Introducing the child and its parent(s): Child-teacher-parent relationship-building during preschool transition

Research output: ThesisDoctoral Thesis (compilation)

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Abstract

Current child developmental research encourages a more systemic understanding of attachment-related relationship-building. As many young children spend a substantial part of their daily life in professional childcare, e.g., “preschool”, interactions with teachers at preschool are of particular interest in this respect. In bridging the developmentally important contexts of home and preschool for the first time, the child’s first transition to preschool, e.g., “introduction to preschool,” provides a particularly valuable setting for studying how a child’s relational network broadens to include teachers. An important aim of this thesis has therefore been to conceptualize a child’s introduction to preschool as an opportunity to initiate the expansion of a child’s relational network with teacher(s) at preschool.
However, empirical research on the topic of relationship-building during
preschool transition is sparse, and no formalized guidelines on how to structure the introduction process to this end exist in Nordic countries. To enable investigations of how different organizational approaches to preschool introduction may influence child-teacher relationship-building, Study I investigated introduction practices at Swedish preschools using a mixed-methods design to collect data from teachers. Findings identified two main introduction models: the traditional model and the parent-active model. Besides differing in terms of introduction length and intensity, the models also differ in how to organize the parent’s role during the introduction process. Recognizing that different approaches to how to involve the parent may create varied structural conditions for supporting family-teacher relationship-building during preschool introduction, study II was designed with a qualitative methodology to further explore teachers’ thoughts about and experiences of the role of parents in child-teacher relationship formation. To this end, teachers from study I were invited to take part in focus group discussions. While agreeing on the importance of building a relationship with the parent to support the child’s transition, teachers seemed to perceive the parent as either facilitating or constraining the child-teacher relationship-building process, depending on how the parent was invited participate. In the parent-active model, parents are invited to participate actively with their child. In the traditional model, it is more common to instruct the parent to take a more "passive" role in the background, allowing more space for the child and teacher to interact one-on-one.
Consistent with a systemic approach, parent-teacher communication may be
hypothesized to influence child-teacher relationship-building. Study III therefore
quantitatively investigated child-teacher-parent relationship-building as an
interconnected process during and after the child’s preschool introduction. Results indicate that a parent perceived as trusting by the teacher facilitates child-teacher relationship-building, with key factors being teacher mentalizing capacities, low child-adult ratios, and teachers’ extensive preschool work experience. Moreover, a high level of parent-teacher interaction during the introduction process further contributed to establishment of trust.
While the parent-active model may effectively support the parent and teacher in
getting to know each other, the present thesis suggests that organization of preschool introduction should focus on creating opportunities for teachers to attend sensitively to the parent(s) as well as the child, rather than adhering strictly to a specific introduction model. Indeed, a systemic approach in the context of preschool introduction emphasizes trusting, sensitive interactions as concerning not only the teacher and child, but the triad of the child, the accompanying parent, and the key teacher. To this end, structural factors such as maintaining low child-adult ratios and having a staff team representing substantial preschool professional experience may be crucial. Finally, a systemic perspective may also support researchers in conveying the nature of attachment-related relationship-building as a relational and context-sensitive process.
Translated title of the contributionAtt introducera barnet såväl som föräldrar i förskola: Relationsetablering mellan barn, personal och föräldrar under barnets introduktion i förskolan: Relationsetablering mellan barn, personal och föräldrar under barnets introduktion i förskolan
Original languageEnglish
QualificationDoctor
Awarding Institution
  • Department of Psychology
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Psouni, Elia, Supervisor
  • Schad, Elinor, Assistant supervisor
Award date2024 Dec 19
Place of PublicationLund
Publisher
ISBN (Print)978-91-8104-229-0
ISBN (electronic) 978-91-8104-230-6
Publication statusPublished - 2024 Nov

Bibliographical note

Defence details
Date: 2024-12-19
Time: 09:00
Place: Sh 128, G:a Köket, Allhelgona Kyrkogata 8, Lund
External reviewer(s)
Name: Smith Nielsen, Johanne
Title: Associate Professor
Affiliation: University of Copenhagen
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Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Pedagogical Work

Free keywords

  • Preschool
  • Home
  • Transition
  • Attachment theory
  • Systemic perspective
  • Child-teacher relationships
  • Parent-teacher relationships
  • Parent-teacher trust

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