Study explores how children cope in first years of school

How British children cope in the first years of school will be compared with youngsters from across Europe in a groundbreaking £1.25million study.

Roughly 4,000 five and six-year-olds from the UK, Germany, Austria and Sweden will be monitored by psychologists.

With researchers looking at how starting education and progressing into their second year affects them.

The international team of experts – funded by bodies from each nation and organised jointly by European agencies CHANSE and NORFACE - aim to monitor children’s mental health and social wellbeing as they take their first steps into education.

It is hoped the “Targeting Social Wellbeing to Improve Transitions to School” (SWITCH) project will help shape future education policy by providing valuable insights from across Europe.

'Lack of understanding'

Dr Pascal Vrticka, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex, will lead the project in Britain.

The social neuroscientist and associate professor said: “There is a lack of understanding of the factors affecting children's social wellbeing during this key developmental stage.

“Our team aims to address this gap by providing critical insights into how children's social wellbeing associates with educational and interpersonal opportunities.

“The SWITCH project is unique, combining data from thousands of children across four European countries, and tracking their development over two years.

“Additionally, we will use advanced technology to study brain-to-brain synchrony between children and their parents and peers to explore the neurobiological mechanisms involved. Such a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach is unprecedented.”

European colleagues

Dr Vrticka will work with colleagues from the Universities of Bremen, Leipzig, Vienna, and Linköping.

Together, the researchers will explore sociodemographic factors and school starting practices within and between countries.

Roughly 80 children at each location will then be brought into the lab together with their parents or peers for more extensive testing.

The research teams will assess children’s social, cognitive, and early literacy and numeracy skills to explore how these factors shape their wellbeing – as well as explore the quality of children’s key relationships from an attachment theory perspective.

Dr Vrticka hopes the research will have an impact for many years to come.

“The SWITCH project will deliver key information on the favourable conditions and barriers affecting children's school transitions, aiding the development of new prevention and intervention strategies,” said Dr Vrticka.

“It will also contribute to creating science-based, internationally applicable guidelines for policy and practice.”