Connected Dynamics: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives on Family Life and the Transition to School

Abstract

Our main focus is the analysis of familial resources and strengths in terms of education and care within the wider context of policies and practices that pose challenges to families in their contact with the public educational system. First of all, we analyse three key concepts. They define the ways in which family can be seen as an educational environment of its own, and how institutions address families with specific demands. Against the background of empirical studies, we argue that little knowledge exists around how families deal in practice with the expectations placed upon them in their daily lives. The results of our study will help to close this gap by reconstructing how the process of transition to school is shaped by the family, and how its relation to the school has a deep impact on the family. Finally, we argue for differentiation within the empirical and theoretical modelling of the transition process. © 2017, Springer International Publishing AG.