The paper presents results of the research project ‘Learning Experiences During the Transition from Early Education to School. Learning and Developmental Processes of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Children in their Relation to Family, Preschool and Primary School’. The project is funded by the Federal State Department for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony and is organised within the ‘Research Association for Early Childhood Education and Care of Lower Saxony’.

Against the backdrop of the eco-systemic paradigm of Bronfenbrenner (1979) and drawing on the ‘Ecological and Dynamic Model of Transition’ (Rimm-Kaufman/Pianta 2000) the study explores the interplay of the micro-systemic constructions of parents, educators and teachers on the child’s learning during the transition. The study focuses on children who live in families which are regarded as socioeconomically disadvantaged. The multidimensional conceptualisation of socioeconomic disadvantage is based on the concept of life domains (‘Lebenslagenkonzept’, see for instance Glatzer/ Hübinger 1990). Learning itself is conceptualized from a socio-constructivist point of view (Lave/ Wenger 2007; Rogoff 2003; Werning 2007, 2010). Carr’s research on co-construction for instance highlights the importance of the social influence on preschool children’s construction concerning their learning experiences (Carr 2001). Especially taking the interconnectedness between the constructions in the different contexts and the child’s learning and development into account, the aim of the study is to contribute to a research-based knowledge of learning and developmental processes during the transition period.

The main research questions are: How do parents, educators and teachers construct the child as a learner? How can the relation between the different micro-systemic constructions be described? Do the constructions differ or concur during the transition period? Can impacts of socioeconomic disadvantage on the child’s learning experiences be identified? Furthermore the study aims to explore the perceptions, expectations and demands of parents, educators and teachers regarding their own role and towards the other microsystems involved.

The project aims to identify aspects and conditions which enhance a successful transition from preschool to primary school. Hence the project refers to the ongoing discussion in the European as well as international context on transitions and related practises in the early years (Dunlop/Fabian 2010). By involving the perspectives of parents, educators and teachers the project conduces to the recent attempts on the European as well as international level to integrate perspectives of educators, parents and children themselves in the discourse on early childhood education (Dunlop/Fabian 2010; Pascal/Bertram 2009). Especially the project refers to an empirical based understanding of the relationship between families and educational institutions.

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