ORCID
- Katherine Evans: 0009-0003-3172-647X
Abstract
‘Readiness’ and transition are topics of ongoing debate in relation to early childhood education. Critiques of schoolification and the impact of a ‘school-readiness’ agenda on policy and practice point to a tendency for increased formalisation of learning as children progress through their early years of schooling. In England, these first years of school-based education involve a transition between different and distinct educational frameworks, from the Early Years Foundation Stage to the National Curriculum in Key Stage 1. This transition can be problematic as tensions emerge between different pedagogical traditions, thus creating a potentially challenging experience for children as they progress from one educational context to the next. In this paper I argue that post-humanism can offer a useful theoretical framing to explore and critique this transition, opening space to question the role of matter in shaping experiences of transition in early years educational spaces. The paper is inspired by diffractive approaches to scholarship that encourage creativity and experimentation, making space for the researchers own co-constituted experiences in the production of new ideas and theories. The theoretically based discussion considers the notion of a ‘problem space’ in relation to early years transitions, before exploring post-human perspectives and asking the question ‘can matter, matter differently’ in transitional experiences. The paper concludes by posing a series of questions designed to prompt further discussion and debate about ‘readiness’ and transition, putting the focus on child–matter intra-actions and their potential for supporting a more complex and nuanced understanding of transition in the early years.
DOI
10.1177/14639491251313823
Publication Date
2025-01-22
Publication Title
Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood
ISSN
1463-9491
Keywords
School readiness, intra-action, early childhood education, early childhood curriculum, educational transitions, post humanism, post-humanism, school readiness
Recommended Citation
Evans, K. (2025) 'Bringing matter, to matter: ‘Wild ideas’ about ‘readiness’ in the transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage to the Key Stage 1 National Curriculum in England', Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, . Available at: 10.1177/14639491251313823
