This paper makes a case for conceptualising transitions from the before school sector to the compulsory years of schooling as continuity practices. It begins by presenting an overview and critique of constructions of transitions to school that contribute to contemporary discourses and agendas (e.g. the conflation of transitions and readiness).…

Several conditions, identified by Cambourne (1988) as contributing to children becoming successful language users, have been simulated in Australian schools in order for children to feel self-assured in mastering writing and reading just as these conditions have promoted the developmental process of talking in the home. The conditions are:…