A Study on Collaboration between Public Integrated Elementary and Junior High Schools and Nursery School in Japan　（査読付・学会発表）

The 34th EECERA Annual Conference, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Research aims
This research aims to clarify the actual state of collaboration between public integrated elementary and junior high schools and nursery through questionnaire surveys and interviews with teachers.
Relationship to previous research works
Though Shirakawa et al. (2025) revealed that there were challenges in the first year of collaboration between integrated primary and secondary schools and nurseries, this study aims to determine whether these challenges have been resolved after one year.
Theoretical and conceptual framework
This study is based on  Vygotsky’s　theory of ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ Wood’s theory dealing with ‘scaffolding’ in its examination of the smooth transition between nursery school and primary school.
Paradigm, methodology and methods
We conducted a questionnaire survey of nine teachers at a combined elementary and junior high school and nursery school, and carried out an interview survey with one elementary school teacher.　The methodology and paradigm used in this study was qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Ethical considerations
Participants were provided with a consent form prior to the start of the study and were also offered the opportunity to withdraw from the study at any time.
Main finding or discussion
The findings of this study revealed that while interaction is frequent and joint activities are readily facilitated within the integrated elementary and junior high school due to their co-location on the same floor, exchanges with the nursery school occur only about once a month.  Aligning the timetables of the elementary and junior high schools with the nursery school's daily schedule presents a challenge for the future.
Implications, practice or policy
This study may contribute to the implementation of effective coordination between early childhood and secondary education.