The ’doubleness’ of transition: Investigating classroom talk practices in literacy lessons at the end of primary school and the beginning of secondary school

Abstract

The complex nature of transition has interested educators for many years. While it is acknowledged that experiences of schooling during times of transition are often challenging, very little is known about the day-to-day actions of accomplishing transition. This article examines transition-in-action by employing ethnomethodology and conversation analysis to explore transition as interactionally accomplished. Through the detailed analysis of classroom talk during literacy lessons at the end of Year 6 and the beginning of the following Year 7, an account of the unfolding nature of transition at two points is provided. In the first instance, the chapter will contribute to understandings of how transition is socially organised in Year 6 and Year 7 literacy lessons as students access interactional resources to decipher what to do next. Secondly, the practices that enable and constrain access to these interactional resources are analysed to provide insight into how students adapt to change during the broader process of transitioning from primary to secondary school. In this way, the ‘doubleness’ of transition (both from one part of the literacy lesson to another, and from one institutional year level to another) is conceptualised as constituted by the everyday talk practices and associated actions of teachers and students in classroom lessons.