Primary-secondary school transition under Covid-19: Exploring the perceptions and experiences of children, parents/guardians, and teachers.

The transition from primary to secondary school is a major life event for eleven-year-old children in the United Kingdom, where they face simultaneous changes. Following the outbreak of Covid-19, transfer children face additional uncertainty on top of this. Negotiation of the multiple challenges, combined with the reduced support associated with Covid-19, could have a negative impact on children's school adjustment and mental health. Given the rapidity of changes associated with Covid-19, there are key empirical and practical gaps on how best to support children as they negotiate these two key events. To date, there is no published research which has explored the experiences of transfer children, and that of their parents and teachers during this time. The present research aimed to narrow this research gap by answering the research question: What are parents', children's, and teachers' experiences of primary-secondary school transition during Covid-19? This research used a series of UK wide surveys to gather data from 101 Year 7 children, 88 Year 7 parents, 26 primary school teachers, and 40 secondary school teachers using a mixture of open and closed questions. The data were analysed using Thematic Framework Analysis, taking an inductive-open coding approach. All three stakeholders reported negative impacts of Covid-19 on the transition, for example, in terms of missed opportunities. There were also many comments about the emotional impact of Covid-19 on children, parents, and teachers. Numerous strategies were reported that were used to meet children's needs pre and post-transition, highlighting areas of good practice, along with practical suggestions for how to approach transition in the future. The study has identified ways that transition can be managed more effectively, thus, having short term implications in providing an evidence base to support transfer children this year, and long-term implications for future transition years.

'You're in this world now': Students', teachers', and parents' experiences of school transition and how they feel it can be improved.

BACKGROUND: Primary-secondary school transition is a major life event for 11-year-old children in the United Kingdom and can also be a stressful period for parents and teachers. However, most research focuses on the impact of transition on children's academic performance and social well-being and we have a limited understanding of their emotional experiences in the lead up to and during the transition, from the perspective of key stakeholders: students, parents, and teachers. AIMS: To explore transfer students', parents', and teachers' experiences in the lead up to and over the transition period, and how they feel it could be improved. SAMPLE: The sample consisted of 45 year seven students, 8 year seven parents, 8 year seven teachers, and 8 year six teachers, recruited from five primary and five secondary schools. METHOD: Students participated in face-to-face semi-structured focus groups and adults in asynchronous online focus groups. Transcribed audio-recordings were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Students, parents, and teachers were shown to navigate a similar process over primary-secondary school transition. All talked about managing their own and others' emotions, relationships, and expectations. These were shaped by shared communication across primary and secondary schools and between the stakeholders, and impacted by how good transition provision was seen to be. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to understand the transition period from the perspective of students, teachers, and parents, to improve school transition. This information will allow us to design emotional centred support interventions that reflect these lived experiences.

Longitudinal associations between younger children's humour styles and psychosocial adjustment.

Whilst a multitude of studies have examined links between different styles of humour and aspects of adjustment, longitudinal research is noticeably lacking. Following a study which identified bidirectional associations between humour styles and psychosocial adjustment in older children, the current research aimed to investigate these associations in younger children. In total, 413 children aged 8-11 years completed the humour styles questionnaire for younger children (HSQ-Y) alongside measures of psychosocial adjustment in both the autumn and the summer over the course of a school year. Findings across the school year suggested that children's adjustment may impact significantly on their use of different styles of humour. Further longitudinal research over a longer time period would now be beneficial to further increase our understanding of the associations between humour styles and adjustment throughout development. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Research has identified associations between children's humour styles and psychosocial adjustment. Research with older children has also identified longitudinal associations. What does this study add? This is the first study to identify longitudinal associations between humour styles and adjustment in younger children. This allows for stronger statements to be made about causal relationships.

Longitudinal Associations Between Humor Styles and Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescence.

This study assessed the concurrent and prospective associations between psychosocial adjustment and four humor styles, two of which are adaptive (affiliative, self-enhancing) and two maladaptive (aggressive, self-defeating). Participants were 1,234 adolescents (52% female) aged 11-13 years, drawn from six secondary schools in England. Self-reports of psychosocial adjustment (loneliness, depressive symptomatology, and self-esteem) and humor styles were collected at two time points (fall and summer). In cross-lagged panel analyses, self-defeating humor was associated with an increase in both depressive symptoms and loneliness, and with a decrease in self-esteem. In addition, depressive symptoms predicted an increase in the use of self-defeating humor over time, indicating that these may represent a problematic spiral of thoughts and behaviors. Self-esteem was associated with an increase in the use of affiliative humor over the school year but not vice-versa. These results inform our understanding of the ways in which humor is associated with psychosocial adjustment in adolescence.

Children's Understanding of Self-Focused Humor Styles.

It has been proposed that four main styles of humor exist, two which are thought to be adaptive (affiliative, self-enhancing) and two which are thought to be maladaptive (aggressive, self-defeating). Whilst the existence of these four humor styles has been supported in older children, it is suggested that for younger children, self-enhancing and self-defeating humor may develop at a later point. To investigate this further, the current research involved five semi-structured paired interviews with children aged eight to eleven years to explore the use and understanding of self-enhancing and self-defeating humor in this age group. Findings indicated that use of both self-enhancing and self-defeating humor were apparent in some children, but not all. It therefore seems appropriate that attempts to investigate humor in this age group should aim to include all four styles of humor. The current research also demonstrated the value of paired interviews when carrying out this sort of research with children.