to ensure the quality of ecec staff should have a preservice education level comparable to that of primary teachers in order to be similarly prepared and should also have an equivalent professional status ilo this is not always the case however in ireland for example preschool teachers are required to have at least one year of postsecondary nontertiary level training while primary teachers receive separate training at university level studies suggest that this difference in status is reflected during the transition process into the first year of primary school teachers of the first year of primary do not feel that preschool teachers are properly preparing children for the transition into o kane and hayes