Counselor's Corner

Ibu Joanne’s article in this edition of Kontak explores the ways in which transitions can be challenging for students to cope with and how both the school and parents can support the child to transition successfully.

Transitions: How to Focus on New Starts

In education, the term “transition” usually refers to the three major transitional points in the education system: when students move from Primary school to Secondary school and from Secondary school to university. However, students also experience other transitions, such as progressing from one year level to the next. Students frequently have mixed feelings about the transition. They look forward to the new school or year level, but may also have concerns. Students are looking forward to having more freedom, more challenges, and making new friends. However, at the same time, they are concerned about being bullied and teased by older children, having to work harder, receiving lower grades and being lost in an unfamiliar school (Lucey and Reay, 2000).

The transition process can be overwhelming for some because the students often experience significant academic, social, emotional, or developmental changes that may affect their academic performance. During this time, students may move from a familiar situation to an unfamiliar situation, where they meet new teachers, peers, academic expectations, or social-emotional issues that could increase feelings of being overwhelmed, anxious, frustrated, or insecure. Thus, a successful transition will not only affect students’ academic performance, but also their general sense of wellbeing and mental health (van Rens et al., 2017).

While the changes and concerns that students may experience during a transition are varied, below are a few examples:

• School building: it is especially concerning for new students moving from different schools or from different major levels of education (e.g. from Primary school to Secondary school). A new school building may differ in size, located farther from home, or organized in a different way, and students may experience longer commutes or difficulties navigating a new school.

• Academic expectations: during a transition, students may encounter a great number of changes or an increase in academic expectations. Often, the less-prepared students may struggle to keep up with their tasks, learning new skills, or understand the new curriculum.

• Class schedules: students need to adjust their schedules and classrooms, from remaining in one room for most of the day (as in Primary school) to changing classrooms multiple times a day for different subjects. This situation might end up with students struggling with disorganization and time management.

• Different teachers: in Primary school, students are usually taught by one or two teachers each day, while in Secondary school, students have different teachers for each subject. At a new year level, they might also meet new teachers that they have never been taught with. In these situations, students must learn to adapt with different personalities and characters, as well as adjusting with the differences in rules, expectations, or teaching style.

• Increased responsibility: After the transition, students are usually expected to become more independent and more responsible towards themselves and their tasks. It means that they are expected to be able to organise their time, making priority, working on their project and meeting deadlines without assistance or reminders from teachers.

• Social interactions: When students stay in the same school throughout Primary school to Secondary school, there is a bigger possibility that they create a solid “clique” that can create a wall that prevents new students from integrating fully. These social cliques have the potential to affect new students’ social groups, behaviors, self-confidence, self-perceptions, and feelings of belonging.

• Family involvement: While parents usually have more frequent contact with teachers in Primary schools, parent or guardian involvement and awareness of their child’s academic performance often decreases as students grow older and progress onwards into higher levels of education.

Considering the potential challenges that might affect the students as they transition, here are areas that students, parents and teachers could focus on to create a successful transition:

1. School

One of the main aspects of a successful transition is whether students received appropriate support from their school. Support can include procedures to help students to adapt and to navigate their way at the new school or year level. School can organise an induction programme or “try-out” days, offering information and support related to the changes that they may have to face in the new school or year level. It is especially important during the transition from Primary school to Secondary school or between different educational programmes (e.g. between the IB framework and other educational frameworks such as Cambridge board exams).

The school, along with teachers and the specialist, also need to pay more attention to the students who are vulnerable during the transition time. The earlier the students are detected, the faster the support can be put in place. Support can be given in different ways, from informational to socio-emotional support, in order to help the students adjust smoothly in a new situation. Those approaches have been proven to decrease anxiety and insecurities that might be looming prior to the transition time.

Global Jaya has comprehensive transition mechanisms to support both new students coming into the school as well as our GJS students who are transitioning between the PYP into the MYP and then onwards into the Diploma. For more information regarding the way in which we support student transition, please contact vicki@globaljaya.com

2. Students

Having friends is the most important factor for the emotional and social security of many students. When students move to a new school or year level with some known friends or have siblings at the same school, some of the anxiety about making friends can be reduced. Establishing friendships in a new school is important because loyal friends increase feelings of belonging and connection, which can have a positive impact on self-esteem and confidence.

Mellor and Delamont research in 2011 stated that during the transition time students will have two different anxieties, rational anxieties (e.g. being separated from current friends, anxieties about the curriculum, the buildings and the range of different teachers) and irrational anxieties (e.g. myths or scary stories heard from older children). Hence, friendships (both new and old ones) can serve as a social support during their time in school. The possibility of being bullied by the older students can become one of the concerns, which sometimes are only rumours and do not really happen in real life. To alleviate this concern, it is important to provide real information regarding the social relationships in the school as well as sharing information about the school’s approach to bullying. Schools can also provide support to students with social connection focused initiatives such as a student buddy programme.

Other than friends, students can also build relationships with teachers, their respective Head of Year or Advisory teacher, to help them to navigate the new academic environment. Counsellors can also be a source of social and emotional support in a school environment.

New students can also increase their confidence and decrease their fear of the unknown by ensuring that they are aware of school policies and expectations.

3. Teachers

Teachers can also help by being available to students during the transition time. Providing the students with clear expectations and rules is also a form of teacher support. Teachers are also the people who meet and interact with the students each day, enabling them to notice the flow of social relationships and provide help to students who have difficulties with social interactions.

4. Parents

Parental support can be demonstrated through the emotional reassurance given prior to the transition time. Knowing the Head of Year or Advisor assigned to their children, as well as keeping in regular contact with them can also be a form of support that parents can give to their child. This approach will provide a clear message to both school and the child that the parents are active participants in the educational journey.

Whilst any transition can be overwhelming and challenging for the child, with collaboration and communication it is possible for the transition to bring about positive changes in the growth of the student.

Sources:

Lucey, H. & Raey, D. (2000). Identities in transition: anxiety and excitement in the move to secondary school. Oxford Review of Education, 26(2), 191–205.

Mellor, D. & Delamont, S. (2011). Old anticipations, new anxieties? A contemporary perspective on primary to secondary transfer. Cambridge Journal of Education, 41(3), 331–346.

van Rens, Marlau, et al. (2017). Facilitating a Successful Transition to Secondary School: (How) Does It Work? A Systematic Literature Review. 16 June 2017.

“The highlight was that I got to get used in a new school and learn more about my teachers and friends.”

“I think meeting the new teachers was the best highlight of the transition days. They were really nice and they seem very helpful.”

“I really liked being introduced to what the year 7 is like and what we are going to learn.”

“We were introduced to very fun and active teachers who were ready to help us at a given moment. We had great activities that connected to the topic given. We had work but not just your ordinary work we had work integrated with the word fun.”

New Family Induction Days

Of course, it is not just year 7 students who will be joining us in Secondary in August, we will be joined by many students who are currently studying at other schools. On Thursday 29th July, we will be hosting a new family induction day where both students and their parents will be welcomed into the GJS Secondary school.

The objectives of this day will be to:

1. Provide practical information, prior to the start of the school year.

2. To build relationships and a support network within the GJ community.

3. To reduce anxiety connected to moving to a new school.

4. To introduce GJS policies and procedures

The schedule for both students and their parents includes practical information about Secondary school life, opportunities to meet key members of the Secondary school team and a warm welcome by current parents and students.

Year 11, Diploma Programme Induction

An additional transition that is important to support is the transition for year 10 students moving into year 11 and transitioning from the Middle Years Programme into the Diploma Programme.