Abstract
This case study explores how pupils might address the issues of bullying and friendships during primary-secondary transition through drama conventions. The research was implemented on the west coast of Scotland during the final four weeks of primary education in three associated primary seven classes. Research methods included pupil questionnaires (primary and secondary school), teacher observations, researcher’s diary, semi-structured interviews (teachers) and a focus group (pupils). The data suggest that some pupils conceptualized their primary-secondary transition as ‘moving up’. However, as the drama developed pupils recognized the multiple and multi-dimensional aspects of their transition. In addition, pupil and teachers indicated that when pupils engage with a drama transition curriculum, it supports the promotion of friendships while diminishes fears and provides strategies for those who might encounter bullying.
Highlights
Researcher Did that surprise you? Pupil 3 I knew that Samantha wasn’t confident, but we found out she had no supporters and no one to help her
Using drama conventions appears to be a suitable problem-based pedagogy focusing on pupil emotional and social skill enhancement
This was achieved by pupils creating peer networks, generated through drama group work, which continued during the first term of secondary school
Summary
Primary-secondary transition research highlights that transition can be an emancipatory experience. Case studies are bound in a specific time and place where the researcher gathers data, from multiple sources, which are rich in context (Creswell, 2014) They are understood by a wide range of audiences due to the ability of the writer to describe the study’s unique features and events (often spontaneous and uncontrollable) (Nisbet and Watt, 1984). The purpose of the focus group was to support the other data sets by gaining a deeper understanding of pupils’ experiences of using drama before their transition to secondary school. The diary approach adopted in this study was to log and reflect on the activities (Bryman, 2012) This enabled the researcher to dialog with himself surrounding the emerging issues in the drama and were written-up after each session (Taylor, 1998). Thereafter, the pattern codes were mapped, and points of communality emerged as themes which unified the codes
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