VOICES FROM THE FIELD - Transition to School Practices: the Need for Evidence

What we do not know about transition to school could fill volumes. What we do know is very ably summarized by Early and comes largely from a series of articles written by her, Pianta and colleagues, based on a large survey of U.S. kindergarten teachers carried out in the mid-1990s. Love and Raikes emphasize that the transitions start early, reminding us about the longitudinal studies showing lasting results of prior-to-school interventions (e.g. Carolina Abecedarian or Infant Health and Development Program), focused on cognitive skills and parenting skills among families of children who were economically or developmentally disadvantaged.