Transition to Preschool: Paving the Way for Preschool Teacher and Family Relationship-Building

Abstract

Background: Previous research suggests that interactions between preschool teachers and children in early care and educational contexts can contribute to the child’s positive attachment development and socioemotional adjustment. Objective: Investigate how the transition process to preschool is organized and whether various ways of organizing it may differently influence family–teacher relationship-building and child adjustment. Methods: Conducted a mixed methods study of quantitative and qualitative survey data from Swedish preschool professionals (N = 535). Results: Preschool introduction varied across preschools in several structural aspects such as introduction length and intensity, timing for first child–parent separation, and number of children and teachers involved in the introduction process. Results moreover suggested that different introduction models were associated with different ways of engaging the parent, where the “parent-active” model was characterized by a high level of parental participation during the introductory activities. This was perceived by preschool professionals as positively influencing the family–teacher relational formation. Conclusion: Findings suggest that inviting parents to participate actively in preschool transition may help better engage them in the introduction process, which in turn may positively influence family–teacher relationship-building. Future research should focus in more detail on how child–teacher and parent–teacher interactions, respectively, influence family–teacher relationship-building and child adjustment during, and after, the introduction period.