Family support and facilitation activities for young children’s bidirectional connection between preschool and primary school

Abstract Family support and facilitation activities are essential for the transition from preschool to primary school as they serve to bridge the gap between the home and school learning environments. Previous studies focused on examining the transition from lower levels to higher levels (e.g., preschool to primary school), few researchers shed high on the bidirectional connection between preschool to primary schools for children aged 6–7 years old. In order to support children to have a smooth transition, we need to understand parents’ needs and their children’s experience in the two different educational settings and environments. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of parents’ needs, experience of their children in the bidirectional connection between preschool and primary school in China, exploring the support and facilitation activities could be provided. A thematic analysis approach was used to investigate parents’ experiences of the bidirectional connection period. The analysis drawn on data collected from semi-structured interviews carried out with 16 parents, eight of children who were pre-K3 at preschools and eight had started primary school. The findings showed that parents of children at preschools generally had positive experiences of the support and the programs held to facilitate them and their children during the transition period, but those at primary schools faced more challenges, including but not limited to academic performance, overloaded work, harmonious relationships with teachers. Considering the differences of two educational environments, we proposed that it is necessary and urgent to develop consistent policy and practice for lower primary school teachers to help them to understand better parents and children in the transition period.