Transition from junior to senior high school

Transition from elementary to junior high school

Transition from a home-child to a school-child

Transition from elementary to junior high school

The first year of middle school or junior high school can be difficult for many students. They will experience the top-dog phenomenon, where they move from being the oldest, biggest, and most powerful students in elementary school to be the youngest, smallest, and least powerful students in the middle or junior high school. Compared with their earlier feelings as sixth- graders, the seventh-graders were less satisfied with school, were less committed to school, and liked their teacher less. The drop in school satisfaction occurred regardless of how academically successful the students were. The transition occurs at the same time as a number of other developmental changes, such as puberty, the changes of operational thought, increased responsibility, heterogeneous peers, many new teachers etc.

Issues

The transition in this situation is not very different with the former transition students have experienced. They will meet new people, new teachers, and new environments with also a top-dog phenomenon. Students personality have almost formed in this transition, they will be wiser and more mature than the previous stage. They will start thinking about what will I do? rather than thinking what will I learn? because theyre starting to realize that the time they come to jump into the real social environment is near.

Issue
Personal reasons, such as pregnancy and marriage (10%) Economic reason (40%)

Many students dropped out of the high school because of the following reasons :

They dislikes school (50%)

How can teachers increase students self-efficacy?

1. Identify the cause of their low self-efficacy

Verbal encouragement can motivate students to dissolve their incapability, comforting them with indirectly increasing their willing to study hard

It is helpful to identify and value their areas of competence like academic skill, physical condition, and social acceptance.

2. Provide emotional support

3. Provide a suitable teaching method

Students low self-efficacy can sometimes caused by the inappropriate way of teaching. There are 2 major type of teaching method :
2. The direct instruction approach It is a structured, teacher centered approach that is characterized by teacher direction and control, high teacher expectations for students progress, maximum time spent by students on academic task, and efforts by teacher to keep negative affect to minimum. The goal is maximizing student learning time

 Compliments are good for the emotional state of the student. But too much praise can also inflated self-esteem where in the future they can have difficulties in facing competition and criticism

Service learning is a form of education that promotes social responsibility and service to the community. In service learning, adolescents engage in activities such as tutoring, helping older adults, working in a hospital, assisting at childcare center, or cleaning up a vacant lot to make a play area. An important goal of service learning is for adolescents to become less self-centered and more strongly motivated to help others (Benson & others, 2006). Service learning is often more effective when two conditions are met (Nucci, 2006) : 1. Giving students some degree of choice in the service activities in which they participate 2. Providing students opportunities to reflect about their participation.

Researchers have found that service learning benefits adolescents in a number of a ways (Reinders & Youniss, 2006). These improvements in adolescents development related to service learning include higher grades in school, increased goal setting, higher self-esteem, an improved sense of being able to make a difference for others, and an increased likelihood that they will serve as volunteers in the future (Benson & others, 2006; Hart, Atkins, & Donelly, 2006)