Open AccessEarly Childhood Services: Using Narratives to Explore Parents’ Experiences of Transition
Author(s) -
Patricia Peterson,
William F. Morrison,
Ruth B. Morrison
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of childhood studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2371-4115
pISSN - 2371-4107
DOI - 10.18357/jcs.v37i2.15200
Subject(s) - narrative , transition (genetics) , early childhood , context (archaeology) , early childhood education , developmental psychology , politics , psychology , set (abstract data type) , sociology , gender studies , political science , history , computer science , chemistry , literature , art , biochemistry , archaeology , law , gene , programming language
This article examines the concepts of transitions in early childhood through the lens of parents’ personal narratives. How do parents define transition or the process of change? What are the stages that they journey through as they parent their preschool children? This exploration is not only interested in identifying the kinds of transitions experienced by parents, but also the processes of change and the meanings that parents give to them. Furthermore, the nature of the interactions and relationships that accompany the processes of change are examined. These narratives emerge from an early childhood development demonstration site charged with the task of creating integrated programs and services that are responsive to community needs within an educational context. To set the stage for the personal narratives of transition, the larger political narrative of transition provincially, nationally and internationally is also examined.