Moving Up: The Experiences of First Year Students in Post-Primary Education

April 23, 2004

News

23/04/2004

 

Moving Up: The Experiences of First Year Students in Post-Primary Education

This new study by ESRI/NCCA examines the experiences of students in their first year at post-primary school



The transition from primary to post-primary education is a crucial time in young people’s lives. In the first major study of first year students, Moving Up presents the views of the key people involved in the process, including school principals, teachers, parents and students themselves, and examines the ways in which schools can ease the transition to post-primary education.

 

 

  • How post-primary schools handle the transition process makes a difference to how quickly students settle into the new school and to their academic progress.
  • Most students settle into post-primary school relatively quickly but some students are at greater risk of difficulties. ‘At risk’ students include those with less self-confidence and a poor self-image and students from Traveller and non-national backgrounds.
  • Students in streamed schools take longer to settle into the new school and make less progress academically.
  • Although students have both positive and negative feelings about moving to a new school, most students settle into post-primary school quickly. One in six students take longer than a month to settle in. They are more likely to be students from non-national or Traveller backgrounds and those with poor self-image. In addition, girls take longer to settle in than boys.
  • What can schools do to help?
  • Having contact with the post-primary school before students start school and having a good idea what to expect help reduce student anxiety about moving to a new school. Schools should, where possible, be encouraged to develop links with feeder primary schools so that students become familiar with their new school.
  • Schools vary in the provision of support structures for first year students. Having an induction day, specific personnel (such as class tutors) who take responsibility for first year students, and student mentors who act as a ‘buddy’ for younger students, all help students to settle into the new school and progress academically. Schools should be supported in setting up such structures for first year students. In particular, they should be encouraged to introduce (trained) student mentors as a source of support and information to new students.
  • Formal structures do not work unless there is a positive climate of good relations among teachers and students within the school. Students take longer to settle in if they are bullied by other students or if they are ‘given out to’ a lot by their teachers. There is a clear need for effective anti-bullying policies and structures to involve teachers and students in decision-making within the school in order to bring about a positive school climate.
  • Moving to post-primary school means that students take many new subjects and are taught some of their familiar subjects differently. Many students felt that what they studied in first year did not follow on from what they had been taught in primary school and this contributed to problems settling into the new school.
  • There is a need to develop greater links between the primary and post-primary sectors through common elements of teacher training, transfer of information on the curriculum covered, co-operation in curriculum development and the transfer of good practice relating to teaching methods.
  • Many schools now give students the chance to try out different subjects before choosing their Junior Certificate subjects. This approach is seen as positive by most school principals and students as it allows students to make a more informed choice. Schools should be encouraged to provide such ‘taster’ programmes and provided with the resources to allow this to take place.
  • Students take a number of new subjects in post-primary school. They are generally positive about the subjects they take, especially subjects with a more practical orientation. However, many students find some of the more academic subjects difficult. Schools should be supported in providing a range of subjects with a more practical emphasis to promote student interest in school. Providing more hands-on activities across a range of subjects would also help to promote student engagement in school.
  • In streamed schools, many students have difficulties with the teaching pace, take longer to settle into the new school and make less progress academically. Schools should, therefore, be supported through in-service training to move towards mixed ability classes.
  • Over one tenth of the students surveyed received learning support in first year. However, a third of those who did not receive such help would have liked extra support with their lessons. There is a need to target support at this group of students, especially in the early phase of first year.



Moving Up is published by Liffey Press in conjunction with the Economic and Social Research Institute and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. Copies of the book are available from bookshops, from the ESRI or direct from the publisher.