Early Transition and Adjustment and Children's Adjustment after Six Years of Schooling

Researchers have made convincing arguments for the benefits of a smooth transition to school. The passage through this significant social change may have a lasting influence on children's progress. For example, social, emotional and academic difficulties in the early years of schooling have been shown to persist through school and into adolescence. This paper reports a longitudinal study undertaken in Melbourne, Australia, which explored the relationship between children's early school adjustment and their development after six years of primary schooling (end of Grade 5), using the same social, behavioural and academic measures. The influence of children's adjustment in the early weeks of schooling on adjustment at the end of Grade 5 after allowing for a range of personal characteristics, family demographics and school factors is also reported. Adjustment in Grade 5 was predicted by family socioeconomic status as determined by government financial support for families and attendance at before-school-hours care in the early weeks of schooling, and some early measures of adjustment. (Contains 11 tables.)