Project start: 1.10.2025.

Although the previous 5-years university project confirmed the Ecological-Dynamic Transition Model, it identified a significant lack of guidelines for quality and scientifically-based educational practice that would enhance children’s well-being and facilitate their transition and adjustment in nurseries/kindergartens. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to develop guidelines for the organization of transition and adjustment, as well as integrated educational activities for working with early and preschool aged children during the transition from family to nursery/kindergarten and to scientifically test their impact on children's well-being and the quality of transition and adjustment. The activities will include methodological aspects of music, art, motor skills and movement, storytelling and picture books, indoor and outdoor spaces, transitional objects and the development of attachment, adaptivity and relationships. Once the activities have been developed, kindergarten teachers will be trained. Based on a quasi-experimental design, ratings of children's well-being and cooperation with parents will be collected before and after the implementation of the activities in the experimental group (200 children aged 1-4 years). The measurements will also be conducted in the control group (200 children of the same age) to test for differences. Longitudinal monitoring of the children will be conducted to investigate the possible long-term effects of the created organization and the integrated activities on the children's well-being. Significant positive effects of the organization and activities are expected on all aspects of the children's social-emotional well-being, on the cooperation with parents and on the quality of the educational work. The contribution of the project is visible in new scientific knowledge, the expansion of internationalization, the improvement of educational practice and study programs, and society as a whole. The sustainability of the project results will be ensured by creating a lifelong learning program for kindergarten teachers.