Preparing Children for School—Benefits and Privileges

Abstract

THE IMPORTANCE OF carefully planned transition programs for children commencing school has been advocated in the literature. These programs should be based on sound principles of transition and reflect the voices of parents, preschool and school staff, and children. A variety of practices exists, and children's participation in transition programs also varies. This paper reports a study about the participation of children and their parents in different transition activities, differences in this participation by child gender and family demographics, and the relationship between participation in different numbers of these activities and children's adjustment to the first year of school. Results indicate significant benefits of participation in high numbers of transition activities for teacher-rated social and academic competence for children. Children's adjustment to school also appeared to differ for particular cohorts of the population. The challenge is to take these findings and translate them into the public good to maximise benefits to all children rather than those already experiencing sociocultural privilege.