Student experiences transitioning to new schools mid-year

¶ … penny w: Your framework consists as I see it of 1) elements that contribute to well-being 2) the interrelationship between well-being and self-esteem 3) the importance of collaboration for academic achievement. There is another important interrelationship suggested too: that of reciprocal associations between all three frameworks. A further framework would underpin these: that of why transitioning problematizes all three (school belongingness might fit in here).However, the definition and unpacking of these four frameworks needs to be placed in a literature review, rather than the introduction to the method section. You have a great start for a lit review here, so separate out the background material. You can then briefly reiterate the central ideas in a couple of sentences to preface your method section.On the whole you have set out really gritty points which indicate how aspects of your frameworks matter…but I would like to see a really strong, clear pattern for each framework of: definition, extant research which sets out the parameters and relevance of each, and implications for associations with the other frameworks. I'll indicate what I mean with smaller comments throughout…hopefully this will show you what I mean.

Identifying the factors that most strongly impact student achievement can be a lifelong enterprise. Professional literature (e.g., Hattie, 2011) has been dedicated exclusively to the task of student achievement. However, little research exists regarding the key factors that can influence student achievement and engagement for those students who have the added challenge of moving to a new school in the middle of an academic year. Moving to a new school within the academic year (transitioning) can be problematic for students for a number of reasons.

The phenomenological perspective suggests that individuals seek to create meaning in their lived experiences. The importance of the school environment in the lives of students has been thoroughly addressed in the literature, and a number of studies have elegantly captured the lived experiences of students in schools (e.g., Kozol, 1988, 1991, 2012; Powell, 1985; Sizer, 2004). However, knowledge of the lived experience of transitioning students has been limited by a shortage of research. Considerable research attention (e.g., "Military Child Education Coalition") has been directed toward the struggles of students in military families who are regularly faced with the disruption of permanent change of station (PCS) or "PCSing," to use the military vernacular. Avariety of recommendations for dealing with these changes exist for parents, teachers, schools, and districts. What has largely been omitted from these research-based dialogues is the perspective of the students themselves -- told in their own words. The current study seeks to give clear voice to transitioning students. A mixed methods research approach will use qualitative methods to closely explore the lived experience of transitioning students, and quantitative methods to analyse the academic performance of the students against the background of their transitions.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Research has shown how the individual situations of students intersect with the school community, academic demands, and inter alia the provision of support, all of which occasion deeply personal interpretations by students of the transactions and interactions that take place in school environments. Among the many factors that have had the potential to influence student academic performance and social adjustment at school, transitioning has been posited to increase student vulnerability to well-being difficulties, lowered self-esteem, and to induce risk by interrupting students' abilities to adapt and achieve.

Self-Esteem of Students and Social Adjustment

The research provides mixed findings concerning the extent of self-esteem problems that young people may experience following school transitions. Some research has shown diminished self-esteem when young people change school systems while other studies have identified no discernible effect or identified slight increases in self-esteem (Hattie, 1992). Self-esteem has been shown to be lowest immediately after a transition but also shown to have recovered during the grade following the transition (Hattie, 1992). Research by Harter (1999) indicates that young people who have higher self-esteem levels are more likely to forego instances of negative behaviour in those areas that are central to their sense of self-concept. All young people are unique and have different capacity for resilience. It is impossible to pigeonhole any particular student as being most at risk of experiencing problems as a result of transitioning. So, too, is it reasonable to suggest