Children’s Continuity of Learning in the Transition from Early Childhood Education and Care to School and After-School Care

Transitions from early childhood education and care (ECEC) to school and after-school care (ASC) mark one of the most formative phases in children’s educational pathways. These transitions involve changes in relationships, routines, and pedagogical expectations that can both nurture and challenge continuity of learning. This hermeneutic literature review examines how transitions between ECEC, school, and ASC shape opportunities for learning, with a particular focus on how continuity is conceptualised and supported across settings. Guided by a hermeneutic model, the review followed iterative cycles of searching, reading, and interpretation to identify and connect central ideas within international research on early years transitions and their influence on continuity of learning. Through an ecological framework and later bioecological developments, the analysis revealed four interconnected themes: (1) increasing complexity in transition arrangements; (2) evolving roles in scaffolding and support across institutions; (3) the growing influence of schoolification on early learning; and (4) children’s agency as active brokers of continuity. Taken together, these themes portray continuity of learning as a relational and ecological achievement sustained through collaboration, play, and children’s participation. The review offers an integrative conceptual framework for understanding transitions as multidimensional processes and provides a theoretical foundation for future empirical inquiry.