Dr. Bradley's buzz:
This article offers a sociological perspective on transitioning to school, making the point that children are agents, that there is little research on children's perspectives of the transition, and that making friends is key to a successful transition.
Children who transition with or into friendships have more success in longterm outcomes, and enjoy school more than children who do not. This study takes place in Queensland Australia and uses data collected from 162 participants using video recording, children drawings, and recordings of small group conversations. Researchers aimed to identify children's interpretations of how they made friends.
This study found that children made friends in three key ways: through making requests of others, through engaging in shared activities (sometimes instigating those activities), and intervening to include those that appeared to be alone. Overall the children in the study highlighted that making friend is complex and time consuming.
The implications of this study for educators is that children tended to make friends on their own terms, outside the influence of the teacher; schools need to provide time and space for friendships to emerge, particularly early on in the transition; schools need to provide unstructured time and recognise that having a friend to play with is key to a good transition from a child's perspective.
This article challenges the New Zealand culture of sending children to school on their five birthday. It suggests that children transitioning with a group of peers is more beneficial to educational success than children transitioning alone.
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