The Transition from Preschool to School for Children in Ireland: Teachers Views

There is a wealth of international research on the transition from preschool to school from a range of perspectives. Following on from such research, the issue of transition is emerging as an important new construct in early childhood care and education (ECCE), with a transition-to-school framework replacing the construct of school readiness as a focus of research interest. There has been limited research into transition practices in Ireland and this study is the first comprehensive research looking at this area from an Irish perspective1. Phase I of this study involved conducting a questionnaire on the transition from preschool to formal schooling in Ireland. This was completed by a nationwide sample of preschool teachers2 and primary school teachers. This paper presents some initial findings on data collected during this phase of the study.