The primary-secondary school transition is a pivotal moment in most children’s lives, often accompanied by feelings of worry, stress and anxiety. One factor that has been previously associated with the transition to secondary school is a loss in academic achievement. Previous research has suggested a number of factors are related to differing levels of educational success, however, it is unknown how these factors may interact when taking the school transition into consideration.
The academic ability this project is focusing on is maths attainment. Theoretical and empirical research has suggested that maths skills can be altered by mental health issues and memory deficits, as well as parent-child interactions and the schooling environment.
To assess which factors are the most important for maths achievement, the project is investigating biological, psychological, social and environmental factors over 3 stages: pre-school transition, during school transition, and post-school transition.
In the pre-school transition stage, early life factors including a healthy pregnancy and birth as well as the child’s psychological attributes and early parent-child interactions will be explored. Following this, during the transition to secondary school, the focus of investigation will be on the schooling environment and teacher characteristics. The child’s psychological wellbeing and peer relationships during this time will also be examined. After the transition, the variables discussed previously will be investigated to examine whether they can predict later maths attainment at age 16.
To investigate this the study will utilise data from over 14,000 mothers and their children followed up extensively since before birth to assess which prenatal, pre-transition, during transition, and post-transition factors are the most important for improving maths abilities at age 16. A wide range of biological, psychological, and social factors will be investigated. The study predicts that prenatal issues will negatively impact early maths abilities, while positive relationships with parents and peers will lessen their effects. It is predicted that positive school experiences and teacher attitudes will also decrease this impact. Furthermore, it is predicted that greater mental health issues and lower cognitive abilities will decrease attainment.