Educational research- this is a graduate program work on research studies.

Gender and Race as Variables in Psychosocial Adjustment to

Middle and High School

PATRICK AKOS JOHN P. GALASSI The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

ABSTRACT School transition research indicates that nega- tive outcomes (e.g., decreases in self-esteem and academic motivation) occur for a number of students in transition. Although data are not consistent, gender and race tend to play a role in school transition outcomes. The authors investigated gender and race as variables in 6th- and 9th-grade students' psychosocial adjustment (e.g., perceptions of difficulty of tran- sition and connectedness to school) following a recent school transition and in persons who they perceived as helpful in the transition process. Results suggest differences by gender for feelings of connectedness to middle and high school following the transition. Latino students perceived the transition to mid- dle school as significantly more difficult than did Caucasian and African American students. Additional findings and impli- cations are presented.

Key words: gender and race, psychosocial adjustment, tran- sition to middle and high school

M ost education researchers have suggested thatschool transitions play an important role in thedevelopmental trajectory of students (Eccles et al., 1993; Simmons &. Blyth, 1987; Wigfield, Eccles, Mac Iver, Reuman, &. Midgley, 1991). The individual or per- sonal transformations that students undergo during puher- ty and school changes are extensive and frequently disrup- tive. Researchers have identified declines in academic performance (Blyth, Simmons, & Carlton-Ford, 1983), academic motivation (Eccles et al.), self-esteem (Simmons & Blyth), extracurricular participation (Seidman, Allen, Aher, Mitchell, &. Feinman, 1994), and perceived support from school staff (Seidman et al.) as well as increases in daily hassles (Seidman et a l ) , as some of the negative effects of school transitions.

However, only a modest number of researchers have examined the influence of demographic variables in school transitions. Several researchers suggested that girls suffer greater losses in self-esteem compared with boys during the transition to middle school (Blyth et al., 1983; Eccles et al., 1993). Those findings may be due to the fact that girls experience more peer upheaval or that they experience more distress than do boys because of the greater salience

of their peer networks. The combination of physical and social transitions that girls experience from elementary to middle school also may contribute to their distress. Because girls typically mature earlier than boys (Eccles et al.), they often make a distinctive physical transition (e.g., menstruation) into puberty simultaneously with a school transition. Thus, the combination of and feelings about the two transitions—physical and school—may heighten the negative outcomes that some girls experience as they enter middle school.

Researchers also have demonstrated that girls experience more depression than do boys over the transition from ele- mentary to middle school (Blyth et al., 1983; Hirsch & Rapkin, 1987). Moreover, Diemert (1992) found that boys reported a lack of assistance with academic needs, whereas girls reported a lack of assistance with social needs in the middle school transition. In the high school transition, girls exhibited more concerns in general and more intense social and academic concerns, whereas boys were con- cerned particularly about having longer class periods, par- ticipating in sports, and violence from gangs (Maute, 1991). Although most of the transition research has sug- gested differential outcomes based on gender, some researchers failed to replicate these differences (Seidman et a l , 1994; Wampler, Munsch, & Adams, 2002).

In addition to gender, race has been another focus of tran- sition research. Several researchers suggested that minority status may intensify negative transition outcomes (Cauce, Hannan, & Sargeant, 1992; Mosely &. Lex, 1990). Seidman and colleagues (1994) speculated that urban minority stu- dents often are located in overcrowded classrooms in large schools that are entrenched in red tape. They hypothesized that environmental conditions of high poverty and less space intensify the contextual transition and can potential- ly lead to more detrimental effects such as disproportionally high rates of education failure for urban minority youth (Seidman et a l ) .

Address correspondence to Patrick Akos, CB #3500, The Univer- sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500. (E-mail: [email protected])

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Gutman and Midgley (2000) also investigated transition effects on African American students and found significant achievement losses from elementary to middle school. Sim- mons, Black, and Zhou (1991) also suggested that grade declines may be more severe for African American students than for European American students. Simmons and col- leagues discovered that African American students showed greater decreases in grade point average (GPA) and more dislike for school after the elementary to middle school transition. Maute (1991) found that in high school, Asian students and those defined as "Other" (not White, Black, or Latino) demonstrated more intense high school con- cerns than did other students. Students labeled "Other" were concerned especially about being with children of other races and being liked by others. In addition, gender and racial differences in transition concerns varied accord- ing to the school attended (Maute).

Wampler and colleagues (2002) examined racial differ- ences in GPA trajectories during the transition to junior high. They discovered that grade trajectories differed for race but not for gender. Specifically, African American stu- dents' GPAs remained steady over the transition, Cau- casian students experienced slight declines, and Latino stu- dents faced steep declines with some rebound effect near the end of the school year.

Although many questions remain, existing research seems to indicate that race and gender influence percep- tions and outcomes of school transitions; however, the rea- son is unclear. One possibility might concern a student's level of engagement in school or connectedness to school. Eccles and colleagues (1993), for example, suggested that school engagement might serve as a protective factor against transitional problems. Also, Osterman's (2000) review of research revealed that students' connectedness to school or sense of belonging relates to a host of outcome variables including academic attitudes, achievement, attendance, participation in school activities, and dropping out of school. Thus, school connectedness is a variable that may affect the likelihood of a successful school transition as well as serve as an indicator of the actual success of that transition. Moreover, it seems likely that school transitions might undermine or disrupt students' sense of connected- ness to school, and this impact might not be equivalent across gender and race.

In addition to feelings of connectedness, students' over- all perceptions of the difficulty of the transition also seem to reflect their adjustment to a new school. Thus, students' assessment of the transition experience should provide insight into the extent to which they have adapted to the new school. Moreover, the outcome research reviewed in the previous paragraphs suggests that the difficulty of mid- dle and high school transitions likely differs across gender and race.

Finally, if school transitions are difficult for many stu- dents, who do the students find most supportive during these times? Given that transitions often cause a disruption

of social networks at the very time they are important (Barone, Aguirre-Deandreis, & Trickett, 1991) and that previous research indicates that school transition outcomes vary as a function of gender and race, it seems likely that the persons who students perceive as most helpful also would be influenced by these variables. Determining who different groups of students find helpful during transitions should provide practitioners with useful information to facilitate more positive school transition experiences for all students.

To develop effective school transition programming, school personnel may need to consider the influence of race and gender as variables in the transition process. Therefore, we explored those variables in students' psy- chosocial adjustment to middle and high school transi- tions. Perceptions of transition difficulty and of school con- nectedness served as gauges of adjustment to the new school because adjustment has been a significant factor in the developmental pathways of students. Moreover, the sources of support that different groups of students find helpful in transitions have rather immediate consequences in the way that students approach school as well as in the implications for future school transition programming by school personnel.

The primary research question of the study was: Are race and gender significant variables in (a) overall student per- ception/evaluation of the difficulty of school transitions, (b) feelings of connectedness to the new school, and (c) persons who are perceived as most helpful during the tran- sition experience?

Method

Participants

All of the students came from one middle school and one high school in a medium-sized, southeastern school district. The middle school participants included 173 sixth-grade students (approximately 72% of the sixth-grade class). The sample included 83 hoys (48%), 86 girls (49.7%), and 4 students (2.3%) who did not provide information about gender. By race, the student sample included 57.2% Cau- casian (n = 99), 19.7% African American (n = 34), 8.7% Asian American (n = 15), 8.1% Latino (n = 14), 4% mul- tiracial (n = 7), and 2.3% (n = 4) unspecified. The sample was reflective of the entire sixth-grade population in terms of race (57% Caucasian, 23% African American, 9% Asian American, 9% Latino, and 3% multiracial) and gender (55% boys, 45% girls).

The high school sample comprised 320 ninth-grade stu- dents (approximately 71% of the ninth-grade class) in a single high school. The sample included 47.8% boys (n = 153), 50.3% girls (n = 161), and 1.9% unspecified (n = 6). The racial composition of the sample was 76.3% Caucasian (n = 244), 10.3% African American (n = 33), 5.6% Asian American (n = 18), 3.4% Latino (n = 11), 2.2% multiracial (n = 7), and 1.9% unspecified (n = 6). The research sample

104 The Journal of Educational Research

again represented the high school population (n = 1,586) in terms of race and gender.

The middle school and high school were part of a medium- sized southern school district that included eight elementary schools, four middle schools, and two high schools. The mid- dle school drew students primarily from three of the elemen- tary schools; the high school attracted its students primarily from two of the middle schools. The middle school was in its first year of operation. Overall, the school district could be characterized as high performing—over 90% of the students attended postsecondary education on a regular basis.

Instrument

We developed the questionnaires for the sixth grade and ninth grade to tap context-relevant considerations and stu- dent perceptions unique to each of the transitions. The School Transition Questionnaire (STQ) is a retrospective measure of student perceptions over the course of the tran- sition (a copy of the STQ may be obtained from the first author). The questionnaire assessed a variety of informa- tion about the transition, including students' (a) overall feelings about the difficulty of the transition, (b) sense of connectedness to the new school, and (c) persons who were most helpful to them during the transition.

We used a 4-point, Likert-type response format (e.g.. How was the move from middle school to high school for you?) to capture students' overall feelings about the transi- tion. The response choices were (1) difficult, (2) somewhat difficult, (3) somewhat easy, and (4) easy. School connected- ness is a variable that assesses a student's integration and feelings of belonging to school. Extensive research has demonstrated that school connectedness is an important variable in school success (see Osterman, 2000 for a review of this literature). In this study, connectedness questions included feeling (a) close to other students, (h) a part of school, (c) that teachers care about students, and (d) happy at school. We used a 5-point, Likert-type response format: response choices were (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neither agree nor disagree, (4) agree, and (5) strongly agree. The questions were adapted from the National Longitudi- nal Study of Adolescent Health (1998), a study undertak- en in response to a mandate by the U.S. Congress in the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993. Coefficient alpha for the 4-item connectedness measure in this study was .72 for the high school data and .71 for the middle school data.

Students also were assessed about perceived helpfulness of significant persons during the transition. Students are influenced by a variety of persons in different systems in their life. Akos (2002) and Arowosafe and Irvin (1992) dis- covered that significant persons in the school environment provide support and information to students during school transitions. To determine who was most helpful in school adjustment, students rated a variety of persons including parents, peers, other family members, older students, coun- selors, and other adults at the school. The students used a

4-point, Likert-type scale: response choices were (1) not helpful, (2) somewhat helpful, (3) helpful, and (4) very helpful. Students also had the option of adding persons to the list and rating them.

Procedure

The STQ was administered during the fall semester to all sixth- and ninth-grade students at the participating schools. Approximately 72% of the middle school and 71% of the high school students chose to participate in the study. Homeroom or home-based teachers administered the questionnaires; no incentives were given for participation. Each questionnaire was precoded so that school personnel could not identify student responses. Students returned questionnaires anonymously in each classroom, and they were collected by a school counselor on site and delivered to the researchers. The research team worked with school personnel to gather demographic data for the participating students by precoded numbers. Researchers matched gen- der and race to questionnaire responses by precoded identi- fication numbers.

Research Design and Data Analysis

Data were analyzed separately for the middle and high school samples. Gender and race represented independent or predictor variables, whereas overall perceptions of the transition, connectedness to school, and the person most helpful in the transition represented dependent or criteri- on variables in this causal-comparative study. A 2 x 4 (Gender x Race) analysis of variance (ANOVA) was planned for data analysis. Because of some low cell sizes, that analysis was contraindicated. As a result, we complet- ed separate univariate ANOVAs to analyze gender and race differences on the variables. When we found signifi- cant F values, we used post-hoc comparisons with Tukey's Honestly Significant Differences Test to explain differ- ences among racial categories. Because we performed mul- tiple tests to determine who was most helpful in the tran- sition, we used the Bonferroni adjustment to control for Type 1 errors (a = .05/3 = .016).

Results

Tables 1 and 2 present means and standard deviations for the perceived difficulty of the transition, connectedness, and helpful person variables disaggregated by gender and race.

Overall, the results revealed that students did not per- ceive that the transition to middle school (M = 3.00, SD = .96) or high school (M = 3.12, SD = .86) was partic- ularly difficult (1 = difficult to 4 = easy). Students also felt strongly connected in both middle school (M = 15.02, SD = 3.23) and high school (M = 14.98, SD = 2.60) to the new school after the transition (possible range, 4-20).

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TABLE 1. Disaggregated Means and Standard Deviations for Perceptions of Difficulty, Connectedness, and Helpful Others in Transition to Middle School

Question

Overall difficulty Boys Girls Caucasians African Americans Latinos Asians Multiracial students

Connectedness Boys Cirls Caucasians African Americans Latinos Asians Multiracial students

Helpful persons Parents Other family Students Older students Counselors Other adults

M

3.00 2.96 3.09 3.13 3.15 2.00 2.71 2.86

15.02 14.46 15.52 15.23 14.15 14.63 15.50 14.86

3.14 2.44 2.84 2.14 2.23 2.22

SD

.96

.11

.10

.16

.16

.27

.29

.51 3.23

.41

.32

.29

.69 1.67 .73

1.61

1.03 1.03 .98

1.08 1.02 .99

TABLE 2. Disaggregated Means and Standard Deviations for Perceptions of Difficulty, Connectedness, and Helpful Others in Transition to High School

Question

Overall difficulty Boys Girls Caucasians African Americans Latinos Asians Multiracial students

Connectedness Boys Girls Caucasians African Americans Latinos Asians Multiracial students

Helpful persons Parents Other family Students Older students Teachers Counselors Other adults

M

3.12 3.08 3.13 3.14 3.26 2.78 2.69 2.83

14.98 15.65 14.43 15.04 15.16 15.22 14.50 14.50

2.56 2.56 2.56 2.56 2.23 1.94 1.91

SD

.86

.07

.07

.05

.15

.36

.34

.48 2.60

.19

.22

.17

.48

.52

.58

.72

.99 1.13 .92

1.00 .89 .88 .87

Parents (M = 3.14, SD = L03), followed by other students (M = 2.84, SD = .98) and other family (M = 2.44, SD = 1.15), were reported as most helpful for middle school students in transition. For high school students, other students (M = 2.77, SD = .92), then parents (M = 2.56, SD = .99) and older students (M = 2.34, SD = 1.00) were rated as most helpful. The range was 1 = not helpful to 4 = very helpful.

Gender as a Variable in School Transitions

Gender was not a significant variable in students' over- all perception of the difficulty of the transition (e.g., mid- dle school girls, M = 3.04, SD = .93; middle school boys, M = 2.95, SD = 1.00; high school girls, M = 3.13, SD = .90; high school boys, M = 3.10, SD = .83). Yet, gender was a significant variable in students' feelings of connectedness to school in both transitions. In middle school, girls (M = 15.6, SD = 2.7) felt more connected to school than did boys (M = 14.4, SD = 3.6), F(l, 157) = 4.59, p = .034. In contrast to middle school, boys (M = 15.7, SD = 2.2) felt significantly more connected in high school than did girls (M = 14.4, SD = 2.8), F(l, 300) = 18.52, p = .001.

Gender also was a significant variable in determining who was most helpful during the transition to high school. Significant differences emerged for family other than par- ents, F(l, 302) = 13.07, p < .001, and students, F(l, 303) =

18.61, p < .001. Boys reported that family other than par- ents (M = 2.55, SD = 1.13) and students (M = 3.00, SD = .84) were more helpful than that reported by girls (M = 2.09, SD = 1.08; M = 2.56, SD = .94) in high school. No other significant differences were revealed for gender.

Race as a Variable in School Transitions

No significant differences were found for race in feelings of connectedness to school. Yet, a significant difference emerged for race in the perception of how difficult the tran- sition to middle school was, F(4, 160) = 4.54, p = .002. Post-hoc tests (Tukey HSD) indicated that Latino students (M = 2.07, SD = .25) perceived the transition as more dif- ficult as compared with Caucasian (M = 3.12, SD = .09, p = .001) and African American (M = 3.15, SD = .16, p = .003) students.

Also in middle school, several differences were found for persons who were most helpful in the transition. Statistically significant differences emerged for race in terms of middle school counselors, F(4, 153) = 7.48, p < .001, and family other than parents, F(4, 156) = 3.81, p = .006. In post-hoc tests (Tukey HSD), Latino students reported that middle school counselors (M = 3.24, SD = .83) and family other than parents (M = 3.46, SD = .66) were more helpful than that reported by Caucasian (M = 1.95, SD = .92 for counselors; M = 2.32, SD = 1.15 for other family) and Asian American

106 The Journal of Educational Research

(M = 2.00, SD = .88 for counselors; M = 2.20, SD = .94 for other family) students. In addition. Latino students reported that other family members (M = 3.46, SD = .66) were more helpful than that reported by African American students (M = 2.39, SD = 1.20). Finally, African American students

reported that middle school counselors (M = 2.61, SD = 1.09) were more helpful to them as compared with reports by Cau- casian students (M = 1.95, SD = .92).

In high school, significant differences also were found for race for help from high school counselors, F(5, 297) = 3.54, p = .004. Latino students (M = 2.80, SD = .27) reported that high school counselors were more helpful compared with reports by Caucasian students (M = 1.86, SD = .06). No other significant differences were found for race in terms of perceptions or who was helpful during the transi- tion for the middle or high school sample.

Discussion

Whereas Eccles and colleagues (1993), Seidman and col- leagues (1994), and Simmons and Blyth (1987) reported negative outcomes for school transitions, students in this study perceived the transition as somewhat easy. Study par- ticipants also demonstrated a strong connection to school and found a variety of school personnel and other persons helpful during school transitions. The contextual nature of the school district (e.g., high performing) may be reflected in the perceived difficulty of the transition in this study because our results support those from previous research (Anderman, Maeher, & Midgley, 1999; Crockett, Peterson, Graber, Schulenberg, & Ebata, 1989) that suburban stu- dents experience fewer adverse effects in school transitions than do urban students. Implications of race and gender as variables in transition adjustment are discussed in the fol- lowing paragraphs.

Gender

The results of this study demonstrate that girls felt more connected to school than did boys after transition to mid- dle school. Although the stronger connection to school may suggest more positive adaptation or orientation to middle school for girls than for boys, these findings seem incongruent with previous research (Blyth et al., 1983; Eccles et al., 1993) stating that self-esteem declines for girls. Therefore, these findings raise several questions: Do girls experience a stronger connection to middle school because of the contextual nature of elementary and middle schools? For example, does the presence of multiple female models in elementary and middle school allow girls to feel more connected to school? Academic outcomes were not measured in this study, but potentially, feelings of connect- edness may relate directly to academic outcomes in transi- tion. The lower feelings of connectedness for boys in this study may provide a possible explanation for the findings of previous studies that suggest that boys suffer more distinct

academic declines in the transition to middle school (Chung, Elias, & Schneider, 1998; Elias et al., 1992).

Osterman (2000) demonstrated that a relationship exists between connectedness or belonging and academic out- comes. Perhaps boys' academic struggles caused by the tran- sition to middle school are related to feelings of connect- edness to the new school. Boys may feel less connected to the new school and, therefore, might not apply themselves as fully academically as do girls. At the same time, con- nectedness may be an adjustment variable that does not capture the decline in self-esteem of girls in transition. Those relationships should be examined in future research.

In contrast to middle school transition, boys felt signif- icantly more connected than did girls after the transition to high school. Although that finding may reflect a cohort effect for the current sample, the results also may indicate more positive adaptation or orientation for boys at the high school level. Fewer researchers have investi- gated gender differences in outcomes for high school tran- sition as compared with middle school transition. Yet, these findings may be reflective of Maute's (1991) finding that girls exhibit more concerns in general and more intense social and academic concerns than do boys in the transition to high school. Although the connection to school is strong over the transition to middle school, the peer upheaval and psychological distress experienced by girls in the transition to and over the course of middle school (Blyth et al., 1983; Crockett et al., 1989; Eccles et al., 1993; Eenzel, 1989) may present later in their feeling less connected after the transition to high school. Researchers need to examine the relationship between ecological factors (e.g., extracurricular opportunities and participation); feelings of connectedness, self-esteem, achievement, and motivation; as well as effective ways to connect students in the transition to a new school.

One common way to help students connect to school may be through enhanced social support. Barone and col- leagues (1991) suggested that that type of support may be particularly important during transition because social net- works are usually disrupted and in flux at this time. The findings for connectedness in this study may be indicative of the gender differences in who appears helpful during school transitions. Whereas girls reported that family other than parents were more helpful at their transition into middle school, the finding was reversed when they entered high school. Even more significant, boys reported that students were significantly more helpful in the transition to high school than girls reported. Elias and colleagues' (1992) find- ings of the salience of peer networks in middle school and Chung and colleagues' (1998) findings of more peer-related problems for girls in middle school may culminate in lower perceived support from peers during the transition to high school. That lack of perceived social support also may relate to lower feelings of connectedness to school and highlight an important developmental need for girls when they move to high school. Programs like peer mentoring, use of

November/December 2004 [Vol. 98(No. 2)] 107

students in transition programs, and building supportive peer cultures may be instrumental in helping girls feel more connected to high school.

Race

Latino students perceived that the transition to middle school was significantly more difficult than did Caucasian and African American students. The results of this study may be reflective of Wampler and colleagues' (2002) find- ing that Latino students experience a significant decline in GPA during the transition to middle scbool. Although GPA was not examined in this study, the overall perception of the transition difficulty may reflect or be an indicator of difficult academic adjustment demonstrated by Latinos in previous researcb. One also sbould consider tbe findings (perception of difficulty of transition) and previous researcb (GPA declines) in ligbt of cultural differences tbat may cre- ate specific cballenges for Latino students in transition.

Tbe results of tbis study and previous researcb (Wampler et a l , 2002) suggest tbat Latino students, many of wbom were not born in tbis country, may need particular atten- tion during tbe transition to middle scbool. Wampler and colleagues speculated tbat peer culture pressures and values and traditions in Latino culture migbt increase tbe strug- gles tbat tbose students experience in transition. For exam- ple. Latino students may experience more significant lan- guage barriers, and Latino families may believe tbat it is not appropriate to be involved in matters related to scbool (McCall-Perez, 2000). In addition, cognitive and linguistic demands are greater in secondary scbools as compared witb elementary scbools. In secondary scbools, students must understand and integrate bodies of knowledge (Lucas, 2000). Tbe gap between language and literacy skills between Latino students and families and majority teachers may create additional barriers to acbievement in tbe more demanding secondary scbools (Osterling, Violand- Sancbez, & von Vacano, 1999).

Tbe cultural effects found in tbis study also may be reflected in tbe fact tbat tbe Latino students reported tbat middle scbool counselors and family otber tban parents were more belpful than that reported by Caucasian and Asian students. McCall-Perez (2000) reported tbat stu- dents witb limited Englisb proficiency are counselor depen- dent for scbool success because counselors contribute to more positive student outcomes, placement, credit bours earned, and smootber transitions to bigb scbool. It also may be useful to include extended family to belp facilitate stu- dent transition and adjustment to middle and bigb scbool. For example, scbools migbt offer bilingual evening transi- tion programs witb cbildcare to enable families and scbool personnel to belp facilitate Latino students' transition. Scbools also migbt offer programs delivered by diverse para- professionals wbo can bridge language and cultural barriers effectively (Lee, 2001). Lucas (2000) recommended tbat scbool personnel sbould belp Latino students and families

understand and negotiate tbe U.S. system of education (e.g., grading, programs, placement, parent involvement).

In contrast to tbe middle scbool findings, race was not a significant factor in tbe perception of transition difficulty. Positive interventions by counselors and otbers during tbe transition and/or tbe small sample of Latino students in tbe bigb scbool migbt bave made differences difficult to detect. It also is possible tbat Latino students migbt recover from initial difficulties in tbe transition to middle scbool and feel more successful by tbe time tbey make tbe transition to bigb scbool. Altbougb Blytb and colleagues (1983) suggested tbat multiple transitions (e.g., elementary to middle to bigb scbool) exacerbate negative outcomes of transitions, perhaps Latino students are unique in that learning, and adjusting to tbe U.S. education system contributes to a less difficult expe- rience in tbe second transition. A more likely possibility, however, with the graduation rate of Latino students near 57% (Narrid-Lacey &. Spencer, 2000), is that many of tbe Latino students wbo would bave experienced difficulty witb tbe bigh scbool transition bave already dropped out of scbool. Future researcb is clearly needed to understand tbe specific transition effects for Latino students in middle and bigb scbool.

Limitations

Tbe results of tbis study sbould be considered in ligbt of several limitations. First, data were collected at only one point after tbe completion of tbe transition. We examined students' adjustment to a new level of scbool, but longitu- dinal designs may capture variables tbat influence adjust- ment prior to tbe transition. Also, one sbould interpret tbe data as relevant to tbe context of tbe academic acbieve- ment of students in a district in wbicb a large majority pro- gressed to postsecondary education. Researcbers sbould replicate similar procedures in a variety of districts to deter- mine wbetber race and gender effects are common across a variety of scbool contexts. Altbougb no district is repre- sentative of all districts, our results may be particularly important because of tbe intense academic expectations of students in tbe participating district. Learning bow to facil- itate successful scbool transitions and scbool adjustment for Latino students in tbe midst of bigb academic expecta- tions may be extremely informative and useful for promot- ing acbievement for all students.

Conclusion

TD summarize, tbe results of tbis study support previous researcb tbat suggests tbat gender and race are influential variables in scbool transitions and bigbligbt potential differences in transition programming needed for differ- ent groups of students. Tberefore, it may be important to consider gender in assisting students' adjustment to scbool. Altbougb orientation programs may provide tbe necessary procedural (e.g., bow to register for classes) and

108 The Journal of Educational Research

organizational adjustment (e.g., how to navigate the new school) assistance for all students, researchers who inves- tigate transition programs may need to attend to gender differences in specific needs regarding personal/social and academic adjustment. Perhaps those researchers should further examine the needs of boys when they transfer to middle school so as to foster stronger feelings of connect- edness (e.g., extracurricular activities, male models) that may help prevent boys' achievement declines. Similarly, researchers should further investigate girls' needs when they transfer to high school to build stronger feelings of connectedness. Perhaps education professionals can facilitate more effective petsonal/social adjustment to high school with programs like peer mentoting and sys- tematic efforts to improve female peer cultures so that girls also find other students helpful during transition.

It also may be useful to offer specific programming for Latino students and families. The transition may be an influential factor in Latino students' success in school; research has demonstrated that student engagement is a predictor of achievement for Latino students (Lucas, 2000; Wampler et al., 2002). The transition to middle school may be a key point in the developmental trajectoty of Latino students that can be used to prevent high rates of educa- tional failure and dropping out. Finally, it is important that students capitalize on social support in the transition to a new school. Specifically in this study, school counselots, other students, and family other than parents appear to be most useful in helping minotity students adjust to school.

NOTE

We thank the Research Triangle Schools Partnership (RTSP) and the Chapel Hill Carrhoro City Schools for financial assistance with this research. We appreciate Pat Harris, Tori Lunetta, and Annie Reed for invaluahle feedhack and help with the research. We also thank Laura Blake, Kelley Dull, Jessica Thompson, and Sarah Doherty for preparing questionnaires and inputting the data.

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