Abstract
Transition to school is an important process for all involved – children, families, educators and communities. Transition has been described as a process of opportunities, expectations, aspirations and entitlements of all involved (Educational Transitions and Change (ETC) Research Group. (2011). Transition to school: Position statement. Albury-Wodonga: Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education, Charles Sturt University). It is also a process whereby children change their status within the community – from preschool child to school child – and families change from preschool family to school family (Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human development. Oxford: New York). The two chapters in this section (Abu Bakar and Aman) are contextualised through the evocation of the Aboriginal ‘fire stick’. Rather than sequential rites of passage that suggest ‘moving on’ and ‘moving away’ or separation of one’s past, the fire stick allows for thinking about transitions more holistically, as continuity with and change from what has come before as children start school.
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Perry, B. (2016). Commentary on ‘Transitions’. In: Elaine Silver, R., Bokhorst-Heng, W. (eds) Quadrilingual Education in Singapore. Education Innovation Series. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-967-7_4
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