The Starting School Study: Mothers' Perspectives of Transition to School

Abstract

THE STARTING SCHOOL STUDY explored the transition to school from the perspectives of parents living in a disadvantaged area of Sydney, Australia. Fifty-seven parents participated in semi-structured interviews about their child's transition to school between 2009 and 2011. Topics discussed included: preparation for school, the first day, school relationships, supports and barriers to involvement and aspirations. A team of researchers working collaboratively in 2011 consolidated national and international research and theory of transition to school, to develop and publish an aspirational document entitled Transition to school: Position statement. The statement recognised and promoted the importance of transition to school using four constructs: opportunities, expectations, entitlements and aspirations. The results of the Starting School Study are discussed using these constructs. Overall, mothers in the study valued education, wanted their children to achieve and be successful, and hoped their children would have positive experiences of school; better than their own. The pivotal role of the teacher is discussed.

Papel de la familia en la transición de prescolar a primaria

“…Una mayor participación de los padres está relacionada con una transición exitosa, buen rendimiento académico de los estudiantes (Hosokawa y Katsura, 2019;Robinson y Tyler, 2020;Su et al, 2020). Como parte de su participación, se puede desarrollar una comunicación efectiva y asertiva entre padres y maestros, que favorece la formación integral de los estudiantes (Kaplun et al, 2017a(Kaplun et al, , 2017bKienig, 2017). En esa línea, Griebel et al (2017) hallaron que los sentimientos de seguridad y bienestar de los padres, la formación y el apoyo que les ofrece la escuela, la calidad de la comunicación con el docente y la participación en las actividades escolares influyen en el éxito de la transición.…”

“…Por otro lado, Kaplun et al (2017b) exploraron las expectativas de las madres sobre esta transición en Sídney, Australia. Encontraron que esperaban que sus hijos tuvieran éxitos académicos y se adaptaran socialmente al ambiente escolar, que sus experiencias en el inicio de la escuela fueran mejores que las que ellas tuvieron como estudiantes.…”

Beyond stereotypes: Comparing Chinese and Australian parents’ perceptions of transition to school

“…Similarly, parents in a Chinese study highlighted the value of communication with teachers about child development and effective parenting at the commencement of school, yet noted that such communication can be challenging due to teachers' limited availability (Lau, 2014). An Australian study (Kaplun et al, 2017) also revealed parents' desire for enhanced communication with teachers, including more information about children, school events and parent-teacher nights.…”

“…Thus, it is worth investigating contemporary parents’ perceptions of transition to school in context. Though previous studies set in diverse cultural contexts have explored transition to school from parents’ perspectives (Chan, 2012; Belfield & Garcia, 2014; Kaplun et al, 2017; Costales & Anderson, 2018), few have directly compared parents’ perceptions on transition from different cultural contexts in a single study. The present study contributes to this body of research.…”

Voices of transition: sharing experiences from the primary school

“…Therefore, the views of all stakeholders -learners, practitioners, schools and communities -are pivotal, especially in terms of the child's readiness to enter compulsory schooling in the early years (Ballam, Parry and Garplin, 2016). According to O'Toole, Hayes and Mhic Mhathúna (2014, p. 122) partnerships between stakeholders can be challenging since the groups are far from homogenous, but ensuring a consensual understanding of the processes around transition in order to influence effective change is critical (Kaplun, Dockett and Perry, 2017).…”