What do students need to support their transition to secondary school?

ABSTRACT

Background

The transition from primary to secondary education can be difficult for children. This paper reports on an intervention in the Netherlands known as the Talent Classrooms (TC), which aimed to support students’ primary-secondary school transition. The goal of TC was to increase the match between the personal environment of the student and the school environment to facilitate a successful transition, and to help students achieve their potential at secondary school.

Purpose

With the needs described in the review by Symonds and Galton (2014) taken as a starting point for this investigation, we sought to explore the extent to which TC supported six specific needs during students’ primary-secondary transition period, according to participants’ longer term reflections about their earlier TC experiences.

Methods

In this qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with ten former TC students, four to five years after they had participated in the intervention. Data were analysed qualitatively.

Findings

The analysis suggested that, according to the participants, TC had fostered most needs and this helped to support their transition experience. In particular, participants reported that, via their involvement in TC, they had become more familiar with the physical environment and routine of secondary school, were able to form lasting friendships and enjoyed a challenging curriculum and extracurricular activities. However, findings also indicated that the intervention did not fully succeed in supporting some needs, mainly in the areas of autonomy, competency, and identity development, as it did not seem to have prepared all participants sufficiently for the requirement for independent working they subsequently encountered in secondary school.

Conclusions

This study highlights how emphasis on the development of autonomy-related skills might be beneficial for interventions designed to assist students with the transition to secondary education. Moreover, it draws attention to the importance of tailoring support to individual students’ specific, varied and evolving needs during this stage of development.

KEYWORDS:

• school transition
• primary school
• secondary school
• intervention
• student development
• equity

Introduction

The transition from primary to secondary education is typically not a straightforward process and may be difficult for some children (Eccles et al. 1993; Eccles, Lord, and Midgley 1991; Eskelä-Haapanen, Vasalampi, and Lerkkanen 2020; Mumford and Birchwood 2021; Spernes 2020). In many educational systems, children and young people are required to make a transition somewhere between the ages of ten and fourteen. Some approaches (for example, in the Netherlands) involve one transition from primary to secondary school, whereas others (for example, in the US) entail two transitions from elementary to middle to high school (Jindal-Snape et al. 2021). A school transition is regarded as a significant junction in the school journey, since pupils generally move to a new and more heterogeneous context, are expected to develop more autonomy in their work, and usually experience changes within their peer group. Whilst most children are able to adapt to the new situation quickly, some children experience continued negative effects on wellbeing (Eccles et al. 1993; Eccles, Lord, and Midgley 1991; Eskelä-Haapanen, Vasalampi, and Lerkkanen 2020; Mumford and Birchwood 2021; Spernes 2020).

The study reported in this paper investigated a school transition intervention in the Netherlands known as the Talent Classrooms (TC), which aimed to provide support for students during this transition period. Our interest was in exploring, from the viewpoints of previous TC participants, how far the intervention supported and facilitated their school transitions. An understanding of their perspectives could help inform the future development of school transition interventions. Before giving details of the research project, we situate our study by considering the nature of transitions, and explaining the study’s conceptual approach and context.

Background

Feelings including excitement and stress may be experienced by children in the transitional stages between primary and secondary school (Bagnall, Skipper, and Fox 2020; Benner and Graham 2009; Eskelä-Haapanen, Vasalampi, and Lerkkanen 2020; Symonds and Galton 2014). However, despite expressing mixed emotions about the upcoming transition during their final year of primary school (Bagnall, Skipper, and Fox 2020; Eskelä-Haapanen, Vasalampi, and Lerkkanen 2020; Mumford and Birchwood 2021), most children adjust quickly afterwards (Evangelou et al. 2008; Jindal-Snape and Miller 2008). Some children, however, experience protracted emotional difficulties. In these children, initial experiences of loss, anxiety, and stress persist and they can experience further negative effects on engagement, grades, self-worth, and wellbeing (Eccles et al. 1993; Eccles, Lord, and Midgley 1991; Jindal-Snape and Miller 2008; Spernes 2020). For example, peer group adjustments may lead to ‘concerns about social acceptance often causing a loss of self-esteem, falls in academic performance and rising anxiety and depression levels’ (Hanewald 2013, 54).

Conceptual background

Stage-Environment Fit theory (Eccles et al. 1993) provides a framework for the outcomes of the transition period and was felt to be a helpful underpinning structure for our study. It holds that children have specific needs during different stages of their development. If there is a mismatch between the needs of the child and what their environment can provide, children might experience negative effects on their wellbeing. These feelings may be prevented or overcome if the circumstances during transition are aligned with children’s needs during the transition. Applying this the theory may help to uncover the ways in which factors in the environment and children’s needs are not aligned, providing input for improving support during the transition period.

Symonds and Galton (2014) conducted a review of more than 100 studies about school transition at the age of 10–14 years, synthesising the results using a person-environment interaction framework in terms of children’s need for safety, relatedness, autonomy, competency, enjoyment, and identity development (Symonds and Galton 2014). We considered these six areas of need as a useful starting point for our enquiry: (1) The need for safety: children need to feel safe at school without, for example, fear of getting bullied or getting lost (Mumford and Birchwood 2021; Rice et al. 2021; Strand 2020), and need to feel familiar with new routines (Evangelou et al. 2008); (2) The need for relatedness: children have the need to feel related to their classmates and teachers (Evangelou et al. 2008; Jindal-Snape and Foggie 2008); (3) The need for autonomy: as children enter puberty, which is around the age they transition to secondary school, they generally are expected to be more independent and to be given more responsibility (Kaiser et al. 2021; Measor and Woods 1984); (4) The need for competency: children need to feel that they are competent in what they are doing, and need continuation in their curriculum (Evangelou et al. 2008; Symonds, Long, and Hargreaves 2011); (5) The need for enjoyment: children are more engaged when lessons are interesting, when teachers have specialised knowledge, and express enthusiasm about their subject (Evangelou et al. 2008; Symonds, Long, and Hargreaves 2011); (6) The need for identity development: when entering secondary school, children develop their identity by, for example, interacting with peers and by encountering new hobbies and interests (Symonds 2009; Symonds, Long, and Hargreaves 2011).

Study context

Although transition to secondary school is known to be a period of potential vulnerability for children and, therefore, a relevant moment to deliver intervention programmes, the lack of interventions specifically aiming to support the transition has been noted (e.g. Bagnall, Skipper, and Fox 2020). Moreover, many of the existing interventions focus on educational attainment and the practicalities of the transition rather than a more holistic supporting of students’ needs (Bagnall, Skipper, and Fox 2020). Mamud (2021) drew a similar conclusion and used insights from research on social emotional (SEL) programmes to design an SEL transition programme, observing a positive impact on addressing negative emotions and problems.

The TC was initiated in 2013, in a large urban area in the Netherlands. The programme was funded by the local municipality, as the national longitudinal educational data (see Borghans, Diris, and Schils 2018) showed the transition to be a moment of unequal opportunities in the Dutch school system, disadvantaging pupils from low socio-economic status (SES) families and pupils with a migration background. The Dutch secondary school system is a tracked system. At the end of primary education, pupils are referred to one of three tracks: a vocational, a general, and a pre-university track. The pre-university track can be further divided into atheneum and gymnasium (which offers Greek and Latin). Eligibility for various tracks is determined by a recommendation from the primary school teacher. Children are free to choose which secondary school they want to attend but are required to enrol in the recommended track (or lower). Each of these tracks leads to different educational pathways, and different opportunities for entering higher education and the labour market. Research indicated that pupils from low socio-economic status (SES) families and pupils with a migration background were more often referred to lower tracks (see also Dutch Inspectorate of Education 2015; Rodrigues et al. 2018; van Rooijen et al. 2016). Thus, the observed differences in recommended tracks for different social groups suggested inequity and the importance of mitigating such effects.

The aim of the TC intervention was to support the primary to secondary school transition, specifically with regard to groups of pupils who had the potential but not yet the grades to be transferred to the highest possible track. Children were eligible for the TC if their primary school teacher considered that they had the potential for the general or pre-university track but had not yet reached this potential. The goal was two-fold: to increase the match between the personal environment of the child and the school environment to facilitate a successful transition, and to stimulate children to achieve their highest possible secondary school track.

The TC offered extracurricular lessons for children in their final year of primary school, as well as sessions for their parents. The sessions for parents focused on parental involvement in school, communication with teenagers, and cultural differences. The current paper focuses, in particular, on the extracurricular lessons for the children. These lessons took place once a week and were about two and a half to three hours in duration. The extracurricular lessons were given at either the general track level or the pre-university track level. Although teachers were free to define their own curriculum, there were five common areas: preparation for secondary school, language development, increasing cultural capital, personal development, and increasing sense of school belonging. The paragraphs below explain the details of these areas.

Preparation for secondary school

The TC sought to prepare for secondary school by providing the participants with an authentic school experience. The classes were offered at secondary schools and were taught by secondary school teachers. A few classes were devoted to specific secondary school subjects. The children attending the TCs were held responsible for their own work, again to prepare them for what would be expected of them in secondary school. Locating the classes in actual secondary schools also helped the children to become familiar with the idea of travelling to school by themselves by public transport or by bike, as secondary schools are typically further away from home compared with primary schools.

Language development

The intervention focused on children whose performance in language-related subjects was not keeping pace relative to other school subjects. The aim of offering language-related subjects during the TC was to decrease this difference and, thus, support the children to achieve their highest possible secondary school track recommendation.

Increasing cultural capital

Cultural capital can be understood as the cultural resources a person might have (Bourdieu 1986/2018). One of the aims of the TC was to offer cultural opportunities and experiences for participants that may not be available otherwise (for example, cultural outings; debating tournaments in which children discuss and critically evaluate current topics; reading and discussion of newspapers).

Personal development

The TC endeavoured to support personal development in three different ways: (1) by working on critical thinking skills; (2) by encouraging new social contacts through placing participants in a classroom with students from different primary schools; and (3) by strengthening academic self-concept via a challenging curriculum (Marsh and Craven 2006; Marsh and Martin 2011).

Increasing sense of school belonging

A sense of school belonging can broadly be defined as the feeling of ‘fitting in’ at school. A strong sense of school belonging is associated with increased motivation and performance (Furrer and Skinner 2003), psychological functioning (Pittman and Richmond 2007), happiness, self-esteem, coping skills, and social skills (Vieno et al. 2005). The TC sought to influence the participants’ sense of school belonging by increasing academic self-concept, encouraging children to engage in new social relationships with peers who have a similar ability level, and familiarising participants with the secondary school setting.

Purpose

Against this backdrop, our study sought to explore how the TC addressed students’ needs and supported their transition, from the viewpoints of students who had previously experienced the TC. Our research question was: To what extent and in what ways did the TC address the needs for safety, relatedness, autonomy, competency, enjoyment, and identity development (i.e. based on Symonds and Galton (2014)), from the perspectives of students who were previous participants of the TC? It was hoped that insights about the ways in which the TC had catered for the needs of students during the transition to secondary school could inform improvements to the TC and also the design of other, new potential support measures.

Method

The exploration was undertaken using a qualitative study design. This was selected as the most appropriate means to gain insights from the students’ perspectives, based on in-depth analysis of their reflections, which were collected via interviews.

Ethical considerations

This study was approved by the ethical committee of the Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies of the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (#19–014.R1). The potential participants, as well as their parents (in the case of students aged 15 and younger) were invited to sign informed consent forms. These forms were drawn up according to the standard ethical regulations: the forms explained the goal and procedure of the study, the voluntary nature of participation and the possibility of withdrawing at any time during the research process. All participants and their parents gave informed consent. Participants received a gift card worth 10 Euros. Data were anonymised and all participants received a ‘study ID’. Two datasets were created and kept separately from each other in password-protected folders: (1) the dataset with study ID and participant data (names, contact information), (2) the dataset with study ID and collected data. The dataset with data from participants was sealed with an encryption code. Data collected in this study was stored according to the Dutch National Guidelines for the Archiving of Published Scientific Research for Faculties of Social and Behavioural Sciences.

Data collection

The data collection plan and timeline were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the start of 2020, all sixty participants of the 2015–2016 cohort of the TC were invited to take part in the study, with two participants opting to do so. Due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the study was paused in May 2020 and continued at the start of 2021. The participants of the same cohort were contacted again, which brought the total up to ten participants (four girls and six boys). Participants were of diverse heritages and were between 16 and 17 years old at the time of the interview.

The TC were offered in five different secondary schools, which were anonymised for privacy reasons. One participant had undertaken the TC in school A, three in school B, two in school C, four in school D, and none in school E. Four participants had followed the TC at gymnasium level, the other six participants at the general/atheneum level. At the time of the interview, two participants were in the gymnasium track, two in the atheneum track, four in the general track, one in the pre-vocational track, and one participant had completed the pre-vocational track and was in the first year of senior-vocational education. Most participants passed through secondary school nominally (i.e. without repeating any years) and were in the 4^th or 5^th grade of secondary school at the time of the interview (depending on when the interview took place).

Semi-structured interviews of approximately 30 minutes were held with the participants. These took place on a one-to-one basis and were conducted in the Dutch language. The interviews, carried out by the first author, focused on how participants experienced their time in the TC, and what effect they felt taking part had had on them. Examples of interview questions were: What are the most important things you learned from the Talent Classrooms? and Are there things you have learned that you still apply? Follow-up questions were asked to allow the interviewer to gather a detailed picture of each participants’ views of their experiences. The questions were not geared towards the specific needs mentioned previously; rather, they were open ended and general, in order to try to uncover the experiences from the participants’ points of view.

As explained above, the study procedure and timing was influenced by the effects of COVID-19. Two interviews took place in May 2020, the other eight interviews were conducted in March and April of 2021. Because of the pandemic-related restrictions, the interviews took place online via a video-conferencing platform. Participants needed access to a smartphone or computer with an internet connection and microphone. The interviews were recorded. Data underwent pseudonymisation and interviews were transcribed verbatim, with omission of filler words, like ‘uhm’.

Data analysis

In preparation for data analysis, sensitising concepts were created based on the need for safety, relatedness, autonomy, competency, enjoyment, and identity development (Symonds and Galton 2014) and subcodes of specific situations or actions that could foster these needs. For example, one code was need for autonomy, and had the subcodes encouraging children to commute to school on their own and holding children responsible for their own homework.

Next, the first author applied a combination of open coding and closed coding, using software for qualitative data analysis as a tool. In this stage, closed coding was used first to apply the sensitising concepts. For example, the need for relatedness was described as a need for forming friendships with peers after the transition. Accordingly, all excerpts in which the participants described the friendships they developed with new peers they met during the TC were close coded as such. Then, open coding was used to identify the themes (within each of the needs) that were specific to the TC. For example, a theme was identified that related to fears and feelings of pride while travelling to school. In the open coding step, all excerpts referring to that theme were coded as relevant and collected within the need for autonomy. At the following stage, the last author of this paper also coded three interviews using the code book that resulted from the steps described above, yielding an intercoder reliability of 73.3% and a Krippendorff’s alpha of .90. The first and last author discussed differences between codes, reached consensus and adapted the code book where necessary.

Findings

Through in-depth analysis of the interviews with former TC students, we were able to gain insight into their perspectives, thereby addressing our research question. Below, the findings are presented thematically and grouped in relation to the categories we used in the analysis (i.e. the need for safety, relatedness, autonomy, competency, enjoyment, and identity development, based on Symonds and Galton (2014), as explained above). In the sections that follow, anonymised quotations from the transcribed data, translated into English by the first author, have been included to contextualise and illustrate key points.

The need for safety

According to the analysis, the TC supported participants’ need for safety by familiarising them with the physical environment of secondary school, older students, and the routine of secondary school. These themes are described in more detail below.

Becoming familiar with the physical environment of secondary school: As the TCs were located in secondary schools, attendance meant that participants were making regular visits to these settings. They indicated that, through this experience, they were able to get comfortable with the layout and buildings, and the idea, too, that there was a large number of students on site. It was considered that this would make transition easier; as one participant put it, ‘So to be able to see what secondary school is really like as early as the sixth grade is a pretty good preparation’.

Becoming familiar with encountering older students: Some participants were worried about older students, who, they felt, could potentially bully them. However, participants believed that the experience of meeting older students during their time in the TC helped to reduce their anxiety and made them feel more secure. As one participant reflected, ‘After the start, things calmed down. […]. I really didn’t find them scary after that. I just got used to them’. It was evident, though, that not all participants met older students during this time, as some TC chose to separate participants from regular students. Several interviewees mentioned that they would have liked to have seen more of the older students.

Becoming familiar with the secondary school routine: Through participation in the TC, participants felt that they got to know the general secondary school routine of switching classrooms every hour, hearing the school bell ring to indicate a switch of classrooms, and the structure of the lessons. The participants indicated they were better prepared for secondary school because of this.

The need for relatedness

Symonds and Galton (2014) refer to relatedness with peers and relatedness with teachers. Both of these topics were mentioned by the study participants.

Relatedness with peers: The interviewees felt that making friends in the TC helped them connect with their peers after their transfer to secondary school. For some, participating in the TC was the first time they had had the opportunity to make friends outside of their regular classroom, and they enjoyed making friends with students who had a comparable ability level. It was evident from the analysis that some participants, on starting secondary school, discovered that they had already met a few of their new classmates via the TC, and built enduring friendships with them.

Relatedness with teachers: Participants who enrolled in the secondary school that had also been the location of their TC felt that getting to know teachers beforehand helped them in their transition. As one participant observed, ‘It’s less scary because you already know the teachers a bit. And the teachers of course know you, they have seen your face before. So then it is all a bit easier’.

The need for autonomy

As children become adolescents, there is an expectation that they will become more independent and responsible (Kaiser et al. 2021; Symonds and Galton 2014). Aspects of autonomy development that were described by interviewees in relation to the TC included encouragement to travel independently to school, and taking greater responsibility for schoolwork.

Being encouraged to travel to school independently: The TC encouraged children to travel to the secondary school on their own to attend the TC classes. This was regarded as preparation for the experience of the next school year, when they would be going to secondary school and most likely have to travel further afield in comparison with their journey to primary school. One interviewee reflected on how this assisted in forming a developing sense of autonomy:

That did help, because at first I was a bit more like ‘Yes, you know, just come with me […]’ Then my mother was like ‘just go yourself, it’s good for you. Go yourself’. […] And then I just went there on my own. And that was also a bit of independence.

Becoming more responsible for schoolwork: Interviewees considered that involvement in the TC helped them get a sense of the independent working style they would need to adopt in secondary school. One participant remarked on the difference between primary and secondary school ways of working, explaining that ‘[At primary school] I never really took notes, but at secondary school, in the Talent Classrooms, I was told “keep a notebook with you, pen and paper”’. However, some were of the view that the substantive step to secondary education, with its expectation for students to take responsibility for their own homework and grades, still felt too large. Further, they felt that the TC could do a better job in preparing students for the responsibilities of secondary school, with one participant explaining as follows:

Because at primary school […], I didn’t have to do anything and it all went well. I always got a high grade. And I took that with me, which is why I got into a bit of a tangle, because at secondary school, it’s no good not doing your homework on time, and it’s no good not studying for your test and reading your book in the morning. […]. I think what the Talent Classrooms lacked a little, […], was really teach us that pressure. Because I remember, for me that step was really so big. It was a lot of pressure for me all at once. So they have to teach us to plan a bit, learn to deal with that pressure a bit.

The need for competency

Analysis of participants’ experiences uncovered three themes related to the need for competency: (i) improving performance in primary school subjects, (ii) getting a ‘head start’ in secondary school, and (iii) self-appraisal and feedback.

Improving performance in primary school subjects: Some interviewees felt that their academic skills had been strengthened through their participation in the TC, with one remarking as follows:

I also remember that we had to read a lot, something I normally didn’t do, and yet the Talent Classrooms taught me to do so […]. The only subject I was bad at was reading comprehension. And I remember that I grew considerably after that.

Most interviewees did not, though, believe that the TC had helped them to perform better in the final test of primary school. According to participants, this was either because they felt that improved reading comprehension skills did not help them to perform better in the test, or because the TC focused on subjects that were relevant in secondary school only. Furthermore, while some participants felt that their performance in primary school had been enhanced, they did not consider that it helped them achieve a higher track recommendation. Interviewees told us that their eventual secondary school track did not differ from their preliminary recommendation.

Getting a ‘head start’ in secondary school: Participants indicated that becoming familiar with secondary school subjects while in primary school assisted them, especially in their first year of secondary school. One of the participants noted that ‘Reading comprehension was very useful. And a little head start on the French language […]. It helped in the first year, but then it stopped […]’. However, for some participants, it was evident that the step to secondary school still felt too large. For example, one interviewee described how it took a while to adjust to the new level of demand: ‘I went to a gymnasium school, so of course the material was a lot more difficult and you weren’t the smartest person in your class anymore. So it took some getting used to […]’.

Self-appraisal and feedback: As TC participants were placed in a class with students of higher ability level than their primary school classmates, they tended to re-evaluate their own ability level against their TC peers. One participant suggested that this could be motivating:

Well, you’re not in the Talent Classrooms for nothing, so of course you want to show that you belong, sort of. So you want to show others ‘look, I can do it’, and the others want to show it too, that they are a bit better and so on, so you keep pushing each other all the time.

Another way to appraise ability level is by receiving feedback. By getting feedback from the TC teachers, participants felt they were able to build more confidence.

The need for enjoyment

In the TC, the students were taught by teachers who were specialists in their own subjects, which differed from the situation that the students experienced at primary school, where teachers are responsible for a wide array of subjects. The analysis indicated that participants felt that their enjoyment in learning was enhanced in a number of ways whilst attending the TC, including (i) the provision of challenging lessons; (ii) interaction with the TC teachers; (iii) provision of the TC curriculum.

Increased enjoyment through the provision of challenging lessons: Participants indicated that they liked the extra challenge that the TC offered them, with one of the interviewees explaining as follows:

Of course, it [primary school] wasn’t very challenging for me. […] I don’t want to brag or anything, but I was ‘the smartest’. And then you have these advanced books and all these other things, but it doesn’t work at all. So this [The Talent Classrooms] was a really good challenge. Course material where I could wrestle with things a bit.

Increased enjoyment through interaction with TC teachers: Interviewees often mentioned their teachers as one of the reasons they liked participating in the TC. As one student said: ‘ … I think [teacher] really enjoyed her job, and I really learned something from her. […] She would explain everything in a very enthusiastic way, […] so it was fun’.

Increased enjoyment through provision of the TC curriculum: While participants considered that the content offered in the TC was generally enjoyable, some felt that things became repetitive by the end of the curriculum. However, it was evident from the analysis that participants appreciated the TC offer of activities beyond the regular curriculum (e.g. going on outings such as theatre trips).

The need for identity development

The analysis suggested that participants’ involvement in the TC enabled them to develop their identities in several ways, including through the development of new skills, talents and interests, and an opportunity for engagement with critical thinking. They also considered that the TC supported the need for identity development in a practical way by informing school and track choice.

Developing new skills, talents, and interests: The TC participants mentioned in particular that organised trips out and participation in the debating tournament had helped them to cultivate new interests. For example, one participant described how a specific visit illuminated the kind of career options that could be possible, whilst another explained how the debating tournament assisted with confidence in communication and public speaking:

When we started doing those debates, […] I felt more comfortable expressing myself. It did give me a bit of a feeling of self-confidence […]. At one point, we had to do it in front of a strange audience, […], and that was very nerve-racking, but after that, so to speak, after that I did have experience with it. […]. I don’t really have a problem expressing myself anymore, or if I have to give a presentation or something, I don’t mind that anymore.

Critical thinking and forming opinions: In addition to focusing on language-related subjects, some TC teachers spent time introducing students to subjects including philosophy. One student described how the TC philosophy lessons facilitated the development of thinking skills that were useful at a later point:

The way you talked to each other about certain subjects in philosophy, that really helped me to think things through more and to go deeper into things and that, now that I am doing atheneum, that came in handy with my insight skills, because that was, yes, I have that now, that’s pretty much one of my strongest points. I was able to develop that early on. […]

The debating lessons and tournaments were also mentioned in terms of participants’ development of critical thinking skills, observing that they learned how to use arguments to back-up their opinions, and that this was a skill they still used later in life.

Track and school choice: According to the analysis, some participants felt that the TC assisted with making informed decisions about which school and which track they wanted to attend the next school year. For example, one participant explained that ‘I was recommended to do gymnasium, but yes, by my own choice I chose atheneum. […] The idea of Greek and Latin did not really appeal to me’. It must be borne in mind that the TC could not support all participants in this area, as others already had a clear idea of which secondary school track and school they wanted to attend before participating in the TC.

Discussion

Overall, the findings of the analysis indicated that the participants considered that attending the TC had, in the main, supported their transition experience. There were also some aspects of need, mainly in relation to autonomy, competency and identity development, where participants felt they could have been supported further. In this section, we consider our findings in relation to the literature, and discuss possible implications for future interventions aimed at supporting students’ transitions to secondary school.

With regard to the need for safety, our findings resonate with previous research, which suggests that, prior to transitioning, children often worry about being bullied and getting lost in a new setting (Rice et al. 2021). According to our study, participants believed that involvement in the TC helped to ameliorate these concerns to a certain extent, which made them feel less nervous when they actually started their secondary education. It is noteworthy that the analysis highlighted the psychological need for safety (involving getting used to new routines) and the physical sense of safety (involving getting used to a new environment). Thus, helping children feel more familiar with the system of secondary education may be a valuable addition in preparing children for the transition. This is in line with Evangelou et al. (2008), emphasising that getting used to new routines may be one of the most important indicators of a successful transition to secondary school, and that visits to secondary schools and tester days represent an important part of preparation for secondary school.

In addition, in terms of relatedness, the analysis suggested that TC involvement seemed to give participants an opportunity to form and retain new friendships during the transitional period. A study by Ng-Knight et al. (2019) indicated that, while friendships can be relatively unstable during the transition period, children who had a steady best friend could have higher academic attainment and fewer conduct problems. They concluded that helping children maintain a best friend during this period may contribute to better academic performance and mental health. Getting to know future classmates prior to transitioning seems to be an important precursor which may help children during this time. This accords with Evangelou et al. (2008), who reported that forming new friendships is a factor for a successful transition. There were indications, too, that participating in the TC could help children form a bond and feel comfortable with new teachers: those students participating in TC who subsequently enrolled in the secondary school where the TC took place already knew some of their teachers, and the teachers knew them. This draws attention to the importance of continuity, where possible, between students’ experiences of the TC and their secondary school experience.

In relation to autonomy, the experiences of the TC participants indicated that support for emerging independence was offered in different ways (e.g. encouragement for independent travel to TC, and responsibilities for managing own schoolwork). Nevertheless, some participants noted that they did not feel sufficiently prepared for the responsibilities they were given when entering secondary school, and reflected that the TC could offer more in this respect and did not prepare them enough. Interestingly, O’Connor and Flynn (2021) conclude that secondary school teachers may sometimes have too high an expectation regarding the autonomy of students. In relation to our study, the criteria for the TC intervention itself may be relevant here: these were students who had been identified as having potential to progress to the highest secondary school tracks, with some extra support and guidance. This suggests that achieving a careful, individualised balance between facilitating students’ greater independence and providing support and guidance during TC is of utmost importance: more research is needed to examine this suggestion.

It is evident that, when placed in a class with peers at a high ability level, comparison might negatively influence children’s academic self-perception (Chmielewski, Dumont, and Trautwein 2013). However, it is also the case that students can be motivated to perform better when they compare themselves with their able peers, as described by some of the TC participants. Although participants reported that several aspects of TC gave them more confidence and a feeling of competence, they did not tend to feel, though, that the TC helped them perform better in primary school and mentioned that they often achieved their desired track without the help of the TC. In terms of future steps for TC interventions, it is possible that reviewing the selection criteria may be useful, for example, to include a focus on children who have a lower track recommendation than their desired track.

Our analysis indicated that the study participants appeared to have experienced TC as enjoyable. In general, they liked the challenge of the TC curriculum and felt that it motivated them to perform better. Participants’ reports of positive interactions with engaged, specialist teachers, connect with previous research (Symonds and Galton 2014). Nonetheless, some participants of the TC indicated that, by the end of the school year, lessons became quite repetitive. According to Gorard and Huat See (2011), variation in lesson delivery is an important determinant of lesson enjoyment. It is interesting to note that the TC extracurricular activities were often mentioned as enjoyable, highlighting how variation in delivery may contribute to the enjoyment. In sum, the provision of challenging lessons, delivered by specialist teachers, and the offer of varied and interesting extracurricular activities appeared key to keeping the TC participants engaged and motivated.

For children who are transitioning to secondary school in a tracked system, as in our study, it is relevant to reflect on what our findings might imply in terms of helping students to make informed choices. Children in the last grade of primary school are expected to explore their options and make a commitment. The TC seemed to assist participants to make an informed choice about this. However, as some participants already had a clear idea of which school and which track they wanted to attend, TC support in this area seemed especially relevant to students who were still exploring their options.

Limitations and future research

It is important to note that generalisation was not intended from our study: the aim of this qualitative piece of research was to explore the perspectives of a small sample of TC participants, the ways in which they understood the transition, and their experiences during the TC programme. The retrospective nature of the study allowed participants to reflect on what they felt to be the longer term influences of TC, as they looked back on their experiences as young students at the end of their primary school years. Some limitations should be acknowledged. Firstly, selection bias must be recognised: it is possible that only students who remembered the TC in a positive way responded to the invitation to become involved in our research. Further, the retrospective nature of the study, whilst having benefits, had drawbacks as well, including the possibility that students would not be able to recall the details of their TC participation several years back. It must be borne in mind, too, that it was outside of the study scope to evaluate the effectiveness of the five areas (preparation for secondary school, language development, increasing cultural capital, personal development, and increasing sense of school belonging) that made up the TC curriculum.

Future research, including student surveys, could usefully focus on students who are currently participating or have more recently participated in the TC, to examine their experiences at the time of the intervention and study their development throughout the programme. In particular, given the findings in relation to the need for autonomy, further research on the nuanced balance needed between support and independence during the primary-secondary school transition is suggested, to explore relevant factors during this stage in development.

Conclusion

In education systems worldwide, school transitions in some form or other represent significant junctions in most students’ educational journeys. It is well known that transitioning primary to secondary school is a complex process: children require support and understanding to help them make as smoother progression as possible from one setting and system to another. The review by Symonds and Galton (2014) and its focus on students’ needs in the period of transition provided a valuable starting point for our investigation of the TC intervention, which aimed to support students during the transition.

Whilst, according to our analysis, participants felt that attending the TC had helped to support their transition, findings also suggested that more could be done to support students’ needs in relation to autonomy, competency, and identity development, especially in terms of preparing participants for the expectations of increased independence and responsibility they would encounter in secondary school. This highlights, more generally, that emphasis on the development of autonomy might be beneficial for interventions designed to assist students with the transition to secondary education. Most pressingly, it draws attention to the importance of being aware of individual students’ specific needs during this stage of transition.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Sezer for their cooperation in studying the Talent Classrooms and the administrative support they provided. The authors would also like to thank the students, parents, and teachers for participating in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Erasmus University Rotterdam (Rotterdam, the Netherlands): Erasmus Initiative – Vital Cities and Citizens (VCC); grant for PhD project “Talented urban youth – Transition from primary to secondary education”, February 2018.