A cultural-historical study of children’s role adjustment during the transition to school within a bi-cultural context

The thesis aims to investigate the complex process of children’s role adjustment during the transition to school within a bi-cultural context based on the cultural-historical theory. Through analysing the two individual cases, three findings are generated. Firstly, the abrupt change in a child’s social situation of development marks the initial moment of the child’s role adjustment. Secondly, each role adjustment crisis contains both developmental potential and developmental danger. Whether and how the potentials can be realised or the dangers can be mitigated, depend on how the crisis is managed. Thirdly, each child has his/her unique role adjustment trajectory.