ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the challenges that children experience when starting school including coping with differences between the play environments of a preschool and a school playground. Many of these issues are illustrated through a case describing Ian’s transition journey. The chapter investigates some effective strategies to manage potential anxiety and stress faced by both children and their whanau during transitions. It suggests that participating in the school playground is often a significant challenge for children when they first arrive at primary school. The chapter identifies the factors that support successful transitions especially for students identified as vulnerable and provides some effective strategies to offset the anxiety and stress that some children and their parents experience. The transition process involves the interplay between the child’s individual characteristics such as temperament, impairment, and immediate and contextual factors. The closer the match between child factors and the child’s contextual systems, the more favourable the educational outcomes are likely to be.
