BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.16, No.2, 2024, BECE 1845 

 

 

 

 

A Longitudinal Study of the Relationship between 

Preschool Readiness and the Adjustment to Preschool 

Transition in Young Children 

By Zhang, N., Wang, Y., Xu, J. & Dong, S. 
Correspondence to: Yifang Wang, Capital Normal University, China. E-mail: 

wangyifang6275@126.com 

HIS majority of young children suffer from separation anxiety to vary-

ing degrees in the early stage of preschool attendance, where they first 

leave home to confront a new environment, experiencing a transition from 

dependence to self-reliance and from a free and easy home environment to a 

setting of discipline. Early preschool adaptation affects the younger children’ 

attitudes towards and perceptions of kindergarten life in their entire pre-

school years and even their future social adjustment. How to help preschool-

ers ease and circumvent the maladaptation in their early kindergarten life to 

facilitate a smooth preschool transition deserves in-depth research. This 

study focuses on analyzing the effects of preschool readiness on young chil-

dren’s adjustment to preschool transition using latent growth models.  

Research findings show that: 

i. Children adapted to kindergarten at a greater rate in the initial pe-

riod than later periods. The initial level of preschool adaptation 

was negatively related to the rate of adjustment. There were sig-

nificant differences in the initial level and rate of preschool ad-

justment among individuals. 

ii. There was no correlation between the initial level and rate of pre-

school adjustment and the gender, age, and being the only child 

or not in preschoolers. A healthy daily routine developed before 

kindergarten attendance could positively predict the initial level 

and rate of preschool adjustment in them. The toilet habit could 

positively predict the rate of preschool adjustment among them. 

iii. Negative emotion-regulation methods, particularly the release of 

negative emotions, inversely predicted the initial level of kinder-

garten adaptation in preschoolers. 

Based on research findings, the following implications were drawn: 

 Parents of children with a low initial level of preschool adjust-

ment need not worry too much about their coping with kinder-

garten life in that young children can make big progress in this 

regard within a short term. 

T 

mailto:wangyifang6275@126.com


 

Vol.16, No.2, 2024, BECE 1846 

 Necessary are adequate life preparations before kindergarten at-

tendance, including self-care ability and a good daily routine. 

Young children should be well-trained to adapt to preschool life 

in terms of the daily schedule, mid-day nap, and toilet habit. 

 In home-school co-education before the kid’s kindergarten at-

tendance, special attention should be paid to increasing their abil-

ity to regulate emotions. Training on emotion-regulation strate-

gies is not only beneficial for the child’s preschool adjustment 

but also for their lifelong social adaptation. 

 Pre-kindergarten preparation should be incorporated into pre-

school education. Policies and guidelines for the home-school 

community ought to extend to the preparation period before the 

child’s kindergarten attendance. 

 

 
Source: Education Research Monthly, 2023; 2023(10):75-81.