understanding of how they may impact upon the daily experience. It found that the parents and children socially constructed the transition using the discursive notion of a ‘good’ school child (Thornberg, 2009) which was understood to represent one who is able to follow the rules, carry out the work and listen to adults. Additionally, the parents appeared to be drawing on a number of discourses (e.g. ‘good’ parents and ‘pushy’ parents) that impacted upon their overall experience of the transition and which also impacted their understanding of what the concept was about. This is because the discourses meant that the parents were peripherally positioned (Davies and Harré, 1990; 1999) within the child’s transitional experience, even though they are positioned within the wider schooling discourse as being equal partners (DfE, 2010b; 4Children, 2015). During the transitional experience, three discursive practices were observed that helped the children understand what a ‘good’ school child was and how he or she was being constructed. These were the three R’s of transition: the use of school routines, school rules and the reduction of the children’s rights. These disciplinary tools (Foucault, 1982) were used in a manner in which they shaped the children’s behaviour and expectations of the schooling experience. Finally, these tools also allowed the children to be positioned and repositioned (Drewery, 2005) in a variety of ways. These positions were related to the ‘good’ school child notion entwined with this transition. However, the use of agency (Devine, 1998; James, 2011) in the uptake or refusal of these positions was also observed meaning the children had a choic…
author: Cartmell, KM
keywords: L Education (General), LB1501 Primary Education
date published: 2018-05
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:30:22Z
provider: Liverpool Jon Moores University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Liverpool John Moores University

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.24377/LJMU.t.00008522