The educational value of Transition Documents: hypothesis around the construction of a Development Profile

According to legislation, in the Italian school context, Kindergarten contributes to children’s education by promoting the development of four key aspects: identity, autonomy, competence, citizenship. Educators who work with children aged 3 to 6 years are committed to create the conditions so that every child can develop his potential and achieve his life plan. At the end of the course, it is expected that children have developed basic skills that shape their personal growth. From an educational point of view, we cannot waste this educational heritage, working in the logic of a vertical continuity. In connection with these considerations, the paper presents the results of a research and training project addressed to all Kindergartens (public and private) of the Municipality of Brescia, with the goal of building a shared output profile, applied in the transition to Primary School. This Development Profile, structured around three points of view (teachers, children, parents), accompanies each child in the transition from Kindergarten to Primary School and intends to express a form of complex evaluation, with a formative character. The Development Profile describes and supports the processes of growth, avoiding classifying and judging children performance, being oriented to encourage the development of their full potential.