Child Self-Report Measures of Primary-Secondary Transition Experiences and Emotional Wellbeing: An International Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

A systematic literature review of international empirical research was conducted to examine what child self-report measures have been used to assess their primarysecondary school transitions experiences and/or emotional wellbeing. The systematic review covered the period 01/2008 and 03/2021 with the aim of (a) understanding authors' conceptualisation of primary-secondary school transitions and emotional wellbeing, and (b) systematically reviewing transitions and emotional wellbeing scales used in primary-secondary transitions research.Using the EPPI-Centre (2010) method, after a rigorous screening of 4,518 records, 60 articles were included based on the study's inclusion/exclusion criteria. Synthesis of the findings identified that the corpus of measures used to date to assess primarysecondary school transitions and/or emotional wellbeing have the following key limitations: 1. do not take into account the longitudinal and dynamic nature of primary-secondary school transitions and emotional wellbeing, 2. use negative terminology, 3. use inaccessible formats (e.g. broad number of items), 4. do not assess both transitions and emotional wellbeing in a single scale, 5. inconsistent reliability and validity assessment (especially when measures are adapted) and 6. key constructs (transitions and emotional wellbeing) are not conceptualised and/or theoretically defined. Lack of understanding of these limitations could negatively impact transitions research, and lead to policies and practices that are not fit for purpose, in turn having a negative impact on children's emotional wellbeing. This is the first systematic literature review to focus on the use of emotion wellbeing scales in the context of primary-secondary transitions and concludes with several original and significant implications for future research, policy and practice.

International insights into how can we improve children’s emotional wellbeing over primary-secondary school transitions?

“…Charlotte L. Bagnall and Divya Jindal-Snape: An international systematic review of child self-report scales that measure their transitions experiences and emotional well-being during primary-secondary school transitions As discussed in the final symposium talk, one methodological limitation which is inhibiting progress within the field is the measures currently used within transition research and practice. As Bagnall and Jindal-Snape (2023) explored in their systematic literature review, to date, there is no standardized, robust, sensitive, and accessible quantitative measure to assess children's emotional well-being over primary-secondary school transitions. This presents a challenge to school transitions researchers seeking to identify a suitable measure, within a pool of imperfect measures, and the need for a systematic literature review to provide comparisons of measurement properties to help with these selections.…”

“…To address this gap, Bagnall and Jindal-Snape (2023) As reported in Bagnall and Jindal-Snape's (2023) paper, synthesis of the findings identified that the measures used to date to assess primary-secondary school transitions and/or emotional wellbeing have the following key limitations: (1) do not take into account the longitudinal and dynamic nature of primary-secondary school transitions and emotional wellbeing; (2) use negative terminology (e.g. anxiety, worries); (3) use inaccessible formats (e.g.…”

“…Unsurprisingly, primary-secondary school transitions can be emotionally demanding longitudinal experiences for children. For example, the dynamic interaction of multiple transitions, across multiple domains and contexts can be simultaneously exciting for children representing an opportunity for developmental growth and learning, but can also be worrying for children, associated with declining feelings of school engagement and connection (Symonds & Hargreaves, 2016), and a time of heightened risk for declines in emotional wellbeing and mental health difficulties (Bagnall & Jindal-Snape, 2023). This can be shaped by individual-level factors (such as self-esteem, motivation, resilience, and internal coping skills; Bagnall et al, 2021a), external factors such as school size, culture and ethos (Symonds & Galton, 2014), and social factors such as positive, supportive relationships with parents/carers, teacher and peers (Bagnall et al, 2020).…”

Mapping the Methodological Quality of International Primary-Secondary Transitions Research Literature: A Systematic Methodological Review

“…Over primary-secondary school transitions, children experience multiple concurrent and ongoing transitions in their school environment, social interactions, academic expectations, and identity (Jindal-Snape, 2016, 2023. Transitions research since the 1960s (Symonds & Galton, 2014) has focussed on different philosophical perspectives, conceptualisations, theoretical frameworks, and methodological stances (Bagnall & Jindal-Snape, 2023;Jindal-Snape et al, 2020;Jindal-Snape et al, 2021). This is unsurprising, especially given cultural and educational shifts that have taken place within this time period.…”

“…Further, different philosophical perspectives, conceptualisations (researcher/s' and participant/s') and theoretical frameworks, have implications for research designs, study findings, and interpretations drawn. This is particularly important as previous research designs have led to (1) limited clear benchmarking of outcomes between studies, (2) a misleading negative discourse surrounding primary-secondary school transitions, (3) inaccurate understanding of primary-secondary school transitions as an 'event' as opposed to a 'process', and (4) limiting the potential to develop new or revised theories based on the results (Bagnall & Jindal-Snape, 2023;Jindal-Snape et al, 2021). Together, this can contribute to inequalities in transitions provision in terms of when it is offered, for how long, and what this looks like, which is inhibiting practical and empirical progress within the field (Bagnall & Jindal-Snape, 2023;Jindal-Snape et al, 2021).…”