The Impact of School Transitions in Early Adolescence on the Self-System and Perceived Social Context of Poor Urban Youth

Abstract

This study examined the effects of the normative school transition (n = 580) during early adolescence on the self-system and perceived school and peer social contexts of poor, black (n = 161), white (n = 146), and Latino (n = 273) youth in the public school systems of 3 eastern urban cities. The results revealed negative effects of the school transition on the affective and behavioral domains of the self-system. These declines in self-esteem, class preparation, and grade-point average (GPA) were common across race/ethnicity and gender. Concurrently, the school transition was perceived to be associated with changes in the school and peer contexts. Daily hassles with the school increased, while social support and extracurricular involvement decreased over the transition. Daily hassles with peers decreased, and peer values were perceived as more antisocial. These changes in the school and peer microsystems were also common across race/ethnicity and gender. In addition, transition-associated school and peer changes and, in particular, changes in daily hassles with the school were associated with changes in the academic dimensions of the self-system, that is, academic efficacy expectations, class preparation, and GPA. The results are discussed within a developmental mismatch framework.

A Review of the Academic and Psychological Impact of the Transition to Secondary Education

“…Although this sample included Portuguese children who transitioned to secondary education 2 years earlier than students in the United Kingdom or the U.S. typically do, these findings are consistent with studies examining children who transition to secondary education at a later age (Wigfield et al, 1991). In addition, Seidman et al (1994) found that students’ academic self-perceptions declined even after adjusting for student age, grade level, and ability level. Together, these findings provide evidence that the transition process itself (i.e., the environment) as well as individual factors (e.g., developmental changes), likely play a role in changing children’s academic self-concept.…”

“…A number of United States studies indicate that the transition from primary to secondary education has a negative impact on student grade point averages (GPA) and academic achievement (Felner et al, 1981; Simmons et al, 1991; Seidman et al, 1994; Alspaugh and Harting, 1995; Gutman and Midgley, 2000; Dotterer et al, 2009). Illustratively, United States students who moved from a primary to a secondary school experienced a decline in grades following the transition, unlike students who were in the same grade but had not transitioned to secondary education (Felner et al, 1981).…”

“…Few studies examining the school transition have reported consistent evidence of gender differences impacting future academic outcomes (Wigfield et al, 1991; Harter et al, 1992; Seidman et al, 1994). For example, Seidman et al (1994) found that children’s grades declined following the transition regardless of gender.…”

Conditions and strategies high school students living in lodgings experience as important and helpful for their well-being

“…Transitions to new schools are considered a stressful event (Barber & Olsen, 2004), and this transition may be related to changes in health and well-being among adolescents (Seidman & Allen, 1994; Symonds, Dietrich, Chow, & Salmela-Aro, 2016). Changes in the adolescents’ environment include such experiences as lessened contact with close friends (Darmody, 2008), changes in the structure of schooldays, downsized contact with teachers (Darmody, 2008; Pereira & Pooley, 2007), reduced support structures (Smyth, McCoy, & Darmody, 2004) and increased academic demands (Myklebust, 2002; Pereira & Pooley, 2007).…”

Institutional Habitus and Secondary School Transitions: Comparative Study of Ireland and Estonia

“…These dispositions, in turn, have a strong impact on students' successful outcomes in education and beyond. Most of the existing studies of school transitions focus specifically on the transition from primary to lowersecondary level (see Seidman et al, 1994;Woods & Fraser, 1995;Youngman, 1996;Gutman & Midgley, 2000;Anderson et al, 2000;Kvalsund, 2000;Lucey & Reay, 2002), considering major structural and environmental changes involved. While this institutional transition point is widely researched, the transition from lower-secondary to upper-secondary schooling has received relatively little attention.…”