The transition from primary to secondary school: Perceptions from a prospective and retrospective point of view. Manuscript in preparation

For many children the transition from primary to secondary school is an important event in life. Little is known about children’s concerns and expectations about the new school prior to this transition. Therefore, the present study, which is part of the Vienna School Transition Study (VSTS), investigated this subject. Children (N 856) were asked to appraise the transition to secondary school, which was perceived as a challenge and a threat (in terms of transactional stress theory, e.g., Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, 1987). For this purpose a new questionnaire was developed. It was assumed that children would differentiate between the perceived challenge concerning academic achievement and the new social environment, and the perceived threat in the same terms. Results support this assumption. In addition, aspects of self-concept, anxiety, predictability, and academic achievement in primary school were found to be predictors of the perceived threat (with regard to the transition to secondary school) as predicted by theory. The transition from primary school to secondary school is a significant experience in the life of every schoolchild. Never-theless, there has been relatively little psychological research into this field. Fenzel (2000) summarises: ‘‘research on early adolescent school transitions currently is lacking’ ’ (p. 93). Especially in German-speaking countries, the transition to secondary school has not been a frequent topic of empirical research. Additionally, little scientific attention has been given to investigating its importance for the individual. Taking a look at the existing literature relating to the subjective importance of the transition for the individual child (from a prospective as well as a retrospective viewpoint