Research aims and purpose The transition to school is an important time in the lives of children, their families and school communities (Dockett & Perry, 2001; 2007; Pianta & Cox, 1999). One of the key factors in children’s successful engagement with school is family involvement. Recent investigations emphasise both the importance of positive home-school relationships, and have highlighted the difficulties experienced by families when their beliefs, values and experiences are different from those of the school context Henderson & Mapp 2002). This paper recognises family-school connections as dynamic and influenced by a range of social and cultural contexts (McTaggart & Sanders, 2003). It considers the ways in which families draw upon their own resources, experiences and circumstances to position themselves, and to support their children, during the transition to school. In particular, the paper considers these processes in families deemed to have complex support needs. The specific research aims of the project are to: 1. identify with family members and other stakeholders, issues, concerns and decision points for families with complex support needs as their children start school; 2. assess the requirements, availability and accessibility of support for these families and their children, during the year before children start school and their first year of school; 3. in collaboration with families, generate strategies and materials that serve to facilitate their children’s transition to school; 4. in collaboration with families and educational settings, evaluate the strategies and materials developed by focusing on children’s transition to school and early school experiences; and 5. consider the implications of the project findings for transition policy and practice among the providers of school and early childhood services. Value of study The significance of the study draws from previous research that establishes strong links between positive transition to school experiences for children and their future academic and social well being (Pianta & Cox, 1999) and between positive relationships between families and schools and the learning outcomes of children at school (Ramey & Ramey, 1999). This project focuses on what families from diverse social and cultural contexts are willing to contribute and what they require in terms of support as they facilitate their children’s transition to school. It challenges assumptions about parental involvement in schools, the nature of parent-school relationships, and explores notions of cultural capital and the promotion of greater equity in family-school interactions (deCarvalho, 2001). Theoretical framework The project reported in this paper involves a team or researchers working with community support agencies and families described as having complex support needs, during the time of children’s transition to school. The meaning of ‘complex support needs’ differs according to context, encompassing family situations which can include any, or all, of welfare dependency, substance misuse, violence, socio-economic disadvantage, geographic, social or cultural isolation. The project draws upon both ecological theory (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998), and strengths-based family perspectives (Munford & Sanders, 2003) to develop collaborative relationships with families across the state of New South Wales, Australia, and to consider their perspectives, experiences and expectations during the time of transition. These perspectives recognise that these families demonstrate strengths as well as needs, and acknowledge the impact of the contexts in which families live on the ways in which they parent. They also recognise that most families are eager for their children to have a positive start to school and that they are willing to work towards such success, even though their own school experiences may not have always been positive.

Families with a child soon to start school, and defined within their local contexts as having complex support needs, have been invited to participate in the project by support agency staff. Approximately 30 families have participated in ongoing informal conversations with researchers about the transition to school. Conversations have been held in venues chosen by families, including homes, support services and public places such as coffee shops. Also in accordance with family wishes, these conversations have been undertaken in small groups, or with individuals. With the permission of those involved, conversations have been audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis. Interpretive analysis, based on the principles of grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), has been used to generate categories of issues, both within and across family contexts. In addition to the categorical data generated through this project, the project team engaged in ongoing reflexive dialogue about the processes of the research, identifying a range of methodological issues related to researching with groups often described as vulnerable. This paper explores the methodology for developing collaborative research relationships with families and community support agencies.

The project outcomes reported in this paper are drawn from the discussions of methodological issues. In particular, we note challenges relating to organisational collaboration, appropriate definitions and terminology, conducting sensitive research and the nature of relationships between families, support agencies and researchers. We conclude that many of these challenges require ongoing reflection and discussion, as there is often no one clear, definitive resolution. We also conclude that attempts to engage with families who have complex support needs in respectful ways over time can be both effective and positive, and that when such interactions occur at times of educational transition, such as the transition to school, positive connections between families and educational institutions can be promoted.