The Transition to Primary Education. Insights from the Growing Up in Ireland Study. May 2018

Smyth, Emer (2018) The Transition to Primary Education. Insights from the Growing Up in Ireland Study. May 2018. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

There has been considerable change in the early years policy landscape in recent years, with the expansion of funded preschool provision, the introduction of Aistear: The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, work on facilitating the transition from preschool to primary school and the ongoing revision of the primary curriculum. It is therefore timely to look at children’s experiences adjusting to primary education and the dispositions and skills they bring with them to the school setting. The Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study provides new information on this crucial transition phase, placing experiences and outcomes in the context of child and family factors from the first year of life. The report draws on information on over 9,000 five-year-old children and their families, as well as on the perspectives of their classroom teachers and school principals. The study, funded by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), addresses the following key questions: • What factors influence age at starting school? How do parents go about helping prepare their children for starting school? • What kinds of learning experiences are offered to children in the early years of primary education? Does this differ across schools and classrooms? • How do children settle into primary school? Do some groups of children experience greater difficulties adjusting to the new setting? • What cognitive and non-cognitive skills and capacities do children have at this key transition phase? This executive summary presents an overview of the main findings and outlines their implications for policy development.

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