Discourse about primary-secondary school transitions in the literature is predominantly negative, with only 2% of studies using a predominantly positive discourse¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? 63% of studies used negative discourse, 26% mixed, 9% neutral, and only 2% predominantly positive discourse about primary-secondary transitions. → Bagnall 2025

Evidence¶

Bagnall 2025¶

Bagnall, C. L., Jindal-Snape, D., Banwell, E., Panayiotou, M., Mason, C., & Qualter, P. (2025). Emotional Wellbeing in the Context of Primary-Secondary School Transitions: A Concept Analysis Paper. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-09990-6

q2 · i? · review · r3

Systematic mapping of discourse across the 96 transitions articles. The paper reports the distribution as printed: 63% negative, 26% mixed, 9% neutral, 2% predominantly positive, and argues unbalanced negative discourse may bias findings and cause unnecessary anxiety for children and families.

"Additionally, discourse about primary-secondary school transitions was unbalanced with 63% studies using a negative discourse, 26% a mixed discourse (of these 16% were more negative than positive), 9% neutral, and only 2% using a predominantly positive discourse"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Most primary-secondary transitions research articles neither clearly define nor operationalise transitions, and nine conceptualisations appear across the 96-article literature — 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 — related