Exploring and enhancing transitional competences of grade one students through picture books

Abstract

Transitioning from kindergarten to primary school is an important stage for children’s future development. Many Grade One students and their teachers and parents find this extremely challenging. Research suggests that learning a range of competences focusing on specific areas could help students combat transitional difficulties and have a smoother transition. This research aims to explore and enhance the transitional competences (TCs) of Grade One students through the use of picture books. This dissertation consists of a study with two phases. A mixed-method approach is adopted in this study. Phase I of the study aims at identifying the main TCs for Grade One students in Hong Kong during their transition to primary school. The 25-item Transitional Competences Questionnaire (TCQ) was developed to collect teachers’ (n = 10) ratings of students’ (n = 170) TCs from six schools in different districts. The questionnaire was validated through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and evaluated by an expert panel. Six factors were generated, including Affective Social Competence, Pre-academic Competence, Self-sufficiency Competence, Self-discipline, Self-awareness, and Emotional Adjustment. Interrater reliability was evaluated and reported. At the beginning of the school year, Grade One students (n = 8) from a typical government-aided school were invited, in four-person groups, to semi-structured group interviews to explore their perceptions of transition in relation to TCs. The TCs in which students showed the most difficulties would help identify the main transitional issues and the most important competences that students need. The TCQ developed can be used by educators and teachers to evaluate students’ TCs upon students’ transition to school, and help identify their specific needs in transition. Phase II of the study aims at enhancing Grade One students’ TCs through picture book interventions in classrooms. Learning Study was adopted as a powerful classroom-based intervention model. Using purposeful sampling, a typical government-aided school was recruited. In total, 105 students were recruited for the two Learning Studies. For the intervention, a set of picture books was developed based on findings from Phase I with the teacher participants (n = 4) and taught in Grade One reading lessons. Lessons during the intervention were observed, transcribed, and analyzed for detailed qualitative data. The following data were compared to examine the effectiveness of the Learning Studies: pre- and post-tests of Chinese language proficiency, teachers’ ratings of students’ TCs (using TCQ from Phase I), and student interviews at the beginning and the end of the school year. Positive outcomes in students’ TCs and Chinese language proficiency suggested how Learning Studies enhanced students’ transition. In-depth student cases revealed how the picture books helped them improve their TCs. This study is a pioneering research study in understanding the most important TCs for Grade One students in Hong Kong, which has become a focal interest of researchers, parents, educational practitioners, and policymakers. Developing picture books to enhance Grade One students’ TCs will illuminate the transitional challenges and facilitate a smoother transition.