Transitions to School: Perspectives and Experiences from Latin America

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.

1. Introduction.- 2. Play-study unit: Pedagogical introduction to the first year of elementary school.- 3. Transition in a Waldorf school: A process under construction.- 4. Where’s the kid who was here?.- 5. The transition from early childhood education to fundamental education in São Paulo City, Brazil: Formative and political (dis)agreements?.- 6. Play, participate and learn at school: What do children say?.- 7. Three transitions in the Chilean early childhood years.- 8. Background on continuities and discontinuities in the transition from early childhood education to primary: The Chilean case.- 9. Characteristics of Cuban’s early childhood. Educational and scientific experience.- 10. Does automatic promotion equate automatic education? : A critical analysis of Honduras’ Ley Fundamental de Educación.- 11. Lessons learned on the transition from preschool to primary school in Mexico.- 12. Early Childhood Transitions in Chile: Children’s and Teachers’ Agency during the Transition toSchool.- 13. The transition from pre-school to kindergarten and first grade for Latino children in the USA: A review of the literature.- 14. Holding back for a head start? Correlates and outcomes of delayed kindergarten entry among predominantly low- income, Latino children in Miami.- 15. Conclusions: What do we now know and what future research and development might be possible?.