Voices of children, parents and teachers: how children cope with stress during school transition

Abstract

This study explores how children's perceptions of stress factors and coping strategies are constructed over time. Children were interviewed before and after they made the transition from preschool to primary school. This study also explores teachers' and parental strategies in helping children to cope with stress at school. The sample included 53 six-year-old children, their parents and teachers. The findings show that children generally could make accurate predictions of unhappy things that might happen during the transition to primary school. Children reported being incompetent in fulfilling teachers' expectations regarding learning, self-help skills and conforming to rules. Children also reported peer conflicts and being nervous about authority. Children learned direct problem-solving skills, seeking social support and emotional regulation at preschool, but had only used the first two coping strategies at school. A majority of parents thought that transition problems affected children's emotions, whereas most teachers thought that transition problems affected children's learning.

Keywords:

• stress and coping
• transition to school
• children's
• parents’ and teachers’ voices

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank the Hong Kong Institute of Education for providing a research grant for this study, the Hongkong Bank Foundation for funding the Zippy's Friends Programme in Hong Kong, the participating school, teachers, parents and children for their cooperation, and Miss Yip Lai Ying and Li Ka Yan who assisted with collecting data and data entry.

Notes on contributor

Mun Wong works as an assistant professor at the Department of Early Childhood Education of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Her research interests include: childhood stress and coping, children's adaptation to school and children's concept of fairness.