Abstract
Purpose. It was the purpose of this study to identify and describe support structures and transition strategies that are effective in supporting eleven-to-fourteen-year-old early adolescents in the social elements of learning, developing identity, building self-esteem, and developing positive peer relationships as perceived by middle school and junior high school administrators, counselors, and teachers. Methodology. The subjects in this sample were forty middle-grade school officials (administrators, counselors, and teachers) from eleven middle schools in San Joaquin County, California. Subjects responded to two research instruments: (1) a thirty-three-item online survey assessing the effectiveness of transition strategies across four domains: social learning, identity development, self-esteem, and peer relationships, and (2) an interview utilizing four semistructured interview questions in which participants described highly effective transition strategies implemented at their schools. Findings. Examination of quantitative and qualitative data from the three subgroups indicated that the following five transition strategies and structures are highly/very effective in supporting early adolescents' transition to middle school: (1) counseling students on personal issues, (2) teaching students to work cooperatively in teams, (3) providing opportunities for students to develop their talents, (4) teaching coping skills, and (5) providing structured peer interaction. Examination of the same data revealed that to different degrees, school officials are implementing and designing various structures and strategies to support early adolescents during their transition to the middle-grades. Conclusions. The study data support the conclusion that the highly/very effective structures and strategies identified in this study support school districts and middle school administrators, counselors, teachers, and other stakeholders in developing and implementing effective transition plans to support early adolescents during their transition to middle school. Recommendations. Further research is advised to: identify additional strategies for supporting identity development, improve middle school teacher training, revise elementary schedules, test the impact of transition strategies on academics and attendance, compare effective strategies for public schools with private schools, and assess the impact of feeder school size on students' ability to effectively transition. It is also recommended that this study be replicated on a larger scale including urban, suburban, rural schools across the nation.