Children's Transition Research Articles

Home-to-Kindergarten Transition of Children: A Comparison of Parent and Teacher Expectations

Abstract: The transition to early childhood education is important for all stakeholders. This study aimed to examine the expectations of teachers and parents whose children were starting school for the first time regarding themselves and each other during the preparation for and transition to school. Sixteen parents and eight teachers participated in the research study group, which was designed using the case study. Four interviews were conducted with each parent and teacher, and a total of 96 interviews were conducted with both groups. Content analysis was used in the examination of the obtained data. As a result of the research, it was concluded that parents and teachers had shared expectations for children and themselves, but there were also some differences.

Patterns of Esophageal Motility and Bolus Transit in Children With Repaired Esophageal Atresia

Background: Esophageal dysmotility is common after esophageal atresia (EA) repair. Esophageal manometry (HRM) is the gold standard to investigate motility. We aim to characterize esophageal dysmotility and bolus transit for liquid and solids in children with repaired EA. Method: Retrospective analysis of HRM from children with repaired EA. Five liquid and 5 solid swallows per child were assessed for the standard manometric measurement and peristalsis pattern. Impedance tracings were used to assess bolus transit. Results: Ninety measurements were assessed from 9 patients, 44% Females. Mean age was 10.5 (±4.6) years. All children had dysphagia and anastomotic strictures were excluded. None of the children had intact peristalsis, 44.4% of the liquid swallows were failed, 33.3% fragmented and 22.2% ineffective. 44.4% of the solid swallows were failed, 44.4% fragmented and 11.1% ineffective. 33.3% had incomplete bolus transit in the whole esophagus, 44.4% in the upper and 11% in the lower esophagus. Mean peristalsis break for liquid was 7 cm (±2.1) and for solid was 5.9 cm (±3.2) P .025. Conclusion: Impaired esophageal motility is universal post EA repair. Failed and ineffective peristalsis predominate with incomplete bolus transit and large peristalsis breaks after liquid and solid swallows. HRM can provide clinical guidance, diagnostic and prognostic information post EA repair.

Why is it difficult for children and adults to follow a person's eye gaze in polynomial social relationships with compound audio-visual stimuli: An eye-tracking study.

Acquiring triadic social interactions could facilitate language and communication skills in early infancy. However, studies have rarely investigated polynomial relationships, defined as relationships among the self, two or more people, and objects. During the development from a child to an adult, the responsiveness to a preferred stimulus modality changes from visual to auditory dominance. Nevertheless, how people observe compound visual stimuli in polynomial social relationships and why it is difficult to ignore auditory cues remain unclear. Moreover, there is a need to identify differences between children's and adults' observing latencies in the time to the first fixation when detecting a stimulus. This study examined whether participants (24 adults and 19 children) demonstrated similar gaze patterns under triadic and polyadic conditions. The participants observed a target visual stimulus looked at by a face stimulus while we presented spoken names, either congruent or incongruent with the target visual stimulus. The results indicated that when the number of people in social relationships increased, children and adults decreased fixations on the target face and the stimulus and showed a shorter mean fixation duration on the face. Moreover, children had longer latencies and more fixation errors for the target stimulus, which might reflect children's difficulties in communicating with others. We expect that understanding children's communication transition from triadic to polynomial social relationships with audio-visual stimulus congruencies would facilitate understanding language development and social communication patterns.

Patrick and his peers: ‘and the three of them walk into the room … ’ patterns of experience and peer relationships during children's transition into kindergarten

ABSTRACT Although the transition into kindergarten of children at the age of three is regarded as a meaningful event in the lives of children and their families, little is known about the role of peer relationships during this transition phase. Based on a Viennese research project, in this article observational material is presented and analysed to describe how three-year-old Patrick experiences peer relationships during his transition into kindergarten. The authors describe Patrick's meaningful, recurring and characteristic interactions with his kindergarten peers; they also formulate patterns of experience. In addition, the analysis of the observation material is linked to publications on the topic of peer relationships, in order to show to what extent the presented form of research can enrich the current scientific discourse.

Hospital-to-home transitions for children with medical complexity: part 2—a core outcome set

Appropriate outcome measures as part of high-quality intervention trials are critical to advancing hospital-to-home transitions for Children with Medical Complexity (CMC). Our aim was to conduct a Delphi study and focus groups to identify a Core Outcome Set (COS) that healthcare professionals and parents consider essential outcomes for future intervention research. The development process consisted of two phases: (1) a three-round Delphi study in which different professionals rated outcomes, previously described in a systematic review, for inclusion in the COS and (2) focus groups with parents of CMC to validate the results of the Delphi study. Forty-five professionals participated in the Delphi study. The response rates were 55%, 57%, and 58% in the three rounds, respectively. In addition to the 24 outcomes from the literature, the participants suggested 12 additional outcomes. The Delphi rounds resulted in the following core outcomes: (1) disease management, (2) child’s quality of life, and (3) impact on the life of families. Two focus groups with seven parents highlighted another core outcome: (4) self-efficacy of parents. Conclusion: An evidence-informed COS has been developed based on consensus among healthcare professionals and parents. These core outcomes could facilitate standard reporting in future CMC hospital to home transition research. This study facilitated the next step of COS development: selecting the appropriate measurement instruments for every outcome.What is Known:• Hospital-to-home transition for Children with Medical Complexity is a challenging process.• The use of core outcome sets could improve the quality and consistency of research reporting, ultimately leading to better outcomes for children and families.What is New:• The Core Outcome Set for transitional care for Children with Medical Complexity includes four outcomes: disease management, children’s quality of life, impact on the life of families, and self-efficacy of parents.

Parent–Teacher Meetings in the Context of Inclusion: Preschool Teachers and Parents of Children with Disabilities in Counseling Situations

AbstractParent–teacher meetings are an important element of preschool education. Parents of children with disabilities especially show a high need for counseling, particularly at their child's transition to school. How preschool teachers address this need in their meetings with parents is heavily influenced by how they perceive their relationship with parents. This study, therefore, investigates how preschool teachers (n = 22) perceive their relationship with parents of children with disabilities in transition-related meetings. The data were collected in guideline-based interviews and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that most teachers think their own perspective on the child is more accurate than the parents’ perspective. Parents are predominantly seen as needing support. Furthermore, the teachers’ statements indicate that the children are rarely directly involved in the meetings. The teachers justify this with the children’s disabilities, for example. Overall, the findings suggest that an ‘educational partnership’ is not realized in meetings with parents of children with disabilities. The findings also imply that the concept of ‘educational partnerships’ is a questionable construct when adequately describing the relationship between parents and preschool teachers. In conclusion, the concept of educational alliances is presented as an alternative.

Children's Transitions to Adulthood and Midlife Parents' Depressive Symptoms and Activities of Daily Living Conditions in the United States.

Parents and children are close over the life course. However, these relationships often change as parents age and children enter adulthood. Today, the entrance into adulthood for children has become delayed and increasingly unstable. Such changes may interrupt the child's acquisition of resources used to support themselves and their midlife parents, having implications for parents' mental and physical health. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of adult children's transitions to adulthood on parents' mental and physical health. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) and the Add Health Parent Study (AHPS), we investigated how certain transitions to adulthood (e.g., education, marriage, residential independence, employment, parenthood, and incarceration) for children were linked to the mental and physical health of their midlife parents. In sum, we found that children's educational attainment was linked to fewer activities of daily living (ADL) limitations and depressive symptoms among parents. Children's marriage and employment were also associated with fewer ADL limitations among parents. Our findings reveal that adult children's circumstances are associated with the mental and physical health of their midlife parents.

How to Support Early Educational Transitions of Children? – An Overview of University Science Project’s Activities from Croatia

First transition children go through from family to the nursery or kindergarten and/or from preschool to elementary school is the most significant period in the lives of children, but at the same time the most challenging ones. Although they are actually learning situations and provide children with opportunities to develop new roles and coping strategies for adapting and dealing with a new environment/rules/people; children, parents, and teachers also very often perceive them as stressful. In order to explore the sources of transition-related stress and the protective factors during children's transitions, it is important to examine significant determinants of children's educational transitions postulated within the contemporary Ecological-dynamic model of transition. This is the main goal of the research project „Children's well-being in transition periods: The empirical validation of the Ecological-Dynamic model“, which has been running since 2018 and is supported by the University of Rijeka, Croatia. In addition to presenting this theoretical model, this paper will include an overview of some research studies conducted within the project, key findings, and future directions in the area of teacher-child relationships, attachment development during transitions, socio-emotional well-being during transitions, transition objects, transition of different children, and different transition practices. In addition, this review aims to highlight some important issues related to transitions in childhood and provide the guidelines for improving transition practices and future research.

The timing of parental unemployment, insurance and children's education

ABSTRACT The timing of parental unemployment can impact children's educational transitions. Previous research has mostly examined transitions to higher education, proxying timing in relation to children's age and often focusing on selective populations. We study unemployment's intergenerational effects at multiple stages of the educational career, and define timing relative to important crossroads within and across school years for a broader population of children. Further, we build on suggestive patterns in prior studies and test if and how parental unemployment's effects vary depending on the availability, level, and combination of private insurance (parental wealth) and public insurance (unemployment benefits). We rely on Dutch administrative data on cohorts of students born between 1992 and 1998 and observed around the time of the Great Recession. With a negative-control design, we find that paternal unemployment in 6th grade decreases children's chances of enrolling in the general and academic secondary-school tracks, but only in families with lower wealth. Effects are moderate and partly flow from lower performance in a high-stakes test in 6th grade. These effects are reduced when households receive larger unemployment benefit amounts, particularly above median values. In addition, paternal unemployment in 6th grade has long-term negative effects on postsecondary enrolment for children with lower relative wealth. Differently, we do not find evidence of timing effects for spells of paternal unemployment occurring around high-school graduation, nor when examining the timing of maternal unemployment. These findings can inform remedial interventions aimed at mitigating the negative effects of disruptive events on children's education.

Diabetes Technology and the Human Factor.

Diabetes Technology and the Human Factor.

Return to School After Traumatic Brain Injury: Description of Implementation Settings.

Children who experience traumatic brain injury (TBI) of any severity may need accommodations when they return to school-the setting that manages academic achievement and learning. However, variations exist in current return to school (RTS) programs that address a child's transition to school following TBI. This article describes some of these return to school (RTS) programs and how they vary by setting. This article provides insights from a modified evaluability assessment that examined RTS programs and their readiness for rigorous evaluation. A secondary analysis was conducted to better describe the types and location of programs examined. Differences exist in program structure, access, and how care for children is monitored over time. RTS programs that serve children following TBI are located in healthcare settings, schools, and state agencies and vary in models of care due to their location and organizational structure. Children who experience TBI benefit from a healthcare assessment and follow-up upon RTS that includes parental involvement. Models of care for this process vary based on program location and organizational structure. Further research and program evaluation are needed to better understand effectiveness and how to optimally monitor and care for children returning to school after a concussion or TBI.

Caregivers' Experiences with School-Work Transitions for Their Children with Disorders of Intellectual Development.

During the period of school-work transition, caregivers of young adults with disorders of intellectual development (ID) often play an extended and leading role in supporting their children. This article explores caregivers' overall experiences with their children's school-work transition. Ten qualitative in-depth interviews were carried out with eleven parents/guardians of ten young adults with disorders of ID. Through reflexive thematic analysis, the following themes emerged: (i) varying degrees of preparation for employment during school years; (ii) the experience of transition collapse; (iii) struggling to navigate the system; (iv) caregivers' ambitions and high expectations; and (v) positive meetings with professionals. All caregivers in our study had clear ambitions about employment for their children, and they supported them by advocating for their rights and by collaborating as best as possible with the support system. However, their experiences bring to light how the transition process often appears random and without an overarching implementation strategy. The overall picture of the transition process is a time of concern and stress for caregivers, with room for improvement in most areas.

Parental readiness for the transition to adulthood of children with a chronic disease

PurposeTo investigate parental readiness for their child's transition to adulthood among pediatric patients with chronic disease in Japan. Design and methodsIn this cross-sectional study, parents of children with chronic diseases attending a pediatric outpatient hospital completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire to investigate demographics and parental readiness for children's transition to adulthood. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine whether parents' readiness differed according to their children's disease types. ResultsA total of 179 parents responded to the survey. Of these, 60% confirmed awareness and knowledge of their children's disease and treatment with their children. They also thought and accepted that there would be a time when their children would move from pediatrics to an adult department. More than half of parents had discussions with their children about the children's interests and would discuss with each other if their children's choice differed from the parents' opinion. <20% of parents had gathered information about the transition and made sure their children saw the outpatient clinic alone or encouraged them to write a record of their visits. The readiness of parents of children with diabetes and of children with cardiovascular disease was higher than those of children with cancer and blood diseases on several items. ConclusionsParental readiness to support their children's transitions did not progress well, suggesting the need for relevant interventions. Practice implicationsChildren and parents should be supported in acquiring information about the transition to adulthood and in implementing child-oriented outpatient visits.

Managing newly arrived children's double transition: Towards inclusionary practices in rural Swedish preschools

This study examines preschool practitioners’ accounts of managing newly arrived children's double transition into rural preschools with little previous experience of migration. The narratives are analysed through Bakhtin's theory of dialogism. The analysis reveals that the practitioners at first found the migrant children's double transition troublesome and challenging. Eventually, they started to reflect critically on their own culturally endorsed beliefs and practices, and took a dialogical approach that helped them to adjust their practices to the needs of the newly arrived children. The results show that in order to support the inclusion of the migrant children, the practitioners themselves had to go through a process that included a change of mindset and a change of practice. Hence, to manage the children's double transition, the practitioners needed to make a dual adjustment.

Parents' experiences of their child's transition from tube to oral feeding during an intensive intervention programme.

Persistent enteral tube feeding beyond the point of medical and/or physical necessity provides important nutrition to a child but may have implications for their development, gastrointestinal tract and quality of life. Tube dependency can affect parent-child relationships and sibling and family dynamics and place additional medical demands upon parents. It is therefore important to transition children from tube to oral eating and drinking as soon as is medically safe to do so. Tube weaning requires a skilled team to support the transition to oral intake; however, access to experienced teams is inconsistent. Without transparent discussions with their treating teams, many parents are left to navigate tube weaning options independently. Fourteen parents were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. We explored the experiences of parents across their child's progression towards oral feeding, from the decision-making process to undertaking an intensive multi-disciplinary tube weaning programme. Thematic analysis of the parents' stories shaped the development of seven themes. Parents were unaware that tube weaning would be required and how that would be facilitated. They expressed a strong belief that their child could learn to eat-if afforded an opportunity. Furthermore, parents are prepared to disengage from current services if they feel they are not respected members of their child's therapeutic team. Three key learnings were identified relating to the need for tube exit plans, parents as key team members and parents as change agents. Parenting a tube-fed child, initiating and engaging in tube weaning, is a stressful and emotional journey. However, by establishing care partnerships, parents are willing to put trust in a process if provided with options and afforded autonomy, empowerment, acknowledgement and relevant support.

Parental Educational Anxiety during Children's Transition to Primary School in China.

Children's transition from preschool to primary school has long been recognized as a particularly challenging period that can induce parental educational anxiety. As a true portraiture of Chinese parenting, educational anxiety during this transition has attracted considerable attention, given its detrimental effects on children's development and education. This study was aimed at identifying the characteristics of parental educational anxiety and its influencing factors during children's transition to primary school in China. We examined parental educational anxiety and parental educational experience through a questionnaire survey. The sample comprised 26,295 families with children in grade one distributed across nine cities in five provinces. The results indicate that (1) Chinese parents experience some degree of educational anxiety during their children's transition to primary school and are more worried about their children's learning and social adaptation processes than about how the curriculum is taught; (2) scores for parental educational anxiety varied significantly across different regions and urban/rural areas; (3) family socioeconomic status, parents' educational concepts, preschools' entrance preparation work, and primary school enrollment adaptation work are all important factors influencing parental educational anxiety during this transition. Our findings highlight the prevalence of parental educational anxiety in China and the need for effective measures to facilitate a smooth transition.

Parental Perspectives: How Sensory Sensitivities Impact the Transition to Adulthood in Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Sensory sensitivities are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and impact daily life, but research has largely focused on children, neglecting older individuals. Likewise, while there is research regarding parental concerns for their autistic children's transition to adulthood, little is known about the role of sensory sensitivities. To address this gap, 66 parents of autistic adolescents and young adults were interviewed and their responses were qualitatively analyzed. All parents believed their children's sensory sensitivities impacted their transition to adulthood, primary developmentally/psychologically, interpersonally/socially, and managerially. These beliefs did not significantly differ by child characteristics, such as age and ASD severity. Parent perceptions were modality and context specific. Given these findings, transition planning should consider individual's specific sensory sensitivities to optimize independence.

Integrative review of school integration support following pediatric cancer.

This study aims to understand parents' experiences of school integration support for their child's transition to K-12 schooling during or after cancer treatment. This integrative literature review used PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Embase databases and included articles from January 2000 to July 2022 describing parent experiences with support from healthcare providers, school faculty/systems, and school integration programs. This review was guided by an adapted School Re-Entry Model and used constant comparison to identify common themes and guide synthesis. The Johns Hopkins Evidence and Quality Guide was used to appraise article quality and level of evidence. Thirty-five articles were included in the final review: seventeen qualitative, fourteen quantitative, and four mixed or multi-method designs. Parents reported experiences receiving support from healthcare providers, school faculty/systems, school integration programs, and "other" sources. Parents reported both facilitators and barriers to communication, knowledge, and the process of receiving school integration support. Parents found neuro/psychologists highly supportive but reported limited support from other healthcare providers. Most parents reported mixed experiences with school faculty and reported many barriers to school system support. Parents reported positive experiences with school integration programs; however, limited programs were available. Future programs and research should focus on addressing identified barriers and facilitators of school integration support. Further work is also needed to understand a wider range of parent experiences during school integration.

Stabilise, balance and adjust—Framing the early years transitions of children whose parents work non‐standard hours

AbstractThis study examined talk by parents about the early years transitions of their children (n = 7) in the context of parental non‐standard working hours and Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. Parents were interviewed at three time points: when their child was aged one, four, five or six years (a total of 21 interviews). The third interview was conducted during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This article focuses on the children's ECEC transitions and the interpretative frames used by parents when talking about their work and childcare. The frames used by the parents to discuss the children's transitions were stabilising the children's lives, balancing between staying at home and attending ECEC and adjusting to norms and rules. The diversity of families' experiences and their children's transitions during the early years should be considered when developing family policy and ECEC services.

Role adjustment as the unit of analysis for researching child development during the transition to school

AbstractWhile child development is well‐recognized as a complex process which could hardly be decomposed into separate lines or domains in contemporary psychological theories, the decomposition approach is widely used in empirical studies. Based on the cultural‐historical theory, this study argues for adopting the unit of analysis as a way to bridge this gap, and finds “role adjustment” as a suitable unit to analyse child development during the transition to school. The case of a 5‐year‐old second‐generation Chinese Australian child's transition to school (with a total of 34 h of observation and 5 h of interview) is presented to verify its feasibility and to illustrate how it could be achieved in a research practice. The case study demonstrates that a child's role adjustment is in essence a process of transforming his/her role system, during which his/her major roles, the relation of the major roles, as well as his/her role‐taking patterns change as a whole, and by tracing a child's role adjustment trajectory, how the child is learning and developing, what difficulties he/she encounter, and why these difficulties appear become clear.