Transition between daycare and kindergarten: Practices to help children with special needs and their ecosystem

• In Event: Early Childcare and Schooling

Abstract

Important life events, such as entering school for the first time, are known to be difficult transitional steps for a large variety of children (Jiang et al., 2021). A child's experience when entering school can be a predictor of future affects toward their education (Dockett et Perry, 2007). Feelings of failure, anxiety, low self-esteem and confusion can be decreased or avoided when transition practices are in place (Bérubé et al., 2018). Children with special needs related to autism spectrum disorder and other learning difficulties can experience larger distress during that transition. Communication and collaboration between parents and the school are two crucial issues and transitional practices would be an appropriate way to familiarize children with their new environment (Fontil et al., 2020). The aim of this study is to report on the benefits and obstacles in implementing a program targeting the transition of children with special needs from daycare to kindergarten.

The study included 31 participants that had experienced a transition program for kids with special needs entering kindergarten. Four groups participated in the study: parents (N = 7), teachers in kindergarten (N = 7), daycare educators or health care professionals (N = 9), and school principals (N = 8). Semi-structured interviews were established on the implementation of the program, its benefits, and the obstacles in place. A qualitative analysis was conducted within groups and across groups to extract the shared main themes.

Our findings show that stress and feelings of unreadiness are reduced and replaced by feelings of worth and relief after the participation in the transition program. The program is related to increased communications between all actors, greater implication of the parents during the transition, expanded shared knowledge about the child's needs, and a decrease in anxiety level for parents, teachers, and children. Prolonging the program on a bigger time frame, along with adding more professionals in the program are aspects that participants stated would help improve it. Hence, this study demonstrates that the transition between daycare and kindergarten is facilitated for the child and its ecosystem with the help of a program specifically designed for the transition to kindergarten of children with special needs. Conclusions from this study could be applied to similar populations to help the chances of a positive transition for all children.

Authors

• Anne Larose, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)
  Presenting Author

• Jeanne Dallaire, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)

• Annie Bérubé, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)