Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Volume 38 Issue 1 Article 5

1-2013

Transition Between Primary and Secondary School: Why it is

Important and How it can be Supported
Ria Hanewald Dr
Deakin University

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Part of the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons

Recommended Citation
Hanewald, R. (2013). Transition Between Primary and Secondary School: Why it is Important and How it
can be Supported. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(1).
http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n1.7

This Journal Article is posted at Research Online.

https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol38/iss1/5
Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Transition Between Primary and Secondary School:

Why it is Important and How it can be Supported

Ria Hanewald
Deakin University

Abstract: This paper identifies and critiques literature on the

experience of transition between primary and secondary school; how
and why it is seen as critical and in what ways it can be supported.
The aim of this literature review is to remind readers of this important
period on the lives of young people and the diverse range of issues
which they face. There is general consensus in the literature that well-
designed and implemented transition approaches can assist in the
process of supporting students, their families and school staff.
Teachers are crucial in supporting children and young people moving
in, between and out of school and making these transitions positive
experiences. Therefore, pre-service teacher education needs to
include awareness and understanding of the main issues in relation to
transition. Teacher educators need to consider how they can
incorporate transition programs and strategies in their courses to
ensure that graduate teachers have the skills and knowledge to
mediate some of the pressures that their students are facing when
dealing with transitions.

Introduction

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Victoria defines

transition as ‘... a period of change that can be both challenging and exciting, in which
children and families adjust to new roles, identities and expectations, new interactions and
new relationships’ (DEECD, 2011).
Although it is known that transition can profoundly alter the school experience, less is
known about how children, young people, their families and teachers perceive transition and
how it alters their educational trajectory. The aims, therefore, of this literature review are to
identify empirical research focusing on the experience of transition, particularly from primary
to secondary school and to describe how and why transition is seen as critical and to unpack
it in what ways.

Methods

During December 2011, a search was made across several data bases (Academic
Search, A+ Education Informit, Education Research Complete, ERIC, Ebsco Host,
Humanities and Social Sciences Collection) for research on children and young people and
their families and teachers’ experience of transition between primary and secondary schools
published between December 2005 and December 2011.

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The search was made using the key words ‘transition’, ‘school’, ‘primary’ and
‘secondary’. Studies were eligible for inclusion in this review if they involved typically
developing children or young people in formal, mainstream education aged 10 to 14 years.
They also had to be published in the English language, be peer reviewed and have used
qualitative and/or quantitative research methods. Studies including children and young people
with disabilities, chronic ill health conditions, special needs, gifted children or focusing on a
particular social disadvantage such as ethnic or indigenous backgrounds or circumstances
(refugee, immigrant, nomad, mobile families, home schooling) or curriculum area
(mathematics, ICT, second language learning, literacy) were not reviewed due to their focus
on specialised issues. Also excluded were studies that discussed transitions programs, either
those run as direction-finding pilots or those that assessed the effectiveness of various
transition strategies implemented in particular school settings.
The eligible studies were systematically evaluated using deductive reasoning;
aggregated findings were used to identify how and why transition is seen as critical and in
what ways.

Results

The final sample consisted of thirty-seven studies that investigated transition from
primary to secondary school. These studies included various perspectives and samples sizes
such as from students (n = 40 to 90,118), parents (n= 40 to 191), teachers (n=26 to 39) and
principals (n=30 to 765). Most of the studies (22) came from US, with the remainder from the
UK (5), Canada (2), Australia (3), China (1), Germany (1), Norway (1), Peru (1) and a
comparative study between Ireland and Estonia.
The studies included a range of foci: student belonging and well being; academic
development and achievement; friendships and self esteem; transition experiences; beliefs,
preferences and practices of students, parents and teachers; transition adjustment; bullying,
depression and violent student behaviour; parental involvement and student perception of
peer, parent and teacher support.
The predominant data collection method was questionnaires/surveys and interviews.
In some of the American studies that dealt with students moving to middle school or from
primary school to secondary schools, achievement scores such as the Grade Point Average
(GPA) and student absentee data were used in addition to questionnaires and interviews.
An overview of the studies’ characteristics is shown in Figure 1 for transition to
middle school (mostly in the case of some American research) or from primary school to
secondary school.

Discussion

Examination of the thirty-seven studies dealing with transition from Primary School
into Secondary School revealed a fairly constant appearance of themes (Figure 1) including
academic attainment, transition experiences and social-emotional adjustment of children and
young people; perspectives on transition of teachers, principals and parents. These were the
predominant themes addressed in the scholarship on this area to date.
Several overarching subject matters were evident, with student belonging and well-being
receiving the greatest attention. Other areas of interest were support from peers, teachers and
parents and academic outcomes and family-school connections.

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Why and How Transition is Seen as Critical

Transition from primary to secondary school is seen as an important crossroad as

young people move from a small, self contained classroom to a large, more heterogeneous
school with increased expectation of independent academic performance and less teachers’
scaffolding. In addition, there are significant changes in the peer group with concerns about
social acceptance often causing a loss of self-esteem, falls in academic performance and
rising anxiety and depression levels (Akos, 2006; Frey, Ruchkin, Martin & Schwab-Stone,
2009; Marsten, 2008).
This move across schools settings brings with it changes that can have positive or
negative effects on students, hence transition to secondary school is a social and academic
turning point for adolescents (Langenkamp, 2009; Smith, Akos, Lim & Wiley, 2008).
The developmental stage of adolescence has been defined as a crucial period of
cognitive, psychosocial and emotional transformations (Hines, 2007). According to Martinez,
Aricak, Graves, Peters-Myszak & Nellis (2011, 526) it is a period of ‘…significant change
and potential turmoil and difficulty’. They summarise it as involving multiple factors (for
example developmental changes, school transitions and experiences, social influence) that
impact on adolescents’ socio-emotional and behavioural functioning and argue that support
from peers, teachers and parents is crucial in shaping teenagers’ experiences and outcomes
(Martinez et al., 2011).
The disruptive nature of the transition process means that previously-learned
behaviour patterns need to be adapted to new demands and more challenging environments,
which may have a strong negative impact on peer relations and the students’ academic
achievement (Ding, 2008).
Unsettledness while transitioning between schools causes students to feel especially
vulnerable. As a result, they may become disengaged, with the potential of dropping out of
school altogether. This is a significant problem, as early school leaving jeopardises future
career and employment opportunities and life chances (Darmody, 2008; Frey, 2009).

Student Belonging and Well-being

An important aspect in the adjustment to a new school is the students’ sense of

belonging and their socio-emotional functioning; in other words: their level of well-being. A
high sense of belonging, the feeling of social connection and being socially connected may
lead to higher motivation and grades. Students with a low sense of belonging may feel
alienated at school, which in turn may cause poor achievement and their eventually dropping
out of school (Cueto, Guerrero, Sugimaru & Zevallos, 2010).
Social connection and well-being was investigated by Martinez, Aricak, Graves,
Peters-Myszak & Nellis (2011), who found a correlation between the perceived social
support and socio-emotional functioning at the end of elementary school (in this American
study, 5th grade). This correlation generally predicted social support and socio-emotional
adjustment at junior high school (in this American study, 6th grade). The difference in gender
was interesting, as girls perceived that close friend support and school support declined
during transition, while boys self-reported an increase in school problems during that period.
This suggests that the transition period is a greater challenge for boys than for girls in terms
of school functioning whereas girls struggle to form new friendships with a different set of
girls. The researchers therefore recommend that parents and educational professionals be
more sensitive and responsive to students, so that they feel nurtured and supported during the
transition period (Martinez et al., 2011).

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The gender differences in the transition experience of young people affect especially
those from divorced families. Girls from such families are more adjusted to the academic and
social characteristics of transition but are less adjusted to making friends than boys from
divorced families (Hines, 2007).
In her study of 340 students in the final year of primary school (in this study, Year 6)
and their first year of secondary school (in this study, Year 7), Marston (2008) found that the
majority of students moving to secondary school looked forward to more freedom, new
challenges, other subjects, different teachers and the opportunity to make new friends. Those
students not looking forward to secondary schools were all male. Overall, female students
made the transition more easily than males and seemed more settled after transition. ‘The age
at which students make the transition matters, as does their gender and cultural background’
(Marston, 2008, 2)
School climate and school attachment as perceived by students themselves was
correlated with misbehaviour and aggressiveness. When there was violent delinquency in
students, it was related to negative perceptions of the school climate. This negativity came
out of students’ exposure to violence at school: observed and experienced violence was
seeding and breeding violence in students themselves. On the other hand, students’ positive
perceptions of school climate and academic motivation were linked to teacher support. The
parents’ influence and control were connected to lower levels of violence and higher levels of
academic motivation for students (Frey, Ruchkin, Martin & Schwab-Stone, 2009).
In addition to destructive behaviour, transition is also a heightened time for bullying as the
social hierarchy is reshuffled and students jockey for social positions. Students in schools
with formal transition programs are less frequently bullied in the move from 5th to 6th grade
as the social dynamics are less supportive of bullying than schools without transition
programs. The risk of involvement in bullying is higher in schools that do not have a
transition to middle school, which questions the conventional view of K-8 or K-12 rural
schools as peaceful and supportive peer communities (Farmer, Hamm, Leung, Lambert &
Gravelle, 2011).
However, Waters, Cross & Shaw (2010) found in their data of 5,159 Year 8 students
from 39 randomly-selected schools in Western Australia that their connectedness to
secondary school was a significant predictor of academic and health outcomes. Higher
connectedness to school was related to fewer classroom and peer problems, fewer emotional
problems and greater pro-social skills. These students also had less difficulty in the actual
transition itself, all of which was caused by the schools giving priority to pastoral care
strategies and focusing on helping students to achieve academically.
Changing school demographics, especially if students move from middle school to a
high school that includes fewer students who are ethnically similar to themselves may impact
negatively on students’ school-related affects (Benner & Graham, 2007). If the students
ethnic group declines numerically from middle to high school, even students who were doing
well in primary school can experience transition disruptions. This is reflected in their
academic performance and their psychological functioning which may continue throughout
secondary school (Benner & Graham, 2009).
Socioeconomic status, however, had no direct effect on sense of belonging among
students transitioning to high school but had an indirect effect through achievement. In terms
of geographic location, rural students demonstrated a higher sense of belonging than their
urban peers to their new high schools. It might possibly be due to rural students seeing the
larger and better equipped high school as an improvement compared with their small and
more isolated primary school (Cueto, Guerrero, Sugimaru & Zevallos, 2010).

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Van Ophuysen (2009) also found that measures of achievement (which were obtained
through maths and literacy tests) were less predictive for expectations than emotional school-
related variables (which were obtained through questionnaires and young adolescents’ self-
ratings). She also found in her study of 870 German students that their expectations on the
adjustment to secondary school were of low importance by comparison with school type
effects.
Gillison, Standage & Skevington (2008) investigated quality of life and its association
with physical and mental health and the emergence of health risk behaviour in a sample of 63
Year 7 students. They found that support for the needs of autonomy and relatedness during
students’ transition into senior school provides the most likely way to enhance their quality of
life.

The Role of Support from Teachers and Parents

‘Teachers’ ability to support students is a crucial element for quality learning

environments. Students who feel supported by teachers are found to have a positive
motivational orientation to school work and they experience positive social and emotional
wellbeing’ (Bru, Stornes, Munthe & Thuen, 2010, 519-520).
Bru et al. (2010) concluded from their study of 7,205 students that their perception of
diminishing teacher support is not an obvious, abrupt change during transition from primary
to secondary school but a linear downward tendency that is related to student age.
The absence of physical transition and social network changes from elementary to
junior high school is a phenomenon of Catholic schools in the United States. The absence of
this transition prevents students from developing lower self-concepts, especially in academic
and social self-concept (Scott & Barona, 2011).
In the United Kingdom, West et al. (2010) found that the majority of students (aged
13) in their study of over 200 Scottish pupils had adjustment difficulties to both school and
peer social systems at the beginning of secondary school. This was more due to personal
characteristics of the students than socio-demographics and the role of the primary school.
Students with lower ability and lower self-esteem had more negative school transition
experiences, which led to lower levels of attainment and higher levels of depression. Anxious
students experienced peer victimisation and thus poorer peer transition, which led to lower
self esteem, more depression and anti-social behaviour.

The Role of Peers

Ganeson & Ehrich (2009) identified the crucial role of peers as one of seven themes
in students transitioning from primary to secondary school. The others were the role of school
support; the challenges of new procedures; new types of learning activities; feelings of
success and confidence; the role of homework; and the role of teachers for student integration
into high school.
The role of children’s friendships during the challenging period of moving from
primary to secondary schools was examined by Weller (2007). Not surprisingly, attendance at
local primary schools increased the likelihood of smoother transition into a local high school
as peers moved across schools in the same age cohort. In her conclusion she speculated that
close friendships and peer relationships that survive the transition have profound effect on
how children settle into secondary school and how likely they are to form the most solid and
stable friendships in later life.

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The importance of peer relationships was corroborated by Ashton (2008) who

investigated primary school children’s feelings prior to moving into secondary school and
found that social aspects (for example, concerns about friendships, bullying, getting lost,
teachers’ and their choice of school) were most important, while academic outcomes were
rarely mentioned.
These peer relationships of adolescents in elementary school (usually Year 1 to Year
4) are a predictor for their adjustment to middle school (usually Year 5 to Year 8).
Acceptance, the number of friends, the quality of friendships, loneliness, depression, self-
esteem and involvement before transition into high school (usually Year 10 onward)
predicted loneliness, self esteem, school involvement and academic achievement after
transition (Kingery, Erdley & Marshall, 2011).
It is perhaps not surprising that young people with higher levels of social skills had
high quality friendships before and after the transition from primary to secondary school.
Subsequently, these positive peer relationships promoted adjustment to the new environment.
In supporting these peer relationships teachers can play an important role. Teachers who were
more attuned to peer group affiliations promoted more productive contexts and had students
with improved views of school social climate and adjustment during the school transition
period (Hamm, Farmer, Dadisman, Gravelle & Murray, 2011).
DeWit, Karioja, Rye & Shain (2011) even go as far as asserting that mental health
problems in students can be averted or reduced with emotional support from classmates and
teachers. Their claim is backed by their findings that indicated that perceptions of declining
classmate and teacher support are linked to increases in symptoms of depression and social
anxiety in adolescents.

Academic Outcomes

Academic performance, students’ sense of belonging and their positive perception of

the transition from primary to secondary school may be related to participation in
extracurricular activities. Participation is linked to students’ increased commitment to school,
positive engagement and social networks, which might promote better academic attitudes and
work habits (Akos, 2006).
Students’ social integration into middle school, including teacher bonding, popularity,
and extracurricular participation affect academic achievement (Langenkamp, 2009).
Liu & Lu (2011) challenge the link between sense of belonging and academic achievement in
their study of 567 Chinese students where they found that neither the initial status nor the rate
of change of students sense of school belonging predicted academic achievement over the
transition period into high school.
Social relationships and changing context during the transition to high school have
affects on academic outcomes. Middle school social relationships are protective against low
academic outcomes in the first year of high school, but not for low-achieving middle school
students (Langenkamp, 2010).
McIntosh, Flannery, Sugai, Braun & Cochrane (2008) tracked academic and school
discipline records for students as they transitioned from 8th Grade 8 to 9thGrade. They found
significant interactions between academic scores and office discipline referrals, both within
and across grades.
Depressive symptoms in the transition to high school were associated with changes in
parent support and peer support. As social support declines from 8th to 9th Grade, depressive
symptoms increase. Ninth graders experience more depressive symptoms and lower levels of

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school belonging compared with eighth graders (Newman Newman, Griffen, O’Connor &
Spas, 2007).
Students participating in a primary to secondary school transition program had higher
outcomes for academic effort than their peers who did not participate. Teachers involved in
the transition program had sustained levels of positive efficacy for meeting the instructional,
behavioural and social needs of all students compared with teachers in the control group, who
did not participate in the transition program. Students with higher levels of aggression who
were participating in the transition program tended to socialise more with academically
productive peers than students with higher levels of aggression in the control group, who
were not participating in the transition program (Farmer, Hamm, Petrin, Robertson, Murray,
Meece & Brooks, 2010).

Family-School Connections

Parental involvement was categorised into three dimensions: direct participation,

academic encouragement and expectations for attainment (Chen & Gregory, 2010, 54). It
correlated with student outcomes, with some forms of parental involvement being more
effective than others in supporting low-achieving students’ school performance. Students had
higher grade point averages if their parents had higher expectations about grades. Those
students were also seen as more academically engaged by their teachers. If parents were more
academically encouraging, students experienced more care from their teachers (Chen &
Gregory, 2010).
When parents, primary and secondary school staff were in contact with each other,
multiple forms of family-school communication reduced income and language disparities in
academic subjects (Crosnoe, 2009).
Early adolescents’ attachment to their mother is a predictor for emotional problems
(for example, worries, anxiety or depression) in the transition from primary to secondary
school. Adolescents living with both biological parents seem to perceive attachment
relationships with both parents as more secure and display fewer worries about the transition
into secondary school than their peers from single-parent or blended families. It may be that
intact families are less exposed to socio-familial adversity and therefore have high-quality of
interactions, thus predisposing adolescents to better tolerate stressful events such as transition
into secondary school (Duchesne, Ratelle, Poitras & Drouin, 2009).
Adolescents who were more pubertally advanced and had experienced transition to
middle school engaged in more unsupervised activities and had weaker authority beliefs. This
was associated with less adolescent disclosure but more maternal control. Less maternal
control was associated with more unsupervised activities (Laird & Marrero, 2011).
Smith et al. (2006, 2008) found that American students below 9th Grade looked
forward to increased independence in choosing courses and developing an academic plan. As
they were unlikely to appreciate the gravity of particular curriculum choices, guidance
counsellors and parents played a significant role. Parents and students were generally excited
about the range of opportunities available at high school. However, unrealistic expectations in
the academic and social realms were associated with academic difficulties. Students were
concerned about organisational issues (for example, finding their way around, getting lost,
homework), whereas parents were more concerned about safety and social issues such as
fitting in. The timing of support given by school counsellors is salient to the students as they
work with families to create the 9th Grade schedule. Students had smooth transitions from
middle school to high school if their parents remained a constant support, monitored their
activities and intervened positively.

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Weiss & Baker-Smith (2010) found that attendance at American middle school
resulted in worse outcomes (for example, course failure) than attendance at K-8 schools.

Authors & Sample Country/Age Themes Method

year
Akos, 173 students US, 6th grade Student belonging, Questionnaire
2006 academic and
psychosocial
outcomes
Ashton, 1,673 students UK, Year 6 Children’s Questionnaires,
2008 perspective discussions, student
drawings and
writings
Benner & Graham 918 students US, 8th grade Student belonging School data
2007 Gottfredson’s
(1984) Effective
School Battery,
High School
Performance Scale,
Grade Point
Average (GPA)
Benner & Graham, 1,979 students US, Year 7 to Year Student belonging, Questionnaires
2009 10 psychological
functioning,
academic
behaviour
Bru, Stornes, 7,205 students Norway, Year 5 to Student perception Questionnaire
Munthe & Thuen, 10 (10 to 16 years of teacher support
2010 old)
Chen & Gregory, 59 students US, 9th grade Parental Surveys by
2009 involvement as teachers, Interviews
Protective Factor of students
Crosnoe, 17,899 students US, 8th grade Family-School Interviews of
2010 Connections and parents, teachers,
Academic school
Outcomes administrators and
adolescents,
Achievement tests
Cueto, Guerrero, 1,086 students, 30 Peru, Sense of belonging Demographic
Sugimaru & principals, 39 Mean age 12 years survey, Sense of
Zevallos, home room 4 months Belonging Scale,
2010 teachers of questionnaire,
secondary schools interviews of
students
Darmody, 765 Irish school Ireland, Estonia Pupil’s ability to Questionnaires to
2008 principals, 127 First year Pupils in cope with transition school principals
Estonian school Ireland, 10th grade and students,
principals, 916 pupils in Estonia Focus interviews
Irish students, 269
Estonian pupils
DeWit, Karioja, 2,616 students Canada, 14 years Student well being, Survey
Rye & Shain, of age mental health
2011 difficulties
Ding, 2008 433 middle school US, 7th grade Academic Grade Point
students performance Average (GPA)
Duchesne, Ratelle, 626 young Canada, Grade 6 Adolescents Security Scale ,
Poitras & Drouin, adolescents emotional problems Phone interviews,
2009 Questionnaires
Farmer, Hamm, 477 students US, 6th grade Instructional, Survey by teachers,

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Petrin, Robertson, behavioural and survey by students,

Murray, Meece & social needs of
Brooks 2010 students
Farmer, Hamm, 1800 students US, 6th grade Bullying, Students’ Focus group
Leung, Lambert & well-being interviews with
Gravelle students, teacher
2011 surveys
Frey, Ruchkin, 652 adolescents US, 8th grade Violent student Social and Health
Martin & Schwab- behaviour, student Assessment survey
Stone, well-being
2009
Ganeson and 16 students Australia, Year 7 Students’ Students’ journal
Ehrich 2009 experience entries
Gillison, Standage 63 students UK, age 11 – 12 Quality of life, Quality of Life
& Skevington, years student well-being questionnaire
2008
Hamm, Farmer, 26 teachers, 225 US, 6th grade Student well-being Survey by teachers,
Dadisman, students Social cognitive
Gravelle & mapping by
Murray, teachers and
2011 students
Hines, 196 adolescents US, 6th grade and Family Structure Demographic data,
2007 7th grade students Divorce, Student Survey for students,
(11-12 years old) well-being survey of parents
Kingery, Erdley & 365 students US, 5th and 6th Peer acceptance Academic
Marshall, grade and friendships as achievement and
2011 predictors of absentee data from
adjustment student files
Laird & Marrero, 191 mothers and US, aged between Adolescent Pubertal
2010 adolescents 11 years 4 months adjustment and development scale,
and 12 years 5 academic questionnaire,
months performance survey to mothers
and adolescents
Langenkamp, 90, 118 students US, 7th to 12th Social Integration Survey to students
2009 Grade and academic
performance
Langenkamp, 90, 118 students US, 7th to 12th Social Survey to students
2010 Grade Relationships and
academic
performance
Liu & Lu, 567 students China, 16th grade ( Sense of belonging Survey to students,
2011 mean age 16 years and academic standardized scores
4 month) achievement from exams
Marston, 154 parents, 340 Australia, Perceptions of Survey with scale
2008 students 6th and 7th Grade students and items, Open-ended
parents, gender questions
differences
Martinez, Aricak, 140 students US, Average age of Socio-emotional Self-report surveys
Graves, Peters- 11 years and 5 adjustment to students,
Myszak & Nellis, months, 5th grade
2011 and 6th grade
McIntosh, 5,542 students US, Grade 8 and Academic Office Discipline
Flannery, Sugai, Grade 9 Achievement and Referrals, Grade
Braun & Cochrane, Problem Behaviour Point Averages
2008 (GPA) from
school’s data bases
Newman, 205 students US, 8th and 9th Peer and Family Survey, Reynolds
Newman, Griffen, graders (aged 13 to support, School Adolescent
O’Connor & Spas, 14 years) belonging, Depression Scale,

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2007 Depression life events

questionnaire
Ophuysen, 874 students Germany, 9-13 Emotional, Achievement tests,
2009 years motivational and school grades,
achievement- questionnaire,
related effects demographic
information
Rice, Frederickson 147 students in UK, average age of Students emotional Self-reports, peer
& Seymour, 2011 Year 6, 263 10.84 years in and psychological assessment,
students in Year 7 Grade 6 and 11.25 adjustment Questionnaire
years in Grade 7
Scott & Santos de 331 students US, 4th, 5th and Self-concept, self- Student Self-
Barona, 6th grade image, academic Concept Scale,
2011 and social self- Demographic
confidence information
Smith, Akos, Lim 172 students, 94 US, 6th to 8th Students’ Perception of
& Wiley, parents grade perceptions, Transition Survey
2008 parents’ (2004) , Interviews
perceptions with teachers,
principals, high
school counsellors
Smith, Feldwisch 40 students and US, 8th grade Students’ Grade Point
& Abell, their parents perceptions, Average (GPA)
2006 parents’
perceptions
Waters, Cross & 5,159 students Australia, 8th to Ecological Students self
Shaw, 2010 9th Grade (12-14 characteristics of reports
years) connectedness
Weiss & Baker- 1,483 students US, 9th grade Academic and Philadelphia
Smith, social outcomes Education
2010 Longitudinal Study
(PELS),
Interviews
Weller, 2007 558 students, 76 UK, Year 6, (aged Student’ Questionnaires,
parents 11-12 years) Friendships, surveys, group
parents social discussions,
capital individual
interviews
West, Sweeting & 2,000 pupils UK, aged 13 years Student well-being Surveys, self-
Young, and attainment complete
2010 questionnaires,
mini-interviews
Figure 1: Summary of studies for transition from primary to secondary school

Summary and Conclusion

This review of the literature on the experience of young people who are transitioning
from primary to secondary school revealed the disruptive nature of the transition process and
the impact of multiple factors that can have either positive or negative effects on students.
Thirty-seven studies published between 2005 and 2011 were examined. They
involved a range of emphases, including academic development and achievement; transition
adjustment, bullying, depression and violent student behaviour; student belonging and well-
being, friendships and self-esteem; parental involvement and student perception of peer,
parent and teacher support; and transition experiences, beliefs, preferences and practices of
students, parents and teachers.

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These were grouped and discussed under the key themes of student belonging and
well-being, the role of support from teachers and parents, the role of peers, academic
outcomes and the importance of family-school connections. The analysis of the literature
indicates that well-planned and implemented transition programs can support students, their
families and even school staff in the process of moving.
However, teachers are critical in this passage from primary to secondary schools. It is
hoped that this paper will contribute to raising their awareness and understanding of the
issues involved to assist young people with the demands of that particular phase in their
educational journey.

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