TITLE:
Junior High School Here We Come! Evaluating the Effects of a Summer Transition Workshop
AUTHORS:
Michelle Chamblin
KEYWORDS:
Transition, Adolescent Education, Social-Emotional Learning, Clinically Rich Experiences, Service Learning
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.4 No.3,
March
9,
2017
ABSTRACT: The transition from elementary to middle or junior high school is an event that most youths will experience. Although this is a normal occurrence, some youths face extreme difficulty when making the transition from elementary school to middle or junior high school. Some elementary students experience extreme anxieties as they prepare for the unknown (Akos, 2004). Some studies have found that when students are unable to adjust to junior high school, or unable to transition well, it affects their behavior as well as their academic achievement (Reynolds, 2005). This research investigates a summer transition program and the effectiveness of the program on the academic and social adjustment of 127 incoming junior high school students. Surveys, the students’ first marking period grades and attendance as well as participation in sports and schools clubs, post workshop, were analyzed using random samples comparing the data of students that attended the summer transition workshop to students that did not attend. The results of the study revealed no significant difference in academic average (t = 0.721, df = 107, p