The Pupils' School Transition from Mainstream Primary to Mainstream Secondary Schools: a Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The school transition in the mainstream secondary schools is a continuous and very consequential period for most students. It had been observed that the transition impact on students academic and psychological adjustment in the new school environment. The students with ″Special Educational Needs (SEN)″ are confronted with more difficulties. Most of them have negative experiences all through the first year of their studies in mainstream secondary schools. This thesis is a systematic literature review of the recent international empirical research in school transition in mainstream secondary schools. This systematic literature review covered the period 2011-2021. A large number of studies examined the impact of school transition of the majority of students without SEN. By contrast the studies that are focused on impact of school transition on students with SEN are very limited. A lower number of studies reported the parental involvement with academic and psychological adjustment of students with or without SEN. Also, some studies presented protective and risk factors that relate on successful inclusion and successful school transition.