Abstract

This article discusses the processes of: (1) transition; and (2) learning agency development in early childhood educational settings and proposes a framework for understanding interactions between these two processes. The paper presents findings from a single case study which provides evidence of the relevance of acknowledging young children’s voices in research concerning them and in educational practices. The research was carried out in a State school in Santiago, Chile, and aims to contribute to related work carried out in Chile as well as internationally. The main research questions were: ‘What issues in relation to transition do Chilean young children highlight as important when interviewed using photographs?’ and ‘To what extent do young children demonstrate the development of their sense of learning agency when interviewed using photographs?’ The study adopts a bio-ecological perspective and follows a multiple level and multiple methods design. This article reports the preliminary findings of two photograph interviews carried out with one girl aged between 5½ and 6½ years (the first in Kindergarten and the second in First Grade). The analysis considers the information revealed during these photograph interviews, and reports the important issues for this girl’s transition process and its relation with her development of learning agency. Finally, the discussion highlights the relevance of these issues and their relation to the context in which the data was gathered as well as the contribution of this study to research in the transition and learning agency field.