Tips for Parents on
Happy Transition to Primary One
Dr. Lau Yi Hung Assistant Professor
Department of Early Childhood Education The Education University of Hong Kong
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• dislike of school
• academic difficulties
• anti-social behavior
• mental health issues
• psycho-physiological problems
Discouraging child development if unsuccessful school
transition
Why is the transition from kindergarten to
primary school so important for children?
Learning environment
Curriculum
Teaching mode
Social relationships
Routine and self-care
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Why is the transition to primary school
a challenging task for children?
Big campus and many extra-
curricular activites I can make lots of
new friends
It means I am
independent I like recess
I can write my own Handbook
Before transition to primary one……
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I have to walk a lot and do a lot of homework. I have no time to play.
I suffer from being the youngest in school
Doing things on my own makes
me exhausted
Recess is fun but it is too short Writing handbook
everyday makes me tired
After transition to primary one……
Social
relationships
Emotions and feelings
Academic
performance Daily routine
Adjustment difficulties during the transition
from kindergarten to primary school
Indicators of smooth transition to primary one
Able to manage their emotions
Interact harmoniously with peers
Follow teachers’
instructions
Interested in school activities A sense of
belonging to school
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Physical Social Psycho-
logical Cognitive Language Learning
approaches
Essential skills to develop
before admission
Physical health Social and emotional
adjustment Mental preparation
Cognitive abilities Language skills Positive learning attitudes 9
How can parents facilitate
children’s readiness for school?
Do attending primary one preparatory classes and
interest classes help?
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Psycho-social development
Erikson
• Children put effort on expressing themselves and wish to learn from adults with industry.
• If they fail, a sense of inferiority will be
caused since they cannot cope with their own tasks and study.
School age（6~12 years）：
Industry vs. Inferiority
Provide cognitive, emotional, and autonomy supports
What I can do
What I can do with help
What I cannot do
• Vygotsky
Zone of proximal
development
Set reasonable expectation to improve children's readiness for school
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1. Understand child’s development
2. Use Scaffolding to provide cognitive, emotional and
autonomy support 3. Do not compare children
with others 4. Be clear and consistent
5. Be positive and flexible 6. Praise little improvements and achievements
7. Accept child’s limitations 8. Encourage child’s self- development
Recommended activities for parents and children
Parent-child
discussion Parent-child reading
Parent-child
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Home-school Co-operation
Parenting
Learning at home
Volunteering
Decision making
Commu- nicating
Collaborating with the community
Epstein – Home-school collaboration
Tips for Home-school Co-operation
Assist children to learn at home
Maintain close communication between families and school
Actively join school activities
Parent- Teacher Association Parent
volunteer Parenting
education
Case 1
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Avoiding school:
Sally, who has just started primary one, always complains about abdominal pain. She refuses to wake up to go to school, and often cries and yells with tantrum. She cannot focus on her
breakfast and takes a long time to leave home. Thus she has to rush to school and she is almost late for
school every day.
Aggression:
Carol has been unhappy recently and disclosed to her mother that she could not make new friends in school. It was found that Carol was blamed by a new friend for not
going to the washroom together, so Carol was told they were not friends anymore.
Case 2
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Bullying:
Alice, who is a primary one student, is always bullied by two senior girls in school bus.
They threw rubbish at Alice and sometimes teased about her hair style.
Case 3
Poor academic performance:
Peter has difficulty in catching up with the progress of his class. He always
complains about not having enough time to study for dictations and
examinations. Peter starts to show loss of interest in studying and his relationship with parents has also been negatively affected.
Case 4
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References
• Epstein, J. L. (1995). School/family/community partnerships:
Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 701–712.
• Epstein, J. L. (2001). School, family, and community
partnerships: Preparing educators and improving schools.
Oxford: Westview Press.
• Erikson, E. H. (1963). Childhood and society (2nd ed.). New York: Norton.
• Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
