Outcomes
ZAFON produces two kinds of results: evidence for education policymakers, and practical tools for schools and after-school clubs. The work unfolds in connected stages — first we build a shared understanding of how formal and non-formal education interact, then we compare how three European education systems support children through coordinated learning, and finally we turn what we learn into guidance that schools can use every day.
Each stage builds on the last. Conceptual analysis gives the project a common language. The international comparison reveals which systemic arrangements help or hinder educational harmony. The school-facing outputs make that knowledge usable for teachers, leaders and support staff working with children across formal lessons and non-formal activities.
Outcomes
Smoothly to School produces two kinds of results: evidence for education policymakers, and practical tools for schools. The work unfolds in three connected stages — first we build a shared understanding of what “transition” means, then we compare how four European education systems support children through change, and finally we turn what we learn into guidance that schools can use every day.
Each stage builds on the last. Conceptual analysis gives the project a common language. The international comparison reveals which systemic arrangements help or hinder continuity. The school-facing outputs make that knowledge usable for teachers, leaders and support staff working with children before, during and after a move to a new stage of education.
Outcomes
Smoothly to School produces two kinds of results: evidence for education policymakers, and practical tools for schools. The work unfolds in three connected stages — first we build a shared understanding of what “transition” means, then we compare how four European education systems support children through change, and finally we turn what we learn into guidance that schools can use every day.
Each stage builds on the last. Conceptual analysis gives the project a common language. The international comparison reveals which systemic arrangements help or hinder continuity. The school-facing outputs make that knowledge usable for teachers, leaders and support staff working with children before, during and after a move to a new stage of education.
1. Conceptual analysis of formal and non-formal education
2. Comparison of educational coordination systems
3. Promoting good practice in schools and clubs
Conceptual analysis of formal and non-formal education
Before comparing countries or writing recommendations, the partnership establishes a shared conceptual foundation. We clarify how educational coordination is understood in Slovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary — and how the integration of classroom instruction and out-of-school care can create continuity, or abrupt breaks, in children’s learning pathways.
Comparison of educational coordination systems
We compare education systems and support structures in Slovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary at two levels: how each country organises compulsory education and curricula, and how schools and clubs actually support children in practice. The aim is to identify systemic factors that enable — or limit — effective coordination between formal and non-formal learning.
Promoting good practice in schools and clubs
Research only makes a difference when it reaches the classroom and after-school care. In the final stage, we translate analytical findings into practical guidance — validated with teachers and school leaders — so that schools and children’s clubs can improve how they support children through harmonised educational programmes.
