26 Transition to School: Reflections on Readiness Caroline Arnold Aga Khan Foundation Geneva, Switzerland caroline.arnold@akdn.org Kathy Bartlett Aga Khan Foundation Geneva, Switzerland kathy.bartlett@akdn.org Saima Gowani Aga Khan Foundation Geneva, Switzerland Sadaf Shallwani Aga Khan Foundation Geneva, Switzerland Abstract: Although globally primary school enrollment has increased dramatically in recent years, primary school com- pletion rates remain disappointing. In many countries, the highest rates of dropout and repetition are at the Grade 1 level. In such a context, it becomes critical to examine chil- dren’s entry into, adjustment to, and success in their earliest years of primary school—in other words, children’s transi- tion to school. This paper explores the notions of transition and readiness in international contexts, with a focus on the Majority world. It considers children’s readiness for school, schools’ readiness for children, and the challenges around both. Examples of policies and programs that appear prom- ising in supporting children’s successful transition are high- lighted. As part of this, the paper draws upon the experi- ences and lessons learned of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) in early child development and school improvement efforts in the Majority world. Lastly, implications for policy and practice are explored. Transition to School: Reflections on Readiness Why is it important to give attention to children’s transition into school? The answer is quite simply that this is the time when systems fail children the worst and that is most urgently in need of attention. Access to primary education has increased dramati- cally across the Majority world. 1 In Uganda, for example, following the introduction of free universal primary edu- cation in 1998, enrollments increased from 2.6 million to about 7 million in 2007 (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2007). In many countries, Grade 1 class sizes in particular have mushroomed—reaching 100 or more children of widely varying ages and levels (Abadzi, 2006). Particularly in the poorest countries, this has resulted in a very chal- lenging Grade 1 learning environment, with overcrowded classrooms, very high teacher-child ratios, lack of learn- ing materials, lack of tables and chairs, and even lack of space to stand. According to the most recent Education for All Global Monitoring Report (EFA GMR) 2008 (UNESCO, 2007), some 72 million primary-school-aged children globally are not in school. Even while the vast majority of children do enroll in school, many do not complete the primary cycle. Globally, one out of eight children (13%) does not Note: This paper draws upon and updates a background paper by C. Arnold, K. Bartlett, S. Gowani, & R. Merali (2006), Is everybody ready? Readiness, transition and continuity. Reflections and moving forward, com- missioned for the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007, Strong Founda- tions: Early Childhood Care and Education. 1. The term “Majority world” is used in preference to terms such as “developing world” or “Third world” due to the negative connotations as- sociated with these terms. The term highlights the fact that the majority of the world’s population lives in these countries.