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Teachers' perceptions on children's transition from home to childcare in Singapore
Author
Wong, Jun Wei
Supervisor
Xie, Huichao
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of Singapore’s childcare teachers on children’s transition from home to childcare and how they choose to navigate it. The Ecological and Dynamic Model of Transition and attachment theory are employed as investigative lenses within a qualitative research design. Data was collected using online questionnaires and individual interviews and thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data. Eight teachers from local childcare centres were recruited and shared their beliefs, understanding, and approach to facilitating the process of home-to-childcare transition. The findings revealed that the teachers demonstrated an implicit understanding of classical attachment theory through their use of an accommodative transition facilitation approach. However, the teachers’ intuitive understanding of attachment theory also led some to believe that presence of parents (primary caregivers) will disincentivise children from forming an attachment relationship with teachers (secondary caregivers). The teachers also acknowledged that parent-teacher communication can indirectly benefit the outcome of home-to-childcare transition for new children but they limited their interactions with parents to the seeking and sharing of transition-related information. It is recommended that local childcare teachers strive to develop a more explicit and updated understanding of attachment theory such as relying more on displays of group-related sensitivity rather than dyadic sensitivity if have a larger class size. Additionally, they should also strive to enhance parent-teacher partnership by involving parents more in the decision-making of transition practices being implemented by the teachers and the school.
Date Issued
2021
Call Number
LB1775.6 Won
Date Submitted
2021