International Journal of Early Years Education

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What makes a successful transition to school?

Views of Australian parents and teachers

Sue Dockett & Bob Perry

To cite this article: Sue Dockett & Bob Perry (2004) What makes a successful transition to school?
Views of Australian parents and teachers, International Journal of Early Years Education, 12:3,
217-230, DOI: 10.1080/0966976042000268690

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/0966976042000268690

Published online: 21 Jul 2010.

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International Journal of Early Years Education
Vol. 12, No. 3, October 2004

What makes a successful transition to

school? Views of Australian parents
and teachers
Sue Dockett* & Bob Perry
University of Western Sydney, Australia

This paper reports a survey of 355 parents and 166 teachers of young children starting school in
New South Wales, Australia. Parents and teachers were asked to rate a list of 20 items in answer
to the question ‘How important are the following for deciding whether a child has had a successful
first two terms of school?’ The results are presented in relation to individual items as well as broad
categories, with comparisons between the perceptions of teachers and parents. Overall, teachers
placed most emphasis on the areas of children’s adjustment to the school context and their
dispositions or feelings about being at school. Less emphasis was attributed to areas such as
knowledge. Parents were more likely than teachers to focus on knowledge, as well as children’s
dispositions. Implications are drawn for collaborative interaction between parents and teachers as
children start school.

Introduction
Starting school is an important transition in the lives of children, families, educators
and communities. Recently, there has been an increased international focus on the
importance of the transition to school (Peters, 2000; Dockett & Perry, 2002;
Dunlop & Fabian, 2002; Clarke & Sharpe, 2003; Einarsdóttir, 2003) as well as on
the significance of a successful transition to school (Ramey & Ramey, 1998; Pianta
& Cox, 1999). The research consensus is that a successful transition to school has
a major impact on the child’s academic and social performance both in kindergarten
(the first year of formal school) and in later school success (Belsky & MacKinnon,
1994; Entwisle & Alexander, 1999).
Less research attention has been focused on identifying the nature and character-
istics of successful transitions. In part this is due to the conceptualization of
transition as contextually bound and experienced by individuals in different ways—a
model based on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems model. For example,

*Corresponding author: School of Education and Early Childhood Studies, University of Western
Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, South Penrith DC, NSW 1797, Australia. Email:
s.dockett@uws.edu.au
ISSN 0966-9760 (print)/ISSN 1469-8463 (online)/04/030217-14
© 2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd
DOI: 10.1080/0966976042000268690
218 S. Dockett & B. Perry

Rimm-Kaufman et al. (2000, p. 148) report that ‘children experience the transition
to Kindergarten as a qualitative shift along several dimensions’. The result is that it
becomes very difficult to suggest that what makes a successful transition for one
child or family is the same as for another child or family. Recognizing this, Dockett
and Perry (2002) have published ‘guidelines for effective transition to school
programmes’, which outline principles that can be interpreted in contextually
appropriate ways. For example, the guideline that ‘effective transition to school
programmes include a range of stakeholders’ suggests that the involvement of a
range of people is important, while at the same time recognizing that these stake-
holders, and their involvement, will differ in different communities and contexts.
These guidelines provide a framework for evaluating transition programmes and
their implementation, but they do not answer the question ‘How do you know when
a child has made a successful transition to school?’
Although an extensive literature exists (e.g. Jang, 1995; Richardson, 1997), there
is disagreement as to what constitutes effective transition programmes. There is
evidence that teachers developing transition programmes are influenced both by
their theoretical position and their expectations of children and families in different
environments. For example, Nelson (1995) has reported differences in teacher
expectations when children are from urban, suburban or rural environments, belong
to minority or non-minority groups, and where there are different socio-economic
backgrounds. These expectations have influenced what is included in transition
programmes as well as what constitutes a successful transition. In many cases
teachers, but not parents or children, make these decisions.
Much of the research relating to children’s transition to school has focused on the
expectations of teachers and parents (Hains et al., 1989; Harradine & Clifford,
1996). In general, differences have been identified between these groups, as well as
some within-group differences for teachers, depending on whether they work in
prior-to-school or school settings. For example, Hains et al. (1989) report that
teachers in the first year of school focus on children’s ability to function within a
classroom environment, whereas teachers in prior-to-school settings place a strong
emphasis on skills they see as necessary in a successful transition to school.
While parents and teachers share some common expectations about transition to
school, there are also differences. Lewit and Baker (1995) report that the majority
(more than 75%) of teachers involved in their US study supported findings from
Heaviside et al. (1993) that children need to be physically healthy, rested and well
nourished in order to experience a successful transition to school. Parents were
much more likely than teachers to report that academic skills are important in order
for children to make a successful transition to school. Both groups reported that
communication skills, enthusiasm and social skills are important. Knudsen-Lin-
dauer and Harris (1989) have reported that parents place more emphasis on
academic skills such as counting and writing, than do teachers, while teachers
emphasize curiosity more than parents. Similar results are reported by West et al.
(1993).
In many situations, judgements about the success of transition are made by
focusing not on positive aspects but rather on the absence of negatives: ‘transition
 What makes a successful transition to school? 219

success is defined as the absence of any major problems’ (Griebel & Neisel, 2003,
p. 28). Some studies focus on the signifiers of unsuccessful or problematic transi-
tions. For example, Hausken and Rathbun (2002) consider adjustment to kinder-
garten in terms of the ‘prevalence of behaviours that suggest avoidance or distress
towards school’ (p. 3), as measured by children complaining about going to school,
being upset or reluctant to go to school, and pretending to be sick in order to stay
away from school. In this study 72% of parents of children starting kindergarten
reported that their children did not show signs of difficulty adjusting to school. The
assumption is that these children had a successful transition to school. The corollary
to this is that up to 21% of children starting school were reported to experience
distress on one of these three measures. Other child and family factors that were
significantly associated with the report of difficulties in the transition to school were
the gender of the child (male), disability and low socio-economic status. Programme
factors that were associated with transition difficulties were class size and the length
of the programme (e.g. full-day or half-day). Hence, while most children were
reported to have had a successful transition to school, one in five children were
reported to have experienced a less than successful transition. The latter outcome
was more likely for boys than girls, in lower socio-economic areas than high
socio-economic areas, and for children with disabilities.
As well as parent reports of children’s adjustment to school, several studies have
sought teacher judgements as a means of assessing the success, or otherwise, of
transition experiences. Drawing on a large-scale survey of kindergarten teachers in
the USA, Rimm-Kaufman et al. (2000) report teacher descriptions that 52% of
children have a successful transition to school, 32% have a moderately successful
transition, and 16% of children have a difficult transition to school. The most likely
difficulties reported by teachers are difficulties following directions, lack of academic
skills, disorganized home environments and difficulty working independently. The
authors suggest that ‘the high rate of teacher-perceived adjustment problems may
reflect a poor “fit” between children’s competencies and aspects of the kindergarten
classroom context, including teachers’ expectations and classroom demands’
(Rimm-Kaufman et al., 2000, p. 163).
Several studies have investigated children’s perspectives on the transition to
school. There has been a focus on what children think school will be like (e.g.
Peters, 2000; Brostrom, 2003), sometimes using innovative approaches to invite
children to share their experiences of transition with children about to start school
(Dockett & Perry, 2003; Dockett & Simpson, 2003). There has been less focus on
asking children to reflect on their own transition to school and the success of this.
In one study that sought children’s reflections on their first year at school, Dockett
and Perry (under review) report comments from one child who summed up his
sense of a successful transition to school with the words ‘now I’m used to it’.
Where there is a focus on the positive aspects of transition experiences, there is
usually mention of children ‘settling in’ to school, or ‘adjusting’ to school (e.g.
Fabian, 2002; Fabian & Dunlop, 2002). Brostrom (2003) links smooth transition
experiences with characteristics of children who have settled in to school:
220 S. Dockett & B. Perry

Smooth school transitions help children feel secure, relaxed, and comfortable in their
new environments … children feel suitable in school, that is, to have a feeling of
well-being and belonging. Children feel suitable when they successfully negotiate the
daily challenges of kindergarten life, including both social (peer related) and academic
(content related) challenges. (p. 52)

The transition to school is a time of ‘intense and accelerated developmental

demands that are socially regulated’ (Fabian & Dunlop, 2002, p. 3). Adjusting to
school is a major achievement. Griebel and Neisel (2003) describe changes happen-
ing at three levels as children start school: the individual level, as children adopt the
identity of a ‘school child’; the interactive level, as children’s existing relationships
change and new relationships develop; and the contextual level, where the environ-
ments of home and school intersect.
The complexity of the transition to school means that assessing the effectiveness
of transition programmes and experiences cannot be achieved by simply noting
children’s academic achievements. Social interactions and understandings are
significant elements of transition experiences, as are the expectations, perceptions
and experiences of all involved. Lloyd et al. (1999) note that

in identifying what constitutes successful transition to kindergarten, not only must

many factors be considered, but they also must be considered in relation to each
other … transition occurs on many interwoven levels (i.e., child, family, school, com-
munity) … transition outcomes must be conceptualised in terms of context. (p. 313)

The Starting School Research Project

Over a period of several years, the Starting School Research Project has investigated
the experiences, perceptions and perspectives of all involved in children’s transition
to school. The study reported in this paper considers the perspectives of parents and
teachers about what constitutes a successful transition to school.

Method
Pilot studies
A series of pilot studies was undertaken during 1996–98, to investigate the percep-
tions and expectations of those involved in children’s transition to school. These
studies involved group interviews with parents, teachers in prior-to-school settings,
teachers in school settings, children who had just started school, children who were
about to start school, and children who had been at school for some time. Using
grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), interview data were analysed, and
response categories were created to reflect the issues which were reported by
parents, teachers and children as important to consider when children started school
(Perry et al., 1998). The following categories were identified and used to develop an
extensive questionnaire:
Knowledge Ideas, facts or concepts that needed to be known
 What makes a successful transition to school? 221

Adjustment Aspects of adjusting to the school environment, either

socially or organizationally
Skill Observable actions
Disposition Children’s attitudes towards, or feelings about, school or
learning
Rules Fitting in with the school and school expectations
Physical Physical attributes, needs, characteristics of children
Family issues Issues related to family functioning or involvement with
the school
Educational environment What happens at school, including curriculum and the
nature of the school environment.

Questionnaire
During 1998–2000, the questionnaire was distributed in 15 locations across New
South Wales, Australia, which were identified through the use of stratified purpose-
ful sampling (Miles & Huberman, 1994), enabling the targeting of a cross-section of
areas based on the variables of geography (urban, rural and remote communities),
socio-economic status (low, middle and high), cultural diversity, and the special
needs of children. A total of 1290 questionnaires were distributed through early
childhood and school services in the identified locations. The analysis for this paper
is based on a return of 517 questionnaires, a response rate of 40%.
The questionnaire consisted of a wide range of questions about starting school.
This paper reports the analysis of one section which sought responses to the
question: How important are the following for deciding whether a child has had a
successful first two terms of school? (Please tick the box which most closely matches your
opinion.)
This section listed 20 items that had been identified in the pilot interviews.
Respondents were asked to rate each one of these using a 4-point Likert scale (not
important, somewhat important, very important, extremely important).
The 517 questionnaires returned consisted of responses from 162 teachers—108
(67%) teachers in schools and 54 (33%) teachers in prior-to-school settings,
including pre-school, long day care and occasional care. Three hundred and fifty-
five responses were received from parents—245 (69%) with a child about to start
school and 84 (24%) with a child recently started school. A further 26 (7%) either
did not indicate the status of the child, or answered in relation to an older child.
Table 1 reports the 20 items and responses for teachers (n ⫽ 162) and parents
(n ⫽ 355). For each item, frequencies are represented by percentages across the
4-point scale, accompanied by means. A two-way contingency table analysis was
conducted to establish any differences between teachers and parents in their re-
sponses to the 20 items. Chi-square analysis has been used to determine statistically
significant differences in patterns of response across the groups.
These results indicate high levels of agreement among teachers and parents about
the importance of several items. For example, both groups indicated that the child
getting school awards (
2 (3, N ⫽ 506) ⫽ .716, p ⫽ .869, Cramér’s V ⫽ .038) was only
222 S. Dockett & B. Perry

Table 1. Teacher (n ⫽ 162) and parent (n ⫽ 355) responses to the question: How important are
the following for deciding whether a child has had a successful first two terms of school?

Activity NI SI VI EI Mean Significance

The child is eager to go to school 1 4.4 44 51 3.45 .379

0 8 32 49 3.41
The child is upset about going to school 5 12 41 42 3.22 .185
2 12 39 47 3.31
The child can count to 20 31 48 16 5 1.96 .000
13 46 28 14 2.42
The child has friends at school 0 14 43 43 3.31 .411
2 14 43 41 3.23
The child can read 39 48 11 3 1.78 .002
26 45 22 7 2.10
The child is pleased with their social 0 9 47 44 3.36 .562
adjustment 0 9 51 39 3.30
Parents are pleased with the child’s social 2 7 52 40 3.29 .453
adjustment 1 10 53 36 3.24
The child gets school awards 26 41 24 9 2.15 .869
24 44 22 10 2.18
The child can follow school routines 0 8 54 38 3.31 .006
0 13 63 25 3.12
Teachers are pleased with the child’s social 0 8 46 46 3.39 .348
adjustment 1 8 53 38 3.29
The child knows where to line up for class 3 21 53 23 2.96 .760
2 21 52 25 3.00
The child is pleased with their academic 1 22 54 23 2.98 .092
progress 1 20 46 33 3.11
Parents/guardians are happy to leave the child 3 5 38 54 3.45 .909
at school for the whole day 2 4 36 58 3.49
The child shows homework to 12 26 42 20 2.70 .000
parents/guardians 5 14 40 41 3.16
Teachers are pleased with the child’s academic 1 20 53 27 3.39 .067
progress 1 12 52 35 3.22
Parents are pleased with the child’s academic 1 16 54 29 3.10 .458
progress 1 13 53 34 3.20
The child separates easily from 0 6 38 56 3.49 .641
parents/guardians 0 5 44 51 3.46
The child can write a recognizable sentence 31 46 19 4 1.96 .583
28 44 21 7 2.07
The child wants to sleep in school uniform 72 19 4 5 1.40 .654
67 22 6 5 1.47
The child is scared to talk to teachers 8 9 31 52 3.27 .144
4 10 37 49 3.31

NI Not important, SI Somewhat important, VI Very important, EI Extremely important.

Means have been calculated by applying the values 1, 2, 3, 4 to these ratings, respectively.

somewhat important in assessing the success of transition and both groups regarded
children knowing where to line up for class (
2 (3, N ⫽ 509) ⫽ 1.170, p ⫽ .760,
Cramér’s V ⫽ .048) as very important. Least important for both groups was the item
 What makes a successful transition to school? 223

the child wants to sleep in the school uniform (
2 (3, N ⫽ 496) ⫽ 1.625, p ⫽ .654,
Cramér’s V ⫽ .057).
Despite this agreement across several items, Table 1 indicates significant differ-
ences between the groups of teachers and parents on four items. These differences
related to items from the categories of knowledge, adjustment and family issues.
Parents rated the items The child can count to 20 (
2 (3, N ⫽ 506) ⫽ 31.838, p ⫽ .000,
Cramér’s V ⫽ .251) and The child can read (
2 (3, N ⫽ 508) ⫽ 16.940, p ⫽ .002,
Cramér’s V ⫽ .183) as more important than teachers. One other item was rated as
more important by parents than teachers—The child shows homework to parents/
guardians (
2 (3, N ⫽ 506) ⫽ 29.026, p ⫽ .000, Cramér’s V ⫽ .240). Teachers rated
the item The child can follow school routines (
2 (2, N ⫽ 507) ⫽ 10.158, p ⫽ .006,
Cramér’s V ⫽ .142) as more important than parents.
While neither group rated the knowledge items related to reading and counting as
extremely important, it is clear that parents placed greater importance on these areas
than teachers in making judgements about the success of transition. This is consist-
ent with previous research (Knudsen-Lindauer & Harris, 1989; West et al., 1993),
where parents have consistently rated academic skills as more important than
teachers in a successful transition to school. Parents also rated the item The child
shows homework to parents/guardians as more important than teachers. This item
reflects the category of family issues and, possibly, a sense of parents seeking
information about what happens at school, and how well children are doing at
school academically, through access to homework. While this explanation is specula-
tive, it does reflect comments from parents during the pilot study that they had little
sense of what was happening for children and with children, when they started
school.
The teachers’ rating of the item The child can follow school routines as more
important than parents reflects previous research. Hains et al. (1989) have reported
that teachers—especially those teaching the first year of school—nominate children’s
ability to work within a classroom environment as a major factor in effecting a
positive transition to school.
Previous studies (e.g. Hains et al., 1989) have also reported different perceptions
about successful transitions between groups of teachers. Table 2 reports items with
a significant difference between the responses of teachers in school and prior-to-
school settings.
Differences between teacher groups relate to the categories of disposition, adjust-
ment and knowledge. Teachers in schools attach greater importance than their
prior-to-school colleagues to children being eager to go to school (
2 (4,
N ⫽ 160) ⫽ 11.096, p ⫽ .026, Cramér’s V ⫽ .263), The child is upset about going to
school (
2 (3, N ⫽ 158) ⫽ 9.931, p ⫽ .019, Cramér’s V ⫽ .251) and The child is scared
to talk to teachers (
2 (3, N ⫽ 159) ⫽ 8.702, p ⫽ .034, Cramér’s V ⫽ .234). This
suggests that teachers in schools are focused on children’s feelings about school and
their interactions at school. This is not to suggest that these things are unimportant
for prior-to-school teachers; rather, that teachers in school value positive disposi-
tions among children. Such views were noted in the interviews conducted through
the pilot study, where teachers commented that it was possible to teach children just
224 S. Dockett & B. Perry

Table 2. Significant differences between teachers in schools (n ⫽ 108) and teachers in

prior-to-school settings (n ⫽ 53)

Activity NI SI VI EI Mean Significance

The child is eager to go to school 0 4 36 59 3.54 .026

2 6 59 34 3.26
The child is upset about going to school 7 11 34 50 3.26 .019
2 16 55 29 3.11
The child gets school awards 16 44 27 12 2.36 .000
47 34 17 2 1.72
The child knows where to line up for class 2 16 53 29 3.10 .006
6 32 53 9 2.65
Teachers are pleased with the child’s academic 1 16 50 34 3.16 .026
progress 0 28 59 13 2.85
Parents are pleased with the child’s academic 1 13 51 36 3.21 .045
progress 2 23 60 15 2.89
The child separates easily from 0 3 35 63 3.60 .014
parents/guardians 0 12 46 42 3.30
The child is scared to talk to teachers 9 5 29 57 3.33 .034
6 17 36 42 3.15

NI Not important, SI Somewhat important, VI Very important, EI Extremely important.

Means have been calculated by applying the values 1, 2, 3, 4 to these ratings, respectively.

about anything, as long as they wanted to be at school and felt comfortable there.
While the item The child separates easily from parents/guardians (
2 (2,
N ⫽ 159) ⫽ 8.517, p ⫽ .014, Cramér’s V ⫽ .231) reflects the category of adjustment,
it fits the pattern here of teachers in schools being concerned about the emotions
that children experience within the transition to school, more so than teachers in
prior-to-school settings.
Items that reflect working within the expectations of the school were rated as more
important by teachers in schools than teachers in prior-to-school settings. These
items were: The child gets school awards (
2 (3, N ⫽ 159) ⫽ 19.809, p ⫽ .000, Cramér’s
V ⫽ .353) and The child knows where to line up for class (
2 (3, N ⫽ 161) ⫽ 12.462,
p ⫽ .006, Cramér’s V ⫽ .278). These suggest that teachers in schools expect children
to adjust to the school environment. Both getting school awards and lining up for
class are not typical expectations within prior-to-school settings. Basing judgements
about the success of transition through such activities could be a means of assessing
how well children have adapted to the changed expectations and organization of
school.
Items relating to adult perceptions of academic progress were also rated as more
important by teachers in school than teachers in prior-to-school settings—Teachers
are pleased with the child’s academic progress (
2 (3, N ⫽ 160) ⫽ 9.277, p ⫽ .026,
Cramér’s V ⫽ .241) and Parents are pleased with the child’s academic progress (
2 (3,
N ⫽ 160) ⫽ 8.037, p ⫽ .045, Cramér’s V ⫽ .224). Clearly, teachers in schools are
concerned about academic performance and about sharing that with parents. While
academic progress is also an important feature of prior-to-school settings, the less
 What makes a successful transition to school? 225

Table 3. Significant differences between teachers in schools (n ⫽ 107) and parents of children
in kindergarten (n ⫽ 84)

Activity NI SI VI EI Mean Significance

The child can count to 20 28 48 17 8 2.04 .000

7 36 37 19 2.69
The child can read 36 49 12 4 1.84 .001
18 43 31 8 2.30
The child is pleased with their academic 0 22 52 26 3.05 .039
progress 4 16 42 39 3.17
The child shows homework to 9 26 43 22 2.77 .000
parents/guardians 0 11 40 49 3.39
The child can write a recognizable sentence 27 47 20 6 2.05 .040
13 46 27 13 2.40
The child is scared to talk to teachers 9 5 29 57 3.33 .043
2 10 42 46 3.32

NI Not important, SI Somewhat important, VI Very important, EI Extremely important.

Means have been calculated by applying the values 1, 2, 3, 4 to these ratings, respectively.

formal nature of these settings means that reporting of progress varies and there are
not the same expectations about formal assessment of academic progress.
Academic progress was identified in Table 1 as of greater importance for parents
than teachers. Table 3 reports this and other significant differences between the
ratings of teachers in school (n ⫽ 108) and parents whose children have recently
started school (n ⫽ 84). This is a particularly salient comparison, as it relies on the
direct and recent experience of parents and teachers, rather than the projected or
anticipated experiences of teachers in prior-to-school settings and parents whose
children have yet to start school.
All but one of these items were rated as more important by parents than teachers.
Most of the items with significant differences relate to the category of knowledge,
specifically the knowledge that children may be expected to demonstrate as they
move through school: The child can count to 20 (
2 (3, N ⫽ 190) ⫽ 24.926, p ⫽ .000,
Cramér’s V ⫽ .362), The child can read (
2 (3, N ⫽ 191) ⫽ 15.497, p ⫽ .001, Cramér’s
V ⫽ .285), The child can write a recognizable sentence (
2 (3, N ⫽ 192) ⫽ 8.323,
p ⫽ .040, Cramér’s V ⫽ .208). Academic progress is also the focus on one other
item—The child is pleased with their academic progress—with parents, more so than
teachers, considering this in their judgements of successful transitions (
2 (3,
N ⫽ 191) ⫽ 8.386, p ⫽ .039, Cramér’s V ⫽ .210).
Other items on which teachers in school and parents of children who have started
school differed were drawn from the categories of family issues—The child shows
homework to parents/guardians (
2 (3, N ⫽ 189) ⫽ 23.755, p ⫽ .000, Cramér’s
V ⫽ .355)—and disposition—The child is scared to talk to teachers (
2 (3,
N ⫽ 188) ⫽ 8.172, p ⫽ .043, Cramér’s V ⫽ .208). In both cases, parents rated these
items as more important than did teachers.
The overall picture seems to be that parents are more focused on demonstrations
of knowledge, such as reading and writing, as indications of successful transitions to
226 S. Dockett & B. Perry

Table 4. Rank order of activities from least important (1) to most important (20), and associated
mean scores

Teachers: Parents: Parents:

Teachers: prior to children children prior
Activity school school in school to school

The child is eager to go to school 19 (3.45) 16 (3.41) 15 (3.37) 18 (3.42)

The child is upset about going to 11 (3.22) 11 (3.31) 11 (3.28) 16 (3.32)
school
The child can count to 20 3 (1.96) 4 (2.42) 5 (2.69) 5 (2.33)
The child has friends at school 16 (3.31) 12 (3.23) 12 (3.29) 12 (3.22)
The child can read 2 (1.78) 2 (2.10) 2 (2.30) 3 (2.03)
The child is pleased with their social 15 (3.36) 19 (3.30) 10 (3.26) 16 (3.32)
adjustment
Parents are pleased with the child’s 14 (3.29) 14 (3.24) 8 (3.24) 13 (3.26)
social adjustment
The child gets school awards 5 (2.15) 3 (2.18) 4 (2.48) 4 (2.09)
The child can follow school routines 13 (3.31) 15 (3.12) 9 (3.25) 7 (3.09)
Teachers are pleased with the child’s 17 (3.39) 16 (3.29) 15 (3.37) 14 (3.28)
social adjustment
The child knows where to line up for 8 (2.96) 7 (3.00) 6 (3.13) 6 (2.97)
class
The child is pleased with their academic 7 (2.98) 8 (3.11) 7 (3.17) 9 (3.11)
progress
Parents/guardians are happy to leave the 18 (3.45) 20 (3.49) 19 (3.45) 20 (3.49)
child at school for the whole day
The child shows homework to 6 (2.70) 6 (3.16) 18 (3.39) 8 (3.10)
parents/guardians
Teachers are pleased with the child’s 9 (3.39) 8 (3.22) 15 (3.37) 11 (3.20)
academic progress
Parents are pleased with the child’s 10 (3.10) 10 (3.20) 14 (3.36) 10 (3.18)
academic progress
The child separates easily from 20 (3.49) 18 (3.46) 20 (3.55) 19 (3.43)
parents/guardians
The child can write a recognizable 3 (1.96) 4 (2.07) 3 (2.40) 2 (1.94)
sentence
The child wants to sleep in school 1 (1.40) 1 (1.47) 1 (1.39) 1 (1.48)
uniform
The child is scared to talk to teachers 12 (3.27) 13 (3.31) 13 (3.32) 15 (3.30)

Means are indicated in parentheses.

school. This does not suggest that teachers do not regard these are important;
rather, that other factors, such as disposition and adjustment, are of greater import-
ance for teachers.
This is illustrated in Table 4, which reports the rank order of each item for groups
of teachers in school and prior-to-school settings, and for parents whose children
have started school and whose children are about to start school. These rank orders
have been calculated using the means for each item achieved when applying
 What makes a successful transition to school? 227

numerical values (1–4) to the Likert scale rankings, as indicated in Table 1. Means
are included to indicate the average importance of each item for each group.
Table 4 indicates both similarities and differences in the relative rankings of the
items. However, within these similar rankings, there are differences in the degree of
importance attributed to items by particular groups. For example, all groups rank
children being able to read as somewhat important. Yet parents with children in the
first year of school, on average, rate this higher than all other groups.

Discussion
These results indicate that at a time of great adjustment for all involved—the
transition to school—different things are important for different groups of people.
Among parents and teachers and across prior-to-school and school settings there
was considerable agreement about the relative importance of many of the items
featured on the questionnaire. However, it was also clear that the basis for making
judgements about the success or otherwise of transition varied in several areas. In
particular, parents rated items reflecting knowledge as more important than teach-
ers. Teachers in schools rated items reflecting adjustment and disposition as more
important than parents and teachers in prior-to-school settings. Teachers in prior-
to-school settings also rated items of disposition highly, but did not rate the
organizational adjustment items (such as following school routines) as highly as
teachers in schools. There are many possible reasons for these differences, including
the contexts in which teachers and parents operate, and levels of understanding
about what happens in school. For example, parents who are unfamiliar with school
and rely on their own recollections of what happens in school may well have
different expectations from those parents who regularly spend time in school
classrooms.
The importance of these results is that at a time when adults are encouraged to
work together to ease children’s transition to school, there are significant differences
in expectations and understandings. Parents who are keen to hear about academic
progress in order to assess the effectiveness of their child’s start to school may well
be frustrated by teachers sharing information about children’s adjustment to school
organization and their emotional reaction to school. Similarly, teachers who are keen
to discuss children’s reactions to school may well be frustrated by parents seemingly
pushing children towards academics. If different criteria are being used to make
judgements about children’s start to school, it is likely that different judgements will
be made. Unless there is an effective means of communication between parents and
teachers that enables these differences to be shared, opportunities for ongoing
collaboration may be replaced with confusion and concern.
This questionnaire included two items that reflect negative behaviours—The child
is upset about going to school and The child is scared to talk with teachers. These items
were drawn from pilot study interviews. Both items relate to the category of
disposition. It is noticeable that many more positive than negative statements were
offered in the pilot interviews, suggesting that parents and teachers are looking for
positive indicators of adjustment, rather than indicators of maladjustment.
228 S. Dockett & B. Perry

This is important, as one of the main issues for children in their early days of
school relates to their developing identity as a school student (Griebel & Neisel,
2003). Where children are aware that teachers and/or parents are judging them
negatively, they may well adopt the negative traits already ascribed. Teacher expec-
tations, as well as parental expectations, will have a major impact on how children
see themselves fitting into the school and how they perceive themselves as learners
(Brooker, 2002). Fabian and Dunlop (2002, p. 6) note that:
different views of children as learners, including children’s own, may have implications
for, and shed some light on, why some children find such transitions easier than others.
Their ability to claim the new setting as their own and to benefit educationally from it
may be reflected in the degree to which their educators have collaborated in a shared
conceptual framework of children’s learning.
The results of this study suggest that the adults involved in transition—parents and
teachers—share some views of what is important as children start school. The results
also indicate some differences about the relative importance of several elements.
Children, too, have specific expectations (Dockett & Perry, 1999; Brostrom, 2003)
that need to be considered in assessing the effectiveness of the transition to school.
Children starting school have indicated that the reason for going to school is to
learn—specifically, to learn to read and write (Dockett & Perry, 1999). Children also
report feeling disappointed when this does not occur soon after they commence
school (Brostrom, 2003). While parents do not have such a strong expectation, it
does seem that they, too, expect learning to occur in the first year of school and are
alert for signs of this. The importance attributed by parents to children showing
them homework may reflect this eagerness to see what children are learning, as well
as a strategy for finding out what children are doing at school.

Conclusion
Starting school is a significant time in the lives of children, their families and
educators. The importance of a positive start to school has been recognized as a
factor in later school success—both social and academic—and there are moves
around the world to develop transition programmes that offer opportunities for
building positive connections between children, families and schools. While these
are positive and important steps, it is essential to realize that different participants
in the transition process bring with them different experiences, expectations and
perceptions. These will influence the ways in which transitions are organized,
enacted and judged. Effective transitions have as their base cooperative and collab-
orative relationships between and among all involved. The starting point for such
relationships is a recognition of the differences each brings to the transition and a
willingness to communicate about these in order that common and consistent goals
can be set and attained.

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