Parent and child constructions of the primary- secondary school transition

The transition from primary to secondary school has been identified as a critical moment in a child’s educational career, which can have implications for their emotional well-being and educational and social outcomes. The majority of literature relating to transition has focused on three main areas; the effects of transition on academic attainment and well-being, pupil’s experience of transition, and predictors of difficult transition. This paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of pupils’ transition experiences by exploring an area which is, to date, under-researched. The study explores child and parent constructions relating to transition within a population of primary school pupils who have been identified as ‘vulnerable’. A mixed method approach was utilised to explore parent and child constructions of the primary to secondary transition and whether transition anxiety differs in parent-child dyads that consist of an anxious parent or a non-anxious parent. A sample comprising of 37 parent-child dyads from a single Local Authority participated in the first stage of research. The parents of these children were divided into two groups following the completion of the STAI; anxious parents and non- anxious parents. Each member of the dyad completed a quantitative measure of transition related concerns which were then statistically analysed in relation to the research questions. In addition to the quantitative measures, 11 parent-child dyads participated in individual semi-structured interviews to further explore their construction related to transition. These interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Five themes were found: growth, information gathering, adaptation, struggling with discontinuity and feelings of hope. The implications of findings are discussed in relation to the role of Educational Psychologists and Educational Professionals. Further directions for research are considered, alongside the limitations of the present study