A journey to primary education: a systematic review of factors affecting the transition from early childhood education to primary education

Abstract

The transition from early childhood education to primary education is, in many countries, the beginning of compulsory education. This has meant that much of the research on this transition has focused on academic aspects such as literacy or logical-mathematical competence. The lines of research have changed, and in recent years, very diverse aspects have been analyzed in relation to transition. These investigations are usually carried out by analyzing in depth one or several aspects related to transition, but they do not give a general view of the problem. The aim of this study is to bring together all the factors that have been studied on this transition and to achieve an overall view by means of a systematic review. The results have given rise to a model in which more than 300 variables are grouped into 29 groups and, in turn, into an academic and a nonacademic context. Although the largest number of variables studied are found in the academic context, 67% of the articles consider both contexts. The agents involved, as well as educational policies, should consider the complexity of this process and all the factors involved in it, given that an adequate adaptation to the educational system in its early stages will contribute to success in later stages.

Keywords:

• Educational transition
• early childhood education
• primary education
• school readiness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 This same choice of articles, with a different study objective, led to a publication by Authors (González-Moreira et al., 2023b) where the method used in each of the 67 studies is analysed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

A. González-Moreira

A. González-Moreira is currently serving as an Assistant in the Department of Psychology, Sociology, and Philosophy at the University of León, specializing in Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education. Their research primarily explores the transition from early childhood education to primary education.

C. Ferreira

C. Ferreira is an Associate Professor at the University of León, specializing in Higher Education and attention to diversity. Her distinguished career includes participation in numerous European Commission-funded projects and consultancy work with the World Bank.

J. Vidal

J. Vidal is a Full Professor at the University of León. His research is devoted to the study of higher education, with a particular focus on research assessment, institutional evaluation, quality assurance, and the nexus between education and employment.