Transición de preescolar a primaria: perspectiva familiar en República Dominicana

The transition from preschool to elementary school affects everyone in the education process cognitively, academically, socially, and psychologically. Although widely studied internationally, this transition has not been examined in the Dominican Republic from a family perspective. This paper uses a qualitative, exploratory case study to explore the perception of the preschool-to-elementary transition among Dominican parents. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 178 participants from two schools, one public and one private, between 2021 and 2023. The data were analyzed using the MAXQDA® software program, triangulation, and constant comparison. The participants perceive the transition as an education process that affects children and families emotionally, socially, cognitively, and academically. They maintain that schools are primarily responsible for the proper implementation of this transition, acknowledging that although they do engage in activities to support the transition at home, they do not involve themselves due to a lack of information and training.