When children first enter school, they face simultaneous changes in their physical
settings, social relationships, and learning expectations. The present study adds to the
limited literature on children’s transitions from early education and care into school by
examining whether schools can support this transition through information sharing
between elementary school teachers and early education programs. We examined
information sharing as a predictor of social and academic adjustment during the
first year of school for a sample of young children (N = 932) in Norway, where preschool
is nearly universal. We find that half of first grade teachers in the sample (64%)
reported no contact with preschools; about one quarter (23%) contacted preschools
and received both general information about the preschool and specific information
about the child, and smaller percentages contacted the preschools and received either
general information about the program/curriculum only (8%) or specific information
about the child only (5%). When teachers received both types of information, children
were one and half times more likely to be rated as having positive social adjustment at
school entry (OR = 1.51, p > 0.05) compared with other children. Mediation analyses
revealed significant indirect links between this form of information sharing, children’s
initial social and academic adjustment, and five academic and social outcomes midyear
in first grade. When initial adjustment was accounted for, we also found a slight
negative effect of contact, suggesting that not all contact may be equally positive for
children.

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• Information sharing between teachers and early education programs during school entry in Norway: associations with children’s school adjustment and success in the first year