Child Care Workers’ Perspectives on Transition Services for Pre-school Children with Special Needs in Hong Kong

Abstract

Transitions that all young children have to make (including children with special needs) involve: starting school, moving from kindergarten to primary school, and sometimes moving from one school to another. With increasing awareness of the importance of early childhood education and intervention, transition planning for young children is attracting much more attention and action. Research suggests that there is a relationship between children’s successful transitions and the outcomes of their development in cognition, literacy, social adjustment, and adaptive skills. However, the perspectives of teachers in transition planning were not sufficiently explored in the literature in the Chinese context. This paper focuses on the experiences, ideas, and perspectives of pre-school child care workers on the vertical transition of children from pre-school special centres to other educational institutions in Hong Kong. Individual face-to-face interviews were conducted with child care workers who work in special child care centres. Importance of transition planning for children with special needs, the role of pre-school special child care workers, challenges in the process, and suggestions for improvement are discussed. In particular, methods for facilitating the parents’ choice of appropriate primary schools are shared.