Helping transfer students

Each year approximately six million children must transfer to a new school - leaving them vulnerable to a host of social, behavioral, and academic problems. This book provides the first comprehensive look at one of the most stressful and frequently occurring life events for children, and it offers educators, researchers, mental health professionals, and parents practical strategies for easing school transitions and helping children adjust to new environments. The authors integrate current theory and research into an in-depth discussion of the psychological, educational, and social dimensions of school transfer. They highlight difficulties that transfer students face, such as adapting to new peers, meeting new academic and behavioral standards, and adjusting to different teacher expectations. They examine transfer students' coping strategies and show how the relationship between academic achievement, social competence, and self-concept can have a positive or negative effect on adjustment to a new school. And they discuss the influence of teacher, peer, and parent support on successful readjustment. By documenting the methodology and outcomes of the School Transition Project, a four-year, federally funded preventive intervention program for transfer students, the authors show how schools can mount cost-effective programs to teach students the skills they need to succeed at new schools.