POET: Pedagogies of Educational Transitions

This group has concluded its research and projects. This content remains available for reference purposes.

POET is an international collaboration involvingPOET research team

The European partners have been funded (€224 000) under the Marie Curie IRSES scheme to travel to New Zealand and Australia over 4 years to undertake a coherent program of staff exchanges focused on the development of research skills and expertise around transition to school research. Reciprocal visits to the European countries also occur in each of these four years.

The final work package was held in Albury in February 2016. This work package aimed to look to the future for the POET members, as well as reflecting on the journey since the first work package in 2012.

During the final days of the work package, a Starting School Conference was held in Canberra, where the Australian team presented preliminary findings from one of their research projects, Continuity in curriculum and pedagogies as children start school. The four other POET counties also presented some of their contexts and research about starting school. The keynote presentation was by Professor Gestur Guðmundsson, from University of Iceland, entitled The Nordic Welfare System.

You can find copies of each of the conference presentations under the Starting School Conference heading below.

You can find more information about the Australian project (Continuity and change in curriculum and pedagogies as children start school) on our Current Projects page.

The aims of the POET program emphasise:

  • research skills development among researchers (experienced, early career and research higher degree students);
  • promoting research collaboration
  • building sustainable collaborations, moving towards proposals for major international funded research projects;
  • expanding knowledge around the areas of pedagogical transitions and the significance of these educational systems;
  • generating knowledge transfer among and between researchers, educators and policy-makers.

Each group that forms the POET alliance has a focus project or projects, incorporating many integrated themes. These themes have been used to guide the various POET workshops held in each country. Charles Sturt has several focus projects:

  • Continuity and change in curriculum and pedagogies as children start school
  • Gudaga goes to school: An ecological study of school transition and the early years of school for Aboriginal children in an urban community
  • Let's count longitudinal evaluation

More information about each project can be found on our current projects page.

Below is a map of the various focus projects and themes of each group.

Themes for POET alliance mapped as coloured squares overlapping each other in different areas

Work package 1

University of Strathclyde, Scotland - July 2012
Introduction

Work package 2

Charles Sturt University, Australia - March/April 2013
Mapping transition research and practice

Work package 3

Mälardalen University, Sweden - September 2013
Diversity and inclusion

Work package 4

University of Waikato, New Zealand - March 2014
Indigenous approaches

Work package 5

University of Iceland, Iceland - September 2014
Curriculum and continuity

Work package 6

University of Waikato, New Zealand - March 2015
Transition journeys

Work package 7

University of Strathclyde, Scotland - September 2015
Transitions as a tool for change

Work package 8

Charles Sturt University, Australia - February 2016
Into the future

Work package 8 - Starting School Conference, Canberra 2016

As part of work package 8, a Starting School conference was held in Canberra on February 25th. Each of the five countries presented on their research and context in relation to starting school. Country presentations are below.

Program

Australia
Starting school: Connecting policy and practice
Sue Dockett, Bob Perry, Jessamy Davies - Charles Sturt University

Keynote
Education in the Nordic model 
Gestur Guðmundsson - University of Iceland

New Zealand
Transition in Aotearoa New Zealand - Bicultural Journeys
Sally Peters, Margie Hohepa - University of Waikato

Iceland
Challenges in Starting School in Iceland
Hrönn Pálmadóttir and Kristín Karlsdóttir - University of Iceland

Scotland
Star'ng School in Scotland "The bairns are daein' fine!"
Aline-Wendy Dunlop, Marion Burns, Rob Mark, Lynn McNair - University of Strathclyde

Sweden
Sweden School Transitions and the Rites of Passage Concept
Professor Anders Garpelin - Mälardalen University