A meeting place for preschool and primary school teachers

The educational policies of four municipalities

Abstract

This research aimed to analyse the priorities in the collaboration between preschools and primary schools in Iceland and on what these priorities are based. Continuity in the education of children and young people is emphasised in international educational policy. The education of children and young people should be continuous from preschool to the end of secondary school, where education at each school level is based on the experience and learning that the child has gained at previous levels.

Moss (2013) has analysed three types of partnerships between preschools and primary schools and how best to ensure continuity in children’s learning. These are the preschool’s role in preparing young children for primary school by governing the child to acquire the knowledge and skills required in primary school and increasing cooperation between preschool and primary school based on equal partnership focusing on the strengths of both partners. A third possible relationship is to invite a discussion about children’s learning and the creation of knowledge, the contents and working methods of the preschool and primary school, and the pedagogical value base. Interactive cooperation between preschools and primary schools is the responsibility of the local governments in Iceland. This cooperation must be explained in the preschool curriculum. The emphasis is placed on flexibility and continuity in the school system, content, and practices. Opposing points of view focus on the importance of preschools as a school level, emphasising play as the main learning path or a period where children should be prepared for the primary school level.

Document analysis was used to understand educational policies from four municipalities in Iceland and preschool and primary school partnership programs. Document analysis is a systematic procedure for reviewing documents, analysing and interpreting them to elicit meaning and gain understanding. This is an efficient method and useful where the goal is to gain a deeper understanding of a specific subject (Stake, 1995; Yin, 1994). Document-based research is subject to limitations, but despite this certainty, document analysis has been used as an independent method (Gagel, 1997; Wild et al., 2009).

The findings of the document analysis show that increased emphasis is placed on diverse and interdisciplinary cooperation in the current educational policies of the four municipalities. All the policies are based, among other things, on the government’s policy on Education for All, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Increased emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary cooperation in the current educational policies of the four municipalities. They often define continuity in education as the preparation of young children in the preschool for attending primary school instead of the primary school building on what the children have learnt in preschool. Many indications could be found about the preschool as the first school level in the school system, with the uniqueness of emphasising the value of play and the importance of democracy and equality in daily activities. Evidence of an increased emphasis on a coherent shared vision of children and learning could also be found. A vision of the future could be a strong peer-to-peer collaboration where a common understanding of children’s future learning and the role of teachers is built up and shaped. For this, it was necessary to have access to a common forum for conversation and cooperation. One way to create this common platform could be using funds to implement the educational policies, which teachers can apply for and are accessible in two of the municipalities examined.

The participation of parents, teachers, and children in schoolwork and their influence is highlighted in international policy-making, social sustainability and justice, and the feeling of belonging should be created in the neighbourhood’s schoolwork. For this, a platform for dialogue is needed, which can be formed, for example, in local authorities and within neighbourhoods. There needs to be a conversation about the quality of schoolwork between the school levels in the spirit of democracy, social justice, and sustainability