This paper details and compares the discernible trends observed in a wide-ranging review of the recent starting school literature in Australia and beyond. More than half of the research reviewed considers children's readiness for school. This research is critiqued through a three-way view of readiness: child readiness, school readiness and support…

This paper focuses on effective transition-to-school programs. Using a framework of 10 guidelines developed through the Starting School Research Project, the paper provides examples of effective strategies and transition programs. In this context, the nature of some current transition programs is questioned, and the curriculum of transition is…

Starting school is a transition marked by excitement, trepidation, happiness, or sadness for all involved. This issue of the Australian Early Childhood Association Research in Practice Series discusses some of the issues described as important by children, parents, and preschool and elementary educators in an interview study of children's…

This study aimed to examine views, concerns and expectations of immigrant Bangladeshi parents and children in Sydney concerning transition to kindergarten (the first year of school). This study builds on the previous work of the Starting School Research Project at the University of Western Sydney by: (1) deriving data from families and children…