Primary-secondary school transitions

Collection launched: Dec 13, 2022

Guest editors: Dr Charlotte Bagnall, Dr William Barlow, Professor Divya Jindal-Snape and Dr Jennifer Symonds

Primary-secondary school transitions have received significant empirical attention over the years. In addition, primary-secondary transitions have been subject of increasing attention in policy and the media. This is unsurprising, as young people experience multiple transitions as they move from one school to another. Multiple transitions which young people experience during this period might include meeting new friends and teachers, participating in new pedagogical and assessment approaches, and discovering new buildings/ playgrounds. As young people adjust to their new school environment they also experience social, emotional, behavioural, cultural and academical transitions. In turn, young people might encounter a range of feelings which might include being excited, worried or a mixture of the aforementioned.
Furthermore, group transitions such as primary-secondary school transitions, are also experienced by other people in the young person’s ecosystem including teachers and families, who undergo their own transitions, which can interact with young people’s transitions.

Given the importance of primary-secondary transition experiences for young people’s short - and long-term well-being and adjustment, this special issue aims to address key gaps in the literature, leading to new international and interdisciplinary perspectives and the identification of recommendations for future research, policy, and practice.

Image: Artist: Ashling Larkin, In. Snape, A., Jindal-Snape, D., & Larkin, A. (2020). Lost, and found, in transitions. (Pandemic Tales: Responses to Covid-19 and Lockdown). University of Dundee. https://doi.org/10.20933/100001174. Licence: CC BY-NC-ND