Moving into middle school: individual differences in the transition experience

Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, Apr 1998 by McDougall, Patricia, Hymel, Shelley

All data were collected as part of a collaborative school-university research project and parents were informed that the research was taking place and that they could request their child's exclusion from the study (none did). In addition, any child not wishing to participate could withdraw from the study at any time (none withdrew). The present sample represented 92% of the grade 7 population in this middle school.

Procedure

The data were collected as part of a longitudinal research project in which students participated in two (45 minute) group testing sessions (Time 1: Spring of grade 6, Time 2: Fall of grade 7). The first testing session (Pre-transition) was conducted during an orientation visit to the new middle school by incoming grade 6 students, with the second session conducted during the early months of grade 7 (Transition) in a regular classroom setting. All sessions were led by a female experimenter (the first author) with the assistance of one or more facilitators (male and female graduate assistants), depending on the size of the group. During each session, students completed a series of paper and pencil measures (described below) and were told that answers would be considered confidential.

Measures

Self-report measures (described in detail below) included an assessment of students' beliefs about the transition experience itself, as well as various dimensions of school adjustment which are grouped below under the headings of School Attitudes and Behaviour, Self-Concept, and Social Adjustment. In addition, measures of academic achievement were obtained from classroom teachers (as described below).

Beliefs about the transition experience. In order to directly assess students' feelings about the transition to middle school, participants were asked a series of questions in the fall of grade 7, designed to tap feelings about (1) the first month of grade 7 and (2) changing schools. We intentionally included only general items so that (a) students could use whatever criteria they chose in evaluating their transition experience, be it academic, social, or otherwise, and (b) the context or domain of consideration (e.g., athletics, peer relations, relationships with teachers, academics, sense of self) would be left ambiguous.

With regard to the first month of grade 7, students were asked (a) "How happy are you about the first month of grade 7?" and (b) "Do you feel your first month of grade 7 was successful?" The response format used for these two questions was a 5-point interval scale with numeric anchors of "1", labeled "very happy" or "very successful" (respectively), and "5", labeled "not at all happy" or "not at all successful". With respect to transition beliefs about changing schools, questions included: (a) "What was it like for you to change schools this year?" and (b) "How stressful was it for you to change schools this year?". Responses to these items were made on a 5 point interval scale with numeric anchors of "1", reflecting "easy" or "not at all stressful" and "5" reflecting "hard" or "very stressful".