School Transitions - Normative School Transitions

Normative School Transitions

Normative school transitions refer to the transitions of students from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school. As each transition occurs, the student generally undergoes many different changes. These changes can be anything from an increase in the size of the school, to the change in friends that one meets. Every student adapts to normative transitions differently and there are a multitude of things that influence how easily or poorly they adapt. Race, gender, location, age, and academic ability all affect the transition. According to Karen Könings from Maastricht University, the expectations students have when arriving to a new school are widely influential to how they will perform. Often it is among the first few weeks that students build the relationships and networks that collectively form these expectations.