A Systematic Review of Parents’ Experiences during their Child’s Transition to School

Abstract

The transition to school is an important developmental milestone for children and their families and sets the foundation for further educational experiences. There is a paucity of evidence-based interventions to support families during their child’s transition to school. To meet the needs of families during their child’s transition to school, better understanding of parents’ experiences is necessary. This systematic review identified 61 studies which reported on parent experiences of their child’s transition to school, although only a minority of studies explicitly focused on this outcome. Most studies were cross sectional, qualitative and focused on typically developing children. Six themes were identified in a narrative synthesis of the included studies: (1) Parent emotions about the transition to school; (2) Child’s school readiness and adjustment; (3) Parent factors; (4) Positive aspects of transition to school; (5) Practical transition issues; and (6) School partnership and communication. Overarching parent experiences focused on the ecological system within which the transition to school takes place, and we consider the implications for practice based on this framework.