Maximising the Moment from Preschool to School: The Place of Multiliteracies and ICT in the Transition

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The transition to school is a major event in the life span and one which can cause concern for children, families and educators. In this session the results of a longitudinal case study undertaken within an Australian national research project investigating a pedagogy for multiliteracies and ICT in the early years will be presented. The case study involved the tracking of children from preschool to school in three Australian states. The investigation provided insight to the power of continuity and complementarity of pedagogy during the transition from prior to school to school settings for learning success. The results indicated that a multiliteracies framework to literacy learning facilitated the use of a strengths-based approach and socio constructivist approaches to learning which effectively supported the children in making a successful transition to school. Conversely moving from a multiliteracy framework to a narrow definition of literacy as text based literacy, from a strengths-based to a ‘needs based’ approach, and from a socio constructivist to a transmission approach to pedagogy created learning difficulties for some children. The results of the project highlighted the importance of collaborative relationships between teachers in prior to school settings and teachers in the first years of formal schooling. The researchers in the project recommended the development of a digital suitcase which children could take to school. This digital suitcase would provide documentation of the children’s strengths and interests in multiliteracies and ICT as evident in the home and prior to school setting.

Stream: Literacy, Language, Multiliteracies; Languages Education and Second Language Learning

Paper: Maximising the Moment from Preschool to School

Dr Cathie Harrison is currently Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the Australian Catholic University in Sydney. Cathie’s teaching is in the areas of play, pedagogy and the creative arts. Cathie's research interests include early childhood pedagogy, social justice and giftedness in early childhood. She is the author of the books Giftedness in Early Childhood and Young Gifted Children- Their Search for Complexity and Connection. Refereed articles in internationals and national journals reflect both this research interest as well as interest in early childhood education and children’s television. Cathie has a diverse range of experience within early childhood education as an academic, teacher, advisor to the ABC television program - Play School, and consultant to a number of museum and community projects. Her work has been strongly influenced by the early childhood educational experience in Reggio Emilia, Italy and Scandinavia.