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2 - Beginning school transition and academic achievement in mid-elementary school

Does gender matter?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2014

By
Irene Kriesi  and
Marlis Buchmann
Edited by
Ingrid Schoon  and
Jacquelynne S. Eccles
Irene Kriesi
Affiliation:
Swiss Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training
Marlis Buchmann
Affiliation:
University of Zurich
Ingrid Schoon
Affiliation:
Institute of Education, University of London
Jacquelynne S. Eccles
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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Summary

Abstract

This chapter examines the individual and social antecedents of boys’ and girls’ coping with the transition to school and its consequences for their academic achievement in mid-elementary school. In particular, this chapter focuses on the interrelationships between children’s family background, individual competencies, beginning school transition, and their later academic achievement. The empirical analyses are based on the child cohort of the Swiss Survey of Children and Youth (COCON) and make use of the first three survey waves (2006–2009) when the children were 6, 7, and 9 years old (N = 963). Path models are estimated for boys and girls. The findings show that before entering school, girls score higher on cognitive competencies, school-relevant knowledge, and conscientiousness, and they have a more positive social self-concept. These competencies affect the transition quality to school and explain why girls find it easier to adopt the student role. Competencies at the age of 6 years as well as the transition quality to school affect academic achievement at the age of 9. Gender differences are also found regarding the effects of social background and competencies on the quality of school transition and academic achievement.

Type
Chapter
Information
Gender Differences in Aspirations and Attainment
A Life Course Perspective
 , pp. 53 - 78
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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