Understanding School Transition

School transition is a life changing event for children - they are rarely faced with such a powerful set of personal and social changes. These underpin the immediate and longer term wellbeing of children, peer groups, teachers and schools. Understanding School Transition provides a most comprehensive, international review of this important area, complete with practical advice on what practitioners can do to support children’s wellbeing, motivation and achievement.

Offering an accessible introduction to children’s psychology at transition, Understanding School Transition explores transition as a status passage, what we really mean by wellbeing, and the ways in which children adapt to new environments. Key chapters focus on:

• Understanding stress and anxiety
• Children’s hopes, fears and myths at transition
• Parents’ and teachers’ influence and role
• Children’s relationships with peers as they change schools
• Children’s personal and collective identities
• Motivation, engagement and achievement
• Supporting the most vulnerable children

Crucially, it advises how you can help children through implementing transition interventions and evaluating their success in your own school. Illustrated by case studies of experiences in real schools, Understanding School Transition will be essential reading for all training and practising teachers, as well as transition and subject specialists, who want to better understand and influence what happens to children at this critical stage.

Jennifer Symonds is a freelance educational researcher and consultant, working in the United Kingdom and United States.