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This article reports the development of the first two years of a three-year project that examines the effectiveness of adult-child interactions in the early years, and tracks the development of teachers' thinking and practice as they engage in practitioner-led action research. The Adult-Child Interaction Project involves practitioners who work with children from six months to six years in one local authority in England as they aim to develop their practice. On the basis of action research cycle, the methods include systematic video observation and stimulated recall; individual, paired and collaborative reflective dialogue; project logs and critical engagement with research. A distinctive feature is continuous engagement with an early years expert as a co-researcher and reflective partner in the processes of change and development. This article focuses on the impact and effectiveness of the project methodology, specifically the strategies that support critical reflection, dialogue and change processes.

The Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum and the independent Cambridge Primary Review both highlight the need to re-think children's educational experiences in English classrooms between the ages of five and seven. Recent government initiatives have led to experiences in these early primary years being adult-directed and often in whole-class groups, with little place for the play and self-initiated learning familiar in the Early Years Foundation Stage, which regulates education from birth to five years. This discontinuity in pedagogy has led to concerns at national and local levels. This article describes the efforts of teachers in one English local authority to develop practice in their classrooms which was less formal and teacher-led and which responded more to the needs and interests of individual children. It describes the reasons for teacher participation in the project, the barriers that they faced and the outcomes for both teachers and children. (Contains 1 figure.)

In English schools, transition from the Foundation Stage (at age five) into Year 1 (the first year of "primary school") has been identified as lacking continuity. A range of government initiatives has led to marked differences in the pedagogy that underpins classroom practice in these two consecutive year groups, which, in turn, has raised concerns at both local and national level. This paper explores the reason for these pedagogical differences and the impact they have had on children's experiences of being a learner. Drawing on a research project undertaken in one local authority, it examines the feelings of children, parents and teachers leading up to the transition into Year 1 and considers what impact the differing pedagogies in the Foundation Stage and Year 1 may have on children's feelings about and confidence in themselves as learners. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)