Previous research suggests that primary–secondary school transitions can be problematic, with some children experiencing a negative impact on academic outcomes and a decline in wellbeing. The negative impact of primary–secondary transition experiences can be long term and lead to young people not completing high school with implications for their subsequent education and employment. However, there are several gaps in existing studies as a result of weak research designs, small samples and the timing of data collection. To better understand children's primary–secondary school transition experiences and the factors which may impact on them, we undertook secondary analysis of data from the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) study. The analysis focused on data collected when children were in the penultimate year of primary school (Primary 6/P6) and then when they were in the first year of secondary school (Secondary 1/S1). This led to a final sample size of 2559 children and their parents. Results contradict many previous studies which tend to find primary–secondary transitions as overwhelmingly negative. In contrast, we found that 36% of children experienced a positive transition and 42% a moderately positive transition, with only 22% children experiencing a negative transition. This is the first large-scale, longitudinal and contemporaneous study able to provide a clear proportion of children with positive, moderate and negative transition experiences. Several factors seemed to play a part in children's transition experiences, namely gender, religion, household composition, socioeconomic status, child expectations, schoolwork, and relationships. Implications and recommendations for research, policy and practice have been outlined.

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中小学过渡经历以及与这些经历差异相关的因素：苏格兰成长数据集的纵向分析

此前的研究表明，小学到中学的过渡可能会出现问题，一些孩子的学业成绩会受到负面影响，幸福感也会下降。中小学过渡经历的负面影响可能是长期的，导致年轻人无法完成高中学业，从而影响他们随后的教育和就业。然而，由于研究设计薄弱、样本量小以及数据收集的时间安排等原因，现有研究存在一些差距。为了更好地了解孩子们的中小学过渡经历以及可能影响他们的因素，我们对苏格兰成长（GUS）研究的数据进行了二次分析。分析的重点是儿童在小学倒数第二年（小学六年级/小六）和中学一年级（中学一年级/中一）时收集的数据。最终样本量为 2559 名儿童及其父母。结果与之前的许多研究相矛盾，这些研究往往认为小学到中学的转变绝大多数是负面的。相比之下，我们发现 36% 的儿童经历了积极转变，42% 的儿童经历了中等积极转变，只有 22% 的儿童经历了消极转变。这是第一项大规模、纵向和同期的研究，能够提供明确比例的具有积极、中等和消极过渡经历的儿童。有几个因素似乎在儿童的过渡经历中发挥着作用，即性别、宗教、家庭构成、社会经济地位、孩子的期望、学业和人际关系。概述了对研究、政策和实践的影响和建议。