Exploring the influencing factors in students’ acquisition of manipulative skills during transition from primary to secondary school

This study is part of a larger study that explores and investigates the acquisition of students’ manipulative skills during the transition from primary school to secondary school. Primary school student in this research are defined as Year 6 (equivalent to Grade 6) students (age 11 to 12) that have gone through five or six years of schooling period which use the syllabus from Ministry of Education. Secondary school student are defined as Form 1 (equivalent to Grade 7) students (age 12 to 13). Duration of the study involves 3 stages during school transition which are the early, mid and late transition. Early transition is defined as a period before the students end their Year Six journey at primary school (age 11 to 12). This period is always referred to as ‘early transition’, which occurs about four months before the students end their educational journey at primary school. Mid-transition is defined as a period when students start the first year at secondary school (Form 1, age 12-13). Mid-transition refers to the first two months of secondary school and late transition is the period after the second months of secondary school until the middle of Form 1.

The study tracked 10 students through their transition from two different primary schools to two secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur. Purposive sampling technique has been used in order to obtain suitable participants for the study who would give their comprehensive views and insights that will enable us to obtain maximum understanding of the phenomenon (Merriam, 2009). The main criteria in selecting participants were they should be articulate and have the ability to express their opinion. The selection of schools was based on ‘typical case sampling’, simply because these schools were not unusual in any way and it reflected the average phenomenon of interest (Merriam, 2009). The schools were typical in the aspect of laboratory facilities, the use of the same science syllabus and each participant from the schools experienced transition. This study utilized a qualitative research paradigm and took 11 months for data collection. The findings were based on analysis of verbal data from interviews with the ten primary and secondary school students as well as six Year 6 and Form 1 teachers, and also from laboratory observations.

According to Saldana (2003) a preliminary study is worthwhile as a preparatory stage before the actual research begins in order to assess the effectiveness of data collection. The data collection of this study involves laboratory observations and interviews. Two primary and two secondary schools were chosen as research sites in preliminary study. Through preliminary study, the skills and technique in observing the students during experiments were sharpen in order to get the maximum input of data. The instrument was also revised and added with new instruction as a result of the feedback from teachers and students in this preliminary study. Interview protocols for Year Six and Form One students were reconstructed and organized systematically, before the actual study was conducted.

The first phase of this research was conducted at two primary schools. Video and audio recordings were used during the interviews and during the observation of students and science teachers. The second phase of this study followed the same students during their transition to secondary school. Students were re-interviewed to explore their experiences at secondary school. All the video and audio recordings were transcribed and analysed iteratively, where the researchers repeated the process of data collection and analysis back and forth until the saturation point of the data had been reached.

Constant comparative method of analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was used in this study. It involved the process of coding, categorizing and developing themes from information that emerged from the collected data, themes that best describe the ways students experience transition in science education. Refining the thematic framework involves logical and intuitive thinking in making sure that the research objectives are being addressed appropriately (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Ritchie & Spencer, 1994). The validity and reliability of the interview protocol were done through peer review. Themes and categories that emerged during data analysis were also checked by peer review. Two science education experts were involved in the peer review. Peer review is regarded as one of the most reliable techniques used to enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of qualitative research because of its use of external experts in a given field of study (Merriam, 2009).