Peer connectedness during the transition to secondary school: a collaborative opportunity for education and social work

The Creating Meaningful Connections project is a longitudinal study that resulted from a partnership between social work academics at the University of Newcastle and educators at a regional secondary school in NSW, Australia. It seeks to better understand the relationship between school connectedness and youth mental health. In stage 1, focus groups were conducted with 99 students 9 months after their transition to secondary school. The shift to secondary school created a range of social and academic challenges for young people. It often resulted in limited—or no—contact with friends from primary school, requiring the negotiation of new friendships. While this process was relatively trouble-free for many students, others described it as risky and challenging. Positive peer relationships appeared to increase happiness, feelings of safety, offer support during difficult periods and facilitate secondary school adjustment. This paper offers a unique perspective by capturing student voice and commentary about the nature and importance of peer relationships during transition. It also highlights the potential for social work and education to work collaboratively to enhance peer relationships, mental health and school connectedness during transition.