Children's self-regulation and intrapersonal skills such as emotional control, adaptability and optimism are linked to more successful transitions, and negative pre-transfer expectations tend to be self-fulfilling¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The ability to self-regulate was identified in several studies as linking to successful transitions, with children experiencing less anxiety and better able to manage threatening situations. → Bagnall 2026 q2 i? Children who, pre-transfer, envisaged experiencing problems during transitions tended to have them, which the review reads as evidence of self-fulfilling prophecy. → Bagnall 2026

Evidence¶

Bagnall 2026¶

Bagnall, C. L., Edge, D., Banwell, E., Seymour, R., Garnett, N., Mason, C., Panayiotou, M., Jindal-Snape, D., Packer, R., Hodgkin, K., Skerritt, C., Donaldson, C., Birchwood, J., McAreavey, A., Cunningham, E., Symonds, J. E., & Holliman, A. (2026). A Mixed-methods Study of How to Improve Primary-secondary Transitions in England: Combining Academic Research with Policy and Practice Consultation. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10174-z

q2 · i? · review · r2

Intrapersonal-skills theme of the systematic review, synthesising included UK studies (attributed to Bailey & Baines, 2012; Nowland & Qualter, 2020). The review also reports that children who envisaged problems pre-transfer tended to have them (Jindal-Snape & Cantali, 2019).

"The ability to self-regulate was identified in several studies as linking to successful transitions, with children experiencing less anxiety and better able to manage threatening situations (Bailey & Baines, 2012; Nowland & Qualter, 2020)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Affect Regulation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Children (59 across 10 focus groups) conceptualise transitions-context emotional wellbeing around adapting to the unknown, fitting in, and signs of positive wellbeing — related
• Early ability to delay gratification predicts later academic and social outcomes, but the association is weaker and more context-dependent than originally reported. — related
• A UK-focused systematic review identifies six key priority areas for primary-secondary school transitions: familiarity, relationships, intrapersonal skills, pastoral support, collaboration, and families — a broader claim this one bears on