School transitions

Abstract

Transitions between schools in adolescence generally occur internationally between the ages of 10 and 15-years. Adolescents move between two or three tiers of schooling, and during each move, must adjust to new environments comprising different teachers, school peers, curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy. These school transitions can trigger multiple linked transitions for adolescents and their families, teachers, and peers. Adolescents’ adjustment across transitions is shaped by their experiences of alignment between the old and new school environments and their developing individual needs. School transition experiences are shaped by adolescents’ individual differences including being neurologically, physically, ethnically, and racially diverse, and by other interlinked transitions including international migration and life limiting health conditions. Interventions delivered at crucial stages of the transitions cycle can help adolescents and their network to support positive outcomes.