Bridging the Transition from Primary to Secondary School

The transition from primary to secondary school can often be a difficult time for children, and managing the transition smoothly has posed a problem for teachers at both upper primary and lower secondary level. At a time when ‘childhood’ recedes and ‘adulthood’ beckons, the inequalities between individual children can widen, and meeting the needs of all children is a challenge.

Bridging the Transition from Primary to Secondary School offers an insight into children’s development, building a framework for the creation of appropriate and relevant educational experiences of children between the ages of 10-12. Based on the five ‘transition bridges’ – administrative, social and personal, curriculum, pedagogy, and autonomy and managing learning – this book is a complete guide to the primary-secondary transition.

Chapters cover:

• A review of the issues and challenges of transition and school transfer;
• Management of physical, intellectual, social and emotional changes;
• Issues of changing self-identity;
• Approaches to ensure curriculum progression and continuity;
• Ways to develop cooperation between primary and secondary schools;
• Alternatives to traditional primary-secondary systems and pedagogy.

This book will be essential reading for all trainee teachers, undergraduate and postgraduate education students, and those working with children over the transition. The contributors offer a wealth of guidance and insight into meeting the educational and social needs of children through early adolescence.