Students face traumatic transition from middle school into high school
Girl by herself in cafeteria
Social isolation associated with poor health, low self-worth and suicidal ideation
November 1, 2018
UNIVERSITY
PARK, Pa. — Making a transition from middle school to high school is
linked to friendship shake-ups among students and may also increase the
likelihood of long-lasting academic and personal struggles, according to
a team of sociologists.
In a study of more than 14,000 students, researchers examined the
effects of changing from middle school to high school between 8th and
9th grade on adolescent friendship popularity and school grades. They
found that those who change schools have fewer friends and are
significantly less likely to earn higher grades as compared to those who
remain in the same school during 8th and 9th grade. More concerning for
the researchers is that many students did not seem to rebound from this
transition during high school.
“The surprising finding is that these penalties lasted throughout
secondary school,” said the study’s lead author, Penn State Professor
Diane Felmlee. “The school shift occurs between eighth and ninth grade
and the penalties — losing friends, becoming more isolated, and
suffering a cost to grades — last through 12th grade.”
Previous research has shown that the number of friends people have in
high school may affect their health and wages later in life, Felmlee
added.
Awareness of the effect of school transitions may be helpful to students, parents and educators, according to the researchers.
“One of our concerns is that people may not be aware of the serious
costs associated with school transitions,” said Felmlee. “For example,
some adolescents may believe that they are the only ones who struggle
when they transition to a new school in 9th grade, rather than realize
that this is a common pattern experienced by most other teens. It’s also
important for educators and parents to be informed about the common,
detrimental consequences of secondary school transitions, so that they
can aid in addressing these problems.”
According to the study, students who changed to a new school between
middle and high school also were more likely to report no friendships
with their school peers, said Felmlee. This type of social isolation is
associated with poor health, low self-worth and suicidal ideation,
according to previous research.
Students who attend school districts with multiple middle schools
that feed into a single high school — multi-feeder districts — incurred
greater costs, according to the researchers. For example, students in
multi-feeder districts experienced a 61 percent greater decrease in the
chance of getting high grades — As and Bs — compared to other types of
schools.
The researchers, who report their findings in a recent issue of
Sociology of Education, did find that a small minority of students fared
better after the transition. They suggest that these students might see
the switch as an opportunity for a new start.
“This group — and it’s a small group — tended to be the ones who
weren’t flourishing in terms of friends and grades earlier,” said
Felmlee.
The researchers used data from Promoting School-Community
Partnerships to Enhance Resilience — PROSPER — which tracked more than
50 friendship networks from 6th to 12th grade. The study included data
from 14,462 students in 26 rural and small-city school districts.
“While there have been some studies on how the change from middle to
high school influences youth, there haven’t been many studies employing
big data sets with ‘control school districts,’ that is, schools in which
students do not make a structural transition during those years,” said
Felmlee. “This gave us a unique opportunity to follow a large number of
students over time, and to compare those who changed school locations
between 8th and 9th grades with those who remained in the same school
during this same period.”
The first wave of students entered the PROSPER study in 2002.
Participants took self-administered surveys in the fall and spring of
their sixth grade and then in the spring of each year between seventh
and 12th grades. To establish friendship networks among the students,
participants were asked to identify their best and closest friends in
their school grade.
Cassie McMillan and Paulina Inara Rodis, both doctoral candidates in
the department of sociology and criminology, and D. Wayne Osgood,
professor emeritus of sociology and criminology, also worked with
Felmlee on the study.
The W.T. Grant Foundation, the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the National Science Foundation supported this work.
Students face traumatic transition from middle school into high school
Girl by herself in cafeteria
Social isolation associated with poor health, low self-worth and suicidal ideation
November 1, 2018
UNIVERSITY
PARK, Pa. — Making a transition from middle school to high school is
linked to friendship shake-ups among students and may also increase the
likelihood of long-lasting academic and personal struggles, according to
a team of sociologists.
In a study of more than 14,000 students, researchers examined the
effects of changing from middle school to high school between 8th and
9th grade on adolescent friendship popularity and school grades. They
found that those who change schools have fewer friends and are
significantly less likely to earn higher grades as compared to those who
remain in the same school during 8th and 9th grade. More concerning for
the researchers is that many students did not seem to rebound from this
transition during high school.
“The surprising finding is that these penalties lasted throughout
secondary school,” said the study’s lead author, Penn State Professor
Diane Felmlee. “The school shift occurs between eighth and ninth grade
and the penalties — losing friends, becoming more isolated, and
suffering a cost to grades — last through 12th grade.”
Previous research has shown that the number of friends people have in
high school may affect their health and wages later in life, Felmlee
added.
Awareness of the effect of school transitions may be helpful to students, parents and educators, according to the researchers.
“One of our concerns is that people may not be aware of the serious
costs associated with school transitions,” said Felmlee. “For example,
some adolescents may believe that they are the only ones who struggle
when they transition to a new school in 9th grade, rather than realize
that this is a common pattern experienced by most other teens. It’s also
important for educators and parents to be informed about the common,
detrimental consequences of secondary school transitions, so that they
can aid in addressing these problems.”
According to the study, students who changed to a new school between
middle and high school also were more likely to report no friendships
with their school peers, said Felmlee. This type of social isolation is
associated with poor health, low self-worth and suicidal ideation,
according to previous research.
Students who attend school districts with multiple middle schools
that feed into a single high school — multi-feeder districts — incurred
greater costs, according to the researchers. For example, students in
multi-feeder districts experienced a 61 percent greater decrease in the
chance of getting high grades — As and Bs — compared to other types of
schools.
The researchers, who report their findings in a recent issue of
Sociology of Education, did find that a small minority of students fared
better after the transition. They suggest that these students might see
the switch as an opportunity for a new start.
“This group — and it’s a small group — tended to be the ones who
weren’t flourishing in terms of friends and grades earlier,” said
Felmlee.
The researchers used data from Promoting School-Community
Partnerships to Enhance Resilience — PROSPER — which tracked more than
50 friendship networks from 6th to 12th grade. The study included data
from 14,462 students in 26 rural and small-city school districts.
“While there have been some studies on how the change from middle to
high school influences youth, there haven’t been many studies employing
big data sets with ‘control school districts,’ that is, schools in which
students do not make a structural transition during those years,” said
Felmlee. “This gave us a unique opportunity to follow a large number of
students over time, and to compare those who changed school locations
between 8th and 9th grades with those who remained in the same school
during this same period.”
The first wave of students entered the PROSPER study in 2002.
Participants took self-administered surveys in the fall and spring of
their sixth grade and then in the spring of each year between seventh
and 12th grades. To establish friendship networks among the students,
participants were asked to identify their best and closest friends in
their school grade.
Cassie McMillan and Paulina Inara Rodis, both doctoral candidates in
the department of sociology and criminology, and D. Wayne Osgood,
professor emeritus of sociology and criminology, also worked with
Felmlee on the study.
The W.T. Grant Foundation, the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the National Science Foundation supported this work.
