Smooth early childhood transitions are key to ensuring positive outcomes for young children the world over--but in today's fragmented early education systems, it's difficult to ensure continuity among programs and services. Early childhood professionals will help change that with this book, the first to propose a comprehensive, practical framework for repairing fissures in the system and making transitions successful for young children globally. A groundbreaking resource for a wide range of professionals--including principals, school-based administrators, program directors, district supervisors, and curriculum specialists--this book brings together the best thinking on early childhood transitions from leading researchers and practitioners around the world. Focusing on both vertical and horizontal transitions, the expert contributors give readers the in-depth guidance they need to: (1) develop a coherent, connected framework of curriculum and instruction across the pre-K- Grade 3 continuum; (2) enhance transitions for infants and young children with disabilities and their families; (3) address the specific issues dual language learners face during transitions; (4) align early learning standards, curricula, and assessments; (5) improve all aspects of school readiness--ready children, ready schools, and ready families and communities; (6) establish continuity between the child's home and school environment; (7) support the quality and stability of the early childhood workforce; (8) improve transitions through better accountability policies; and (9) understand how transitions are affected by a wide range of factors, including poverty, cultural and linguistic diversity, and the child's neighborhood. Through the invaluable case studies on diverse programs--both in key U.S. states and around the world--readers will get practical insight into what really works and apply the lessons of real-life success stories. With the clear and useful analysis of up-to-date research, policy, and practice, professionals will see where the field is today and where it needs to go to support better transitions. A must-have resource for any early childhood professional who plays a part in shaping high-quality programs and services, this book is also an ideal text for preparing tomorrow's professionals to lead future efforts. Readers will be ready to move the field closer to one of its critical goals: a cohesive system of services that supports effective, meaningful transitions for all young children. This book contains five parts. Part I, Background and Context, contains: (1) Seeing Transition through a New Prism: Pedagogical, Programmatic, and Policy Alignment (Sharon Lynn Kagan); (2) The Transition to School: Concepts, Practices, and Needed Research (Craig T. Ramey and Sharon Landesman Ramey); (3) Going to School in the United States: The Shifting Ecology of Transition (Robert C. Pianta); (4) Transitions: Perspectives from the Majority World (Kathy Bartlett and Caroline Arnold with Sadaf Shallwani and Saima Gowani); (5) Transitions for Children with Disabilities (Mary Beth Bruder); and (6) Developing and Learning in More Than One Language: The Challenges and Opportunities for Transitions in Early Education Settings (Eugene E. Garcia). Part II, Pedagogical Perspective, contains: (7) Aligning the Content of Early Childhood Care and Education (Catherine Scott-Little and Jeanne L. Reid); Case Study--The Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards (Jeanne L. Reid); Case Study--Early Care and Education in France (Kate Tarrant); and (8) Aligning Curriculum and Teaching: A Child-Focused Approach (Sue Bredekamp); Case Study--Aligning Curriculum and Teaching in Red Bank, New Jersey (Aleksandra Holod and Jocelyn Friedlander); Case Study--Step By Step Moldova (Alejandra Cortazar). Part III, Programmatic Perspective, contains: (9) Ready or Not? Schools' Readiness for Young Children (Sharon Ritchie, Richard Clifford, William W. Malloy, Carolyn T. Cobb, and Gisele M. Crawford); Case Study--FirstSchool Lexington Elementary School (Aleksandra Holod); Case Study--Keiraville Community Preschool (Romilla Karnati); (10) Families and Transitions (Judy Langford); Case Study--Family and Child Education Program (FACE) (Aleksandra Holod); Case Study--Turkey's Mother Child Education Program (Alejandra Cortazar); and (11) The Neighborhoods Where Young Children Grow Up (Jeanne Brooks-Gunn); Case Study--Transition and Alignment through the Eyes of Sparks (Anthony Berkley and Kimber Bogard); Case Study--East Africa Madrasa Program (Alejandra Cortazar). Part IV, Policy Perspective, contains: (12) Governance and Transition (Sharon Lynn Kagan and Kristie Kauerz); Case Study--The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (Jeanne L. Reid); Case Study--Early Childhood Governance in Sweden (Caroline Segal); (13) Accountability Policies and Transitions (Thomas Schultz); Case Study--The Maryland Model for School Readiness (Jeanne L. Reid); and (14) Transitions in Early Childhood: The Case for a Consistent, Competent, and Stable Workforce (Susan D. Russell and Carol Brunson Day); Case Study--New Mexico's Professional Development Initiative (Jocelyn Friedlander and Kate Tarrant); Case Study--Sweden's Integrated Teaching Degree (Alejandra Cortazar). Part V, Integrating Pedagogy, Programs, and Policy, contains: (15) Integrating Pedagogy, Practice, and Policy: A Transitions Agenda (Kate Tarrant and Sharon Lynn Kagan). An index is included.