MOVING INTO MIDDLE SCHOOL - INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN THE TRANSITION EXPERIENCE

The present investigation examined individual differences in the trans ition to middle school by considering the ''voice of the consumer''. T o this end, students (N = 160) were asked to evaluate their experience s during the first months of grade 7, and variations in these self-eva luations were examined as a function of a broad range of potential stu dent characteristics. Specifically, using a short-term longitudinal de sign, composite indices of self-concept, social adjustment, school att itudes/behaviour, as well as academic achievement, assessed both prior to and during the transition period, were used to predict individual differences in student reports of the quality of their transition expe rience. Results indicated that, for both boys and girls, individual di fferences in the transition experience were predicted from grade 6 ind ices of social adjustment and school attitudes/behaviours. Further, a more positive transition experience in early grade 7 was uniquely rela ted to indices of social adjustment and self-concept in grade 7 Result s are discussed in terms of the impact of social functioning on school adjustment.