Beyond the gate: A case study of dispositional learning from kindergarten to school

The authors of this article explore one child’s connections between the dispositional learning outcomes recognised during the child’s time at kindergarten, and those of the key competencies of the school curriculum. The kindergarten teachers who worked with the child came to think of these learning dispositions as part of the contents of the child’s virtual “backpack”: competencies she carried with her beyond the gate of the kindergarten to school as she continued the next part of her learning journey. The teachers were curious about how well these dispositions might “travel”. They reflect on what they recognise during their observations of the child once she starts school.