Transitions To School International Research Policy And Practice

This book provides an important compilation and synthesis of current work in transition to school research. The book focuses strongly on the theoretical underpinnings of research in transition to school. It outlines key theoretical positions and connects those to the implications for policy and practice, thereby challenging readers to re-conceptualize their understandings, expectations and perceptions of transition to school. The exploration of this range of theoretical perspectives and the application of these to a wide range of research and research contexts makes this book an important and innovative contribution to the scholarship of transition to school research. A substantial part of the book is devoted to detailed examples of transition to school practice. These chapters provide innovative examples of evidence-based practice and contribute in turn, to practice-based evidence. The book is also devoted to considering policy issues and implications related to the transition to school. It records a genuine, collaborative effort to bring together a range of perspectives into a Transition to School Position Statement that will inform ongoing research, practice and policy. The collaborative, research, policy and practice based development of this position statement represents a world-first.

With increasing attention given by governments and policy makers to children’s transition to school, and the associated need for educators, families and communities to be supported in the process, changes are often required to existing structures and pedagogy. This book is framed around the notion of transition as a time of change for those involved in the transition process and as a time for reconceptualising beliefs, policy and practice. It explores transition from a number of international perspectives and raises issues around the coherence of: how children perceive and respond to starting school; the roles and expectations of parents; developmental changes for parents; supporting children with diverse learning needs; how policy, curriculum and pedagogy are conceived and implemented. Readers will be informed about current practices and issues arising out of research in Europe, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Australia and will be stimulated to consider how they can change their own transition beliefs, policies and practices. Transition to school: Contemporary Perspectives and Change is essential reading for researchers and educators and anyone wanting to know more about the transition to school and how to support young children, their families and schools.

This book showcases the quality work that Latin American researchers have done on transition to school in Latin American countries by offering the English-speaking world, first-hand access to some Latin American transitions research, practices, and policies. This book shows the work carried out in countries such as Brazil, Chile, Cuba, and Mexico with regards to the way in which the transition to primary school is experienced from different stakeholders' perspectives, and how Latin American educational policies and cultural practices shape such an important process for stakeholders. This book was importantly framed by the COVID-19 pandemic which placed the world in a global health emergency, and it is our hope that this book will trigger future international collaborations between researchers, policy makers, and practitioners interested in transitions which could help produce a wealth of empirical evidence to inform educational policies and transitions practices across the world. Building networks where diverse experiences are valued and respected, as well as analysed, can help provide a platform that supports educators and researchers as they continue their work and branch out in new and challenging directions.

Transition to school represents a time of great change for all involved. Many transition to school programs have been developed to support positive transitions to school. While these programs have involved complex planning and implementation, often they have not been evaluated in rigorous or systematic ways. This book brings together Australian and international perspectives on research and practice to explore approaches to evaluating transition to school programs. For children, school is quite different from anything else they have experienced. For families and educators, there are considerable changes as they interact with new people and take on new roles. Developing effective transition to school programs is a key policy initiative around the world, based on recognition of the importance of a positive start to school and the impact of this for future school engagement and outcomes. Throughout the chapters of this book, authors from Australia, Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Jamaica share examples of evaluation practice, with the aim of encouraging educators to reflect on their own contexts and adopt evaluation practices that are relevant and appropriate for them. The book brings together the fields of evaluation research and transition to school. A wide range of examples and figures is used to relate research and practice and to illustrate possible applications of evaluation strategies. Evaluating Transition to School Programs highlights the importance of multiple perspectives of the transition to school and offers suggestions about how the perspectives of children, families, educators and community members might be included and analysed in evaluation strategies. Other themes throughout the book include the importance of collaboration, respectful and trusting relationships, practitioner-driven inquiry, strengths-based approaches and developing programs that are responsive to context. This book is written for educators and leaders in early years and primary school settings, and will also be of interest to researchers, students and policy makers in the field.

This collection addresses issues related to families and transition, and pays special attention to the transition to school, the effect of this on the family, as well as the effect of the family on that transition. It celebrates the roles of families, locating them as integral partners in time of transition and identifying a variety of ways in which families and educators can work together with children to promote positive transitions. The book draws on a range of theoretical frameworks and research projects to provide multiple perspectives of family involvement in education, family-educator partnerships, the nature of collaboration, issues for families in marginalised or complex circumstances, as well as the multiple intersections of families and transition processes. The research projects reported range from in-depth case studies to the analysis of large-scale data sets and all have multiple messages for practitioners, policy makers and researchers as they seek ways to engage with families as their children start school.

This book presents the latest research on educational transitions from a variety of research traditions and practical contexts set in Australia, New Zealand, and several European countries. It examines, critically questions, and reshapes ideas and notions about children’s transitions to school. The book is divided into five parts, the first two of which emphasise diversity and inclusion, with Part II focusing solely on the transition to school for children from Indigenous cultures. Part III explores the notion of continuity, which has been widely debated in terms of its role in the transition to school. Part IV explores the transition to school through the notion of ‘crossing borders’. The final section of this book, Part V, includes ideas about future directions for work in the area of educational transitions, and presents the notion of transitions as a tool for change to policy, research and practice. The book concludes with a critical synthesis of the research outlined throughout, including recommendations regarding future research related to educational transitions.

An increased emphasis on an early start in group day care and educational settings for young children means that by the time children enter statutory education, they may already have had several transitional experiences: each will have an impact. This book explores early transitions from a variety of international perspectives. Each chapter is informed by rigorous research and makes recommendations on how education professionals can better understand and support transitions in the early years. Contributors examine issues such as: Parental involvement in the transition to school Children's voices on the transition to primary school The construction of identity in the early years Readers will be able to draw support, guidance and inspiration from the different writers to scaffold their own thinking and development in relation to children’s transitions. Ample opportunities are offered for readers to gain confidence and competence in dealing with the range of people involved in transitions, and to the benefit of everyone, not least the children, whose ‘transitions capital’ will grow. Informing Transitions in the Early Years is essential reading for early years students, practitioners, policy makers and researchers.

This edited book brings together for the first time an international collection of work focused on two important aspects of any young child’s life – learning mathematics and starting primary or elementary school. The chapters take a variety of perspectives, and integrate these two components in sometimes explicit and sometimes more subtle ways. The key issues and themes explored in this book are: the mathematical and other strengths that all participants in the transition to school bring to this period of a child’s life; the opportunities provided by transition to school for young children’s mathematics learning; the importance of partnerships among adults, and among adults and children, for effective school transitions and mathematics learning and teaching; the critical impact of expectations on their mathematics learning as children start school; the importance of providing children with meaningful, challenging and relevant mathematical experiences throughout transition to school; the entitlement of children and educators to experience assessment and instructional pedagogies that match the strengths of the learners and the teachers; the importance for the aspirations of children, families, communities, educators and educational organisations to be recognised as legitimate and key determinants of actions, experiences and successes in both transition to school and mathematics learning; and the belief that young children are powerful mathematics learners who can demonstrate this power as they start school. In each chapter, authors reflect on their work in the area of mathematics and transition to school, place that work within the overall context of research in these fields, predict the trajectory of this work in the future, and consider the implications of the work both theoretically and practically.

This book challenges traditional conceptions of readiness in early childhood education by sharing concrete examples of practice, policy and histories that rethink readiness. This book seeks to reimagine possible new educational worlds for young children.

Strong Foundations addresses policy requirements from the Early Years Learning Framework, the National Quality Standard and Quality Improvement Plans, highlighting links between research and practice, and making connections to the five EYLF Learning Outcomes. The book showcases evidence from Australian and international research.