Friendship as a predictor of adjustment following a transition to formal academic instruction and evaluation

Abstract

Most school transitions are characterised by sweeping changes in children's social and learning environments, often accompanied by important biological and cognitive changes; the multiple changes occurring within the child and the environment make the results of school-transition studies difficult to interpret. Italian elementary school children experience a marked transition in teaching and evaluation style at the end of second grade, but do not change schools. Formal academic instruction begins and pupils' progress begins to be evaluated individually by means of oral examinations. The present longitudinal study focuses on the role of friends during this transition. The participants were pupils of 17 classes in 11 schools in the city of Florence, Italy, and surrounding towns. Self-reported liking of school decreased sharply after the transition. There were some indications that having friends contributed overall to successful adjustment after the transition, especially in terms of children's liking of school. There was also some evidence that friendship is an asset to children undergoing stressful life experiences. Both children's liking of school and their antisocial behaviours were predicted by their friends' attitudes toward school and their friends' antisocial behaviour.