SUPPORTING EARLY TRANSITIONS. HOME-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP IN GREEK EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS

Transition has always been considered to be a critical period for every person, especially in early childhood, which is characterized by a multitude of transitions. One of such is the transition from the home to the school environment. In this kind of transition, the practices followed by early educators play an important role aiming to integrate infants and toddlers into the structures of preschool education and supporting them as much as possible. The purpose of this study is to approach the issue of infants’ and toddlers’ transition from the home to the preschool environment, through the prism of investigating collaborative relationships with the families, as well as the search for and utilization of appropriate practices in this direction. The research involved preschool educators (N=78) from public and private preschool education settings in the prefecture of Thessaloniki. The early educators were invited to answer questions regarding home-school partnership and communication. The aim was also to identify appropriate practices with the idea of utilizing them in the context of the transition. The results of the survey reveal frequent communication between parents and early educators, and highlight the importance of cooperation between them during the transitional period.