Abstract
The crucial importance of the transition from ECEC to primary school has long been recognised. In the last two decades in particular, language-related aspects of this transition have increasingly received scholarly attention (Kelle, 2011). So far, such research has focused on contexts with one dominant language and has not yet explored the transition to school in multilingual contexts with the presence of recognized linguistic minorities. Yet, educational systems in such contexts are particularly revealing sites as they have to balance the protection of the minority group with the need for equitable education for all – including speakers of the majority language and speakers of languages of migration (Heller, 2006). This paper therefore combines critical educational and sociolinguistic theories to study educational transitions and the role of language in these processes in the multilingual context of South Tyrol, Italy. We draw on ethnographic projects conducted in different German-language ECEC institutions and examine the ways in which language is made salient in transitional practices by different actors (teachers, children, parents) in and around the ECEC institutions, as well as the ways in which normative framings and ideologies inform these practices. We show that the transition to school is a major issue of concern for both educators and parents, and identify different fields of tension.