Transition from Kindergarten to Elementary School: Shanghai’s Experience and Inspiration

Abstract

Since early 1980s, research of transition from kindergarten to primary school was conducted in kindergartens at Shanghai, which mainly focused on how kindergarten children prepared for early primary school. The research group of Teachers Training College of Yangpu District in Shanghai (TTCYD) carried on research on transition education from kindergarten to primary school (K-P transition education) since 2008. This study points out that transition education from kindergarten to primary school (K-P transition education) usually covers from senior class in kindergarten to pre-primary school. Transition education from kindergarten to primary school in this paper mainly focuses on the period from last year of kindergarten to the first year of primary school as community, schools and families try to adapt to the development of every student, and help young children to achieve a smooth transition from kindergarten to primary school. The core of the project is to explore the curriculum elements of K-P transition education through theoretical analysis and practice, cultivate high-quality intercommunication teachers, establish the evaluation content of K-P transition education, as well as construct cooperative mechanism between family and school, to improve children’s adaptation between transfer from kindergarten to primary education, and realize smooth, healthy and happy transition from kindergarten to primary school. Finally, this paper depicts K-P transition ecological system of Yangpu District, which has significance in K-P transition education practice and theory.