When the rucksack gets too heavy: BTU symposium focuses on transitions in early childhood

For children, such transitions often have far-reaching significance that goes beyond organisational processes. They can play a decisive role in determining a sense of belonging, participation and educational success. How these transitions can be supported in a way that is sensitive to diversity is the focus of the symposium organised by the team led by Maria Rogahn-Beckmann and Julia Meißner, under the leadership of Prof. Dr Juliane Noack Napoles, in the chair of Education Sciences at the Institute of Social Work, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU).

The central question is how transitions for children and families can be supported in such a way that multilingualism, migration and refugee backgrounds, disability and neurodiverse development, experiences of poverty, and low literacy levels in the home do not become barriers to education. The aim is to recognise these different life circumstances as expressions of diversity and, in doing so, to support transitions in a more inclusive and accessible way.

Transitions are key moments, not mere formalities

“How children experience transitions helps determine whether they feel welcome and that they belong, and what opportunities open up for them in their future educational journey,” says Prof. Dr Juliane Noack Napoles. “Anyone who views the transition from nursery to school purely in organisational terms overlooks the fact that this is where a sense of belonging, participation and educational opportunities are at stake – particularly for children from low-income families, those with disabilities or those who have experienced displacement. With this symposium, we aim to bring research findings directly into the everyday practice of nurseries and primary schools.”

The research topic: Transitions as a prerequisite for success

The focus is on a field of research that addresses questions concerning a good and successful life in society: referred to in research as eudaimogenesis; this neologism is derived from the Ancient Greek ‘eudaimonía’, which can be translated as happiness (bliss), objective well-being or success, and the Greek ‘genesis’ meaning origin. At the BTU, researchers are in particular engaged with eudaimogenic approaches to Social Work and education. Supporting transitions in early childhood is understood as a key condition for success. This refers both to everyday ‘micro-transitions’ – such as dropping off and picking up, changing rooms or getting dressed and undressed – and to major ‘macro-transitions’ such as starting nursery or moving on to primary school.

The focus is on children and families who may be affected by structural disadvantages. The focus is on various aspects, which will also be addressed in dedicated workshop discussions as part of the symposium programme:

• Multilingualism and migration or refugee backgrounds – for example, the question of how social-emotional learning can support children with refugee backgrounds during the transition from nursery to primary school.
• Disability and neurodiverse development – with a view to inclusive transition management between nursery, school, youth support services and parents.
• Experiences of poverty – from the perspective of the ‘life circumstances’ approach and with a focus on participation and self-efficacy.
• Low literacy levels in the home – a key area of research at the BTU through the Graduate College ‘Enabling a Successful Life through Basic Education and Literacy (GrAl)’. BTU researchers and PhD candidates Annegret Martin and Iris Pamp use interviews to demonstrate how parents with low literacy cope with the demands of their children’s school years and how a shame-sensitive approach can be successfully implemented in work with parents.
• Farewells, grief and loss as distinct, often overlooked forms of transition in the lives of children and young people – a topic being explored by nursing scientist Anja Herzog, a PhD candidate at the BTU’s Institute of
  Social Work, in collaboration with Tino Winkelmann, a qualified psychologist.

The symposium brings together a total of eleven workshop discussions with partners such as the Institut Kinderwelten, the International Rescue Committee, the Sorbian Institute in Bautzen, the Initiative Zukunftsbildung and Fröbel Bildung und Erziehung gGmbH. In addition, there will be a legal consultation session for nursery managers with Prof. Dr. jur. Jens M. Schubert, dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg.

The symposium “Transitions in Early Childhood – Recognising and Supporting Diversity” is funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MBJS) of the State of Brandenburg and the City of Senftenberg.

Registration is open until 31 August 2026:https://eveeno.com/210933700
Date: 5 September 2026, from 9.00 am
Venue: Campus Senftenberg of the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg

Subject
contact: Julia Meißner
meissner(at)b-tu.de 

Maria Rogahn-Beckmann
maria.rogahn-beckmann(at)b-tu.de

Prof. Dr Juliane Noack Napoles
, Chair of Education Sciences, Institute of Social Work
Juliane.NoackNapoles(at)b-tu.de