Targeting Social Wellbeing to Improve Transitions to School (SWITCH)

Objectives

1. Large-Scale Cross-National Study

SWITCH will recruit five large-scale representative samples of preschool/reception-aged children across four European countries (Germany, Sweden, the UK, and Austria), with approximately 1,000 participants per site. Parents and teachers will provide valuable insights on children’s well-being and mental health one year prior to school entry / in the UK during reception. Likewise, SWITCH will assess sociodemographic factors and children’s age allowing us to compare cohorts regarding variations in school-entry practices within and between countries.

2. In-depth Subsample Analysis

From these larger samples, SWITCH will select subsamples of children (approximately 80 per site). These children will participate in two intensive lab sessions, one during preschool/reception and one during Year 1. In these more extensive sessions, SWITCH will assess children’s social, cognitive, and early literacy and numeracy skills to explore how these factors shape their social wellbeing. We will also conduct detailed evaluations of their key relationships—with parents, peers, and teachers—as well as measure interpersonal bio-behavioral and neural synchrony (first in parent-child and subsequently in peer-child dyads).

3. Long-Term Outcomes and Policy Recommendations

SWITCH will track the full sample to assess how social wellbeing affects mental health, overall well-being, and academic skills by the end of Year 1. Based on these findings, we will provide evidence-based guidelines to policymakers, highlighting strategies to support social wellbeing during this crucial transition.

By pursuing the above three main objectives, the SWITCH project aims to provide critical insights into how children’s social wellbeing fosters optimal opportunities for education and development during this fundamental early transition.

Project stages

This project covers three years and will have the following stages:

• 1st Wave - From Spring 2025: Initial recruitment of the full sample and first set of self-reports provided by parents.
• 2nd Wave - From Autumn 2025: Selection of the subsample (children in Reception with one of their parents) and first lab-based measurement session including parent-child fNIRS hyperscanning and behavioural observation.
• 3rd Wave - From Autumn 2026: Second lab-based measurement session including child-peer fNIRS hyperscanning and behavioural observation (same children as in the 2nd wave but now in Year 1 together with one of their peers).
• 4th Wave - From Spring 2027: Second set of self-reports provided by parents, complemented by self-reports provided by school teachers.

Main SWITCH studies elements

We will use a variety of equipment methodologies to better understand the parent-child bond, including:

• fNIRS hyperscanning during several tasks, first in parent-child and then in child-peer dyads. This will serve to derive longitudinal measures of interpersonal neural synchrony.
• Behavioural observation during the fNIRS hyperscanning sessions. This will serve to derive measures of interaction quality according to several attachment-theory derived coding schemes.
• Questionnaires filled in by parents and teachers to provide insights into child development and temperament.
• Interviews with children to assess their social cognition and attachment representations.

Collaboration

This project is run in collaboration with the University of Bremen and University of Leipzig (Germany), University of Vienna (Austria), and Linköping University (Sweden).