Social support as a predictor of school bonding and academic motivation following the transition to Italian middle school

Abstract

After five years in elementary schools with small classes and stimulation of basic thinking skills, Italian children move to very traditional scuola media. Data obtained from 434 Italian pupils revealed that school bonding and academic motivation declined sharply after this transition. Social support by parents, but not friends, was a predictor of school bonding and academic motivation. There was little consistent evidence of compensatory processes: Support by a friend did not generally compensate for negative relationships with parents. However, there were some indications that a positive relationship with one parent might compensate for negative interactions with the other parent. Our findings suggest that parental social support has a unique function in bolstering school bonding and academic motivation after the transition to scuola media.

Moving to the next school at age 10–14 years: an international review of psychological development at school transition

“…All measurement types find declines in children's enjoyment of school following transition (cf. Hirsch & Rapkin, ; Wigfield & Eccles, ; Schneider et al ., ). Some declines appear to be temporarily stalled by a honeymoon period (where children see their new school through rose coloured glasses: Hargreaves, ), for example in enjoyment of English (Galton et al ., ).…”

A longitudinal examination of factors predicting anxiety during the transition to middle school

“…Consistent with this notion, Papini and Roggman (1992) found better adjustment (i.e., fewer social and physical anxiety symptoms) to the junior high transition among adolescents who reported having more positive attachment relationships. Similarly, Schneider, Tomada, Normand, Tonci, and de Domini (2008) found better academic adjustment among those with greater parent support in an adolescent sample of Italian youth making the transition to the equivalent of middle school.…”

Parental Provision of Academic Structure and the Transition to Middle School

“…Given the potential threat of this transition to children's beliefs and motivation, parents' provision of structure in the form of clear expectations, rules, and consistency may help students maintain their competence‐related beliefs and motivation over the transition to middle school, which in turn may prevent declines in school outcomes. Thus this study builds on work showing the importance of a supportive home environment for the transition to middle school (e.g., Bronstein et al., ; Grolnick, Kurowski, Dunlap, & Hevey, ; Lord, Eccles, & McCarthy, ; Schneider, Tomada, Normand, Tonci, & de Domini, ) by examining parental structure in relation to children's competence‐related beliefs, motivation, engagement, and grades at the transition. In addition, beyond structure per se, we examined whether the way in which structure is implemented—supportive versus controlling of children's autonomy—makes a difference for children's transition to middle school.…”