The transition from elementary to high school: The pivotal role of mother and child characteristics in explaining trajectories of academic functioning

The present 8-year longitudinal study had two goals. The first goal was to describe different trajectories of academic functioning during the transition to high school using a group-based trajectory method. The second goal was to determine if previous family and child characteristics (notably behavioural problems and prosociality) predict these trajectories. A total of 1003 mothers and teachers participated in the study. Results of the trajectory analysis revealed the presence of three groups. A first group experienced stable and high levels of academic functioning (63%), a second group experienced a significant drop in academic functioning (14%), and a third group experienced stable and low levels of academic functioning (23%). Logistic regression analyses showed that these groups differed in terms of early parental characteristics, child behavioural problems, and prosociality. These results are discussed in light of empirical findings on the transition to high school.