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“It Makes You Feel Like Not Sending Your Kids to School”: Aboriginal Parents’ Experiences of the Transition to School

The transition to formal schooling is a critical milestone in a child’s development. For Aboriginal children, early experiences are shaped by both cultural strengths and enduring impacts of colonisation. This study explored factors influencing Aboriginal families’ transition-to-school experiences in an urban Western Australian community.

Citation:
Charlton E, Clarke J, Teal R, Hamilton S, Fisher C, Millar L. “It Makes You Feel Like Not Sending Your Kids to School”: Aboriginal Parents’ Experiences of the Transition to School. Aus J EarChildhood. 2026.

Keywords:
School attendance, Aboriginal children, cultural strengths, transition to school

Abstract:
The transition to formal schooling is a critical milestone in a child’s development. For Aboriginal children, early experiences are shaped by both cultural strengths and enduring impacts of colonisation. This study explored factors influencing Aboriginal families’ transition-to-school experiences in an urban Western Australian community.