Change and Transition in Children's Education

This essay discusses the relevance and consequences of transition in the life of a student using the metaphor of big shoes. It explores the Ecological Systems Theory and its impact on transition, as well as the role of teachers in easing the transition process. The essay highlights the importance of readiness and change in the transition experience and emphasizes the need for proper intervention to make the process simpler and accessible for children.

Running head: CHANGE AND TRANSITION IN CHILDREN’S EDUCATION
CHANGE AND TRANSITION IN CHILDREN’S EDUCATION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
Transition is like big shoes
My school period is what I would consider the phase where most of my transition
experience comes from. I have always been a reserved child and never felt inclined towards
making too many friends. Therefore, when I was first moved from kinder to 1st grade, I felt
like this was a huge transition. I had three very close friends in my kinder and at that age, it
was a huge understanding for me that we would be friends for a long time. However, as soon
as I shifted to 1st grade, two of my friends moved to a different school while only one of them
remained behind. The first few days were very overwhelming as I was experiencing an array
of emotions not knowing how to deal with them. I was sure that my friend was also feeling
the same. First of all, there was an excitement of moving to a higher grade and getting to
learn newer things, but at the same time, there also was the primary grief of not being able to
stay in contact with my other two friends. Furthermore, there was also a fear of how the new
study system was going to be and how the teachers were going to behave with us. I was also
nervous seeing all the new faces in the class. Overall, this was a huge shift for me and the
first few days I was having a lot of emotional and cognitive compatibility issues. However, as
things started to fall in place, I started feeling more and more comfortable with the class. The
first thing that I did was make two new friends and along with my friend from kinder, we

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played together during recess. That happened on the third day of the new class. Once that
happened and I started to feel more relaxed and settled into the new classroom setting, I
started developing interest towards the new prospects, which included that of learning
something new and interacting with more people, gathering more knowledge and experience,
making new friends, get good grades in school and stay on good terms with the teachers.
This initial transition was an important lesson in my life which made me realise that
the current setting I was in would be temporary and will not last. In this essay, I will therefore
attempt to discuss the relevance and consequences of transition in the life of a student using
the pasture depicted above as a metaphorical guide, and supported by the Ecological Systems
Theory by Bronfenbrenner as well as other relevant scholarly articles and curriculum
documents.
Rationale for the image
The primary reason why the particular image as depicted above is selected is that it
acts as a metaphor, depicting that transition can be something that a person grows into. The
key significance of a metaphor is that it helps to fill any form of conceptual gap between the
abstract understanding and the theoretical practice (Monk, 2004). Metaphors help us
understand the concept in greater detail and is usually a container for two concepts that are
not related to each other in any way. The two different types of concepts in a conceptual
metaphor are the target and the source (Landau, Robinson & Meir, 2014). While the former
refers to the actual concept that the individual is attempting to understand but is unable to
because of its abstractness and complexity of comprehension, the latter is a much simpler,
experientially relatable and easier to grasp concept that is used to understand the target
(Landau, Robinson & Meir, 2014)
Just like a child can wear his father’s big shoes expecting that they would fit his feet one day,
for me, transition felt like an opportunity that I can use to grow and fit the requirement of the

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setting I was in. the reason why transition in this essay is not considered like stepping stones
or like steps is because the metaphors might indicate that the process involves several
determined steps. Alternately, it was not considered a tunnel or a door, because, personally,
transition was never a steady directed action like a tunnel might indicate, nor did it feel like a
random exposure to a series of stimuli all at once, like a door might indicate.
Analysis
The experience of transition for every child are stated to be different based on the
differences in their lifestyles, level of understanding and attachment as well as the intensity
and frequency of transition. In the current context where transition is seen from the viewpoint
of school based learning and development, the first step in the transition that a child faces is
the shift from the home environment to the school environment (Dockett & Einarsdóttir,
2017). Bronfenbrenner, in his Ecological Systems Theory has highlighted that there are five
distinct systems that function within a child’s environment and these systems are responsible
for influencing the child’s development contextually. The systems as introduced by
Bronfenbrenner (1979) are:
 Microsystem: It refers to the groups and institutions that directly impact the child’s
development by being the most proximal influencing factor (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).
The microsystem involves family, school, the neighbourhood as well as peers.
 Mesosystem: This serves more as a junction between two systems and incorporates
aspects of interaction between the family and peers or family and teachers.
 Exosystem: This refers to the link between the immediate social context of the child
and the context which does not have any direct influence on the child
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979). For instance, the home interaction between child and parent
might decrease if the parent is promoted abroad for work.

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 Macrosystem: Macrosystem refers to the cultural context in which the child lives and
is inclusive of the status of the country, poverty, ethnicity etc. (Bronfenbrenner,
1979).
 Chronosystem: this refers to the socio-historical circumstances and events that impact
the child’s development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), for instance the negative issues of
aggression or violence between parents.
Bronfenbrenner’s theory of Ecological Systems finds a crucial significance in the
aspect of transition. The development of a child is a progressive event that is highlighted by
two other significant aspects other than transition, namely readiness and change (Dockett,
Griebel & Perry, 2017). Readiness is highlighted as the primary factor signifying whether or
not the child is ready to shift to a new setting. As Dockett, Griebel & Perry (2017)
highlighted, a structured home routine, resources and environment that facilitate
communication as well as family income, educational level of parents as well as their
expectations serve as the key influencing factors that determine the level of readiness in a
child. The authors have also indicated that the impact of level of readiness in a child would be
a determiner for how smooth the transition would be. As mentioned “At the individual level,
parents adopt the role of “parents of a school student” and negotiate the associated
responsibilities and expectations.” (Dockett, Griebel & Perry, 2017, p. 13). This supports a
key justification claimed in connection with Bronfenbrenner’s theory – change in the
ecological systems of the child imparts direct or indirect influence on the transitional
experience of the child.
The in classroom transition is the highlight of the developmental aspect of the child as
this is the context where the child faces the most of the change inducing stimuli by
himself/herself. This is also the aspect where the role of the teacher is identifies as being of
paramount importance (King, 2011). As mentioned in the paper “Teachers bring to the

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transitioning situation their histories, beliefs, and concepts about transitions and how they
should occur. At the core of meeting the transitional needs of children is the teachers’ ability
to understand what they feel and know about transitions.” (King, 2011, p. 88). The paper has
indicated that the transitioning experience of the child is a strong affecter for his/her
development both physically as well as cognitively and the teachers, with their experience of
past transitions can make this process easy for the children (King, 2011). The aspect of
transition is also looked at as being different in each of the parameters of age, gender as well
as early childhood educational settings. In a study by O’Farrelly and Hennessy (2014), it has
been indicated that in an early childhood education centre, more boys showed heightened
levels of anxiety following transition than the girls.
Transition has also been seen as a continuous process taking into account “ways to
address coherence in children’s experience and support for their negotiation of the inevitable
change encountered as they enter school” (Boyle, Petriwskyj & Grieshaber, 2018, p. 423).
This explains that the school life is bound to be significantly different from the life
experiences at home and the child must be ready to accept that change, however there are
certain processes and mannerisms that can simplify transition as well as the effects it has on
the child. These effects and impacts are significant for the child to develop a strong cognitive
structure for their future selves.
Conclusion
The aspect of transition as discussed is therefore highlighted to be a significant factor
for the children in their shift from a home to a school situation. Thus, the picture as depicted
above that has been used as a metaphor for explaining transition, sufficiently highlights how
big the entire genre of transition is and therefore, how impactful the effects of the shift would
be in children. There are prospects and perspectives that would view transition with a
different glass, and rightfully so, as for some individuals, transition might be a well directed

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and guided process like a tunnel. Someone coming from a very systematic and established
family background might have less issues settling into a new environment as they have
already been sufficiently scaffolded of the process. Whereas someone coming from a family
with poor socio – economic status with the added effect of history of family violence, might
identify the prospect of transition as opening a door to a huge conglomerate of external
stimuli. The bases for identification of transition is purely dependent on a lot of background
factors as the studies cited above have depicted. This is also where the teacher starts playing
key roles in order to ease the process of transition for the child. A lot of developmental and
cognitive impacts can be highlighted that are caused due to transition. Poor transition can
lead to anxiety and depression as well as a lack of motivation to study and advance further
whereas a rich transitional experience may back up an attitude of high motivation and
productivity. Transition therefore seems to connect itself to a lot of socio – cultural factors as
well as a variety of mental health related factors as well. Thus, in conclusion, it is safe to
express that transition, as a process, is inevitable, but the process can be made simpler and
accessible by the children through proper intervention.

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References
Boyle, T., Petriwskyj, A., & Grieshaber, S. (2018). Reframing transitions to school as
continuity practices: the role of practice architectures. The Australian Educational
Researcher, 45(4), 419-434.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Harvard university press.
Dockett, S., & Einarsdóttir, J. (2017). Continuity and change as children start school.
In Pedagogies of Educational Transitions (pp. 133-150). Springer, Cham.
Dockett, S., Griebel, W., & Perry, B. (2017). Transition to school: A family affair.
In Families and Transition to School(pp. 1-18). Springer, Cham.
King, M. A. (2011). Transition in the Classroom. In Transitions to Early Care and
Education (pp. 87-92). Springer, Dordrecht.
Kousholt, D. (2019). Children's Everyday Transitions: children’s engagements across life
contexts. In Children's Transitions in Everyday Life and Institutions (p. 145).
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Landau, M.J., Robinson, M.D., Meier, B.P. (2014). Introduction. In M.J. Landau, M.D.
Robinson, B.P. Meier.The power of metaphor: Examining its influence on social life.
Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association(pp. 3-16).
Monk, H. (2004). Relationships the HEART of teaching. Unpublished Master of Education
Thesis, Massey University, New Zealand.
O’Farrelly, C., & Hennessy, E. (2014). Watching transitions unfold: a mixed-method study of
transitions within early childhood care and education settings. Early Years, 34(4),
329-347.