This study examines how different stakeholders conceptualize school readiness during the transition to primary school. Although the literature increasingly defines readiness as a multidimensional construct, existing research has predominantly focused on single stakeholder perspectives, leaving limited understanding of how readiness is differentially constructed across actors. Addressing this gap, the study reconceptualizes school readiness as a relational transition capacity emerging from interactions among children, families, and schools. Adopting a qualitative embedded single-case design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 21 participants, including primary school teachers ( = 8), preschool teachers ( = 6), and parents ( = 7). The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings indicate that school readiness extends beyond early literacy and numeracy, encompassing language–communication, self-regulation, motor development, and social-emotional adaptation. However, stakeholders define and prioritize these dimensions differently according to their pedagogical roles and observational contexts. Primary school teachers emphasize classroom functionality, preschool teachers focus on developmental precursors, and parents prioritize observable academic indicators and motivation. The study contributes to the literature by reframing school readiness as a multi-actor, context-dependent transition capacity rather than a fixed developmental threshold, offering a relational and ecological perspective on how readiness is constructed across educational contexts.
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