Children's transition to school is a key issue in early years of education. Research in this field points to the counterintuitive possibility that the transition to school may actually lead to a reduction rather than a facilitation of children's agency. The paper presents findings of a longitudinal comparative ethnography on children's transition…

Argues that classroom learning inevitably requires adaptive responses by students, and that teachers should deliberately promote the development of students' adaptive learning within a supportive classroom environment by emphasizing the constructive benefits of functional failure and the limited benefits of uninformative success. (SKC)

Offers a descriptive theory of the nature of classroom tasks. Describes the interplay among (1) the conditions under which tasks are set; (2) the cognitive plans students use to accomplish tasks; and (3) the products students create as a result of their task-related efforts. (SKC)