Primary–secondary school transition experiences and factors associated with differences in these experiences: Analysis of the longitudinal Growing Up in Scotland dataset

Abstract

Previous research suggests that primary–secondary school transitions can be problematic, with some children experiencing a negative impact on academic outcomes and a decline in wellbeing. The negative impact of primary–secondary transition experiences can be long term and lead to young people not completing high school with implications for their subsequent education and employment. However, there are several gaps in existing studies as a result of weak research designs, small samples and the timing of data collection. To better understand children's primary–secondary school transition experiences and the factors which may impact on them, we undertook secondary analysis of data from the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) study. The analysis focused on data collected when children were in the penultimate year of primary school (Primary 6/P6) and then when they were in the first year of secondary school (Secondary 1/S1). This led to a final sample size of 2559 children and their parents. Results contradict many previous studies which tend to find primary–secondary transitions as overwhelmingly negative. In contrast, we found that 36% of children experienced a positive transition and 42% a moderately positive transition, with only 22% children experiencing a negative transition. This is the first large-scale, longitudinal and contemporaneous study able to provide a clear proportion of children with positive, moderate and negative transition experiences. Several factors seemed to play a part in children's transition experiences, namely gender, religion, household composition, socioeconomic status, child expectations, schoolwork, and relationships. Implications and recommendations for research, policy and practice have been outlined.