A significant seam of the school system in each country is the transition from primary school to secondary education. The project “WEICHENSTELLUNG” from Germany, where mentors support children for three years from the fourth to the sixth grade, is dedicated to this transition, too. Transitions in the field of education are very important when it comes to the emergence and continuation of educational inequalities (Brake & Büchner, 2012, p. 140). There is still a negative correlation between the social origin of a child and his school performance (for example Bos and others in 2003 and 2008). The project “WEICHENSTELLUNG” therefore supports gifted children whose families, for a variety of reasons, cannot adequately support their children. According to initial hypotheses, the Corona pandemic reinforces this situation of inequalities. Successfully managing transition situations in life is an important component in the development of personality and identity (Lin-Klitzing, 2010, p. 9; Griebel, 2006, p. 35f.).

Many factors play a role in the transition. This study examines two main psychological constructs.  On the one hand, this is a person's self-esteem. Self-esteem is a term that plays a major role in the research and theory of the self. In the process-related transition model of Hopson, Adams &Hayes (1976), self-esteem is a central component. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation is a construct which is very important in the transition process. According to the authors of the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2018) this form of motivation is an interest-driven action that does not depend on any external or intra-psychic influences. Self-esteem plays a role in this theory, too.

An important part of “WEICHENSTELLUNG” is to foster the self-esteem of the children and their (intrinsic) motivation.  This is to be done more intensively by working with the method of learning stories. The mentors of the Weingarten University of Education (Pädagogische Hochschule Weingarten) use this method founded by Margaret Carr (2001) in New Zealand at the University of Waikato. It was established to support the transition from the elementary sector to the primary school. In New Zealand it is widely used today and they also try to establish the method in the primary schools. Also in Switzerland at the “Marie Meierhofer Institut für das Kind” there are studies and projects which work with the learning stories (for example Wustmann Seiler & Simoni, 2013). With the learning stories learning processes of children are observed, described and documented (Leu, Flämig, Frankenstein, Koch, Pack, Schneider & Schweiger, 2010, p. 20). The method aims to "continuously and resource-oriented to support and strengthen children in their learning processes and in their identity as active and competent learners"(Wustmann Seiler & Simoni, 2013, p. 13). Through the learning stories, children should perceive themselves more positively and thus possibly also increase their self-esteem as well as their intrinsic motivation.

The Corona pandemic also influenced this study. The last measurement time was at the beginning of the pandemic. So with the results of the study we can analyse how the perception of both constructs was before and during the pandemic.

The central research question is as follows: How do those involved in the project “WEICHENSTELLUNG” perceive the development of self-esteem and motivation before and after the transition to the secondary school? Two sub-questions add to the main question. At first the study refers to connections to the fostering with the international method of learning stories and secondly to the influences of the Corona pandemic.

The study is a mixed-methods study. Two test methods were used in the quantitative part. In order to measure the self-esteem of the children in the course of the process, an age-appropriate method is required. For this purpose, the “Aussage-Liste zum Selbstwertgefühl” (ALS) of Schauder (2011) was selected. For the German-speaking countries, this test is the first to measure self-esteem (Krause and others, 2004, p. 87). It is based on children's self-statements. The test assumes a global self-esteem, which nevertheless depends on different situations like school versus family. Only the school sector was covered for the study. The ALS can be performed individually as well as in the group. Each item of the test is provided with a five-stage scale. The SRQ-A (Self-Regulation Questionnaire – Academic) was taken to measure the (intrinsic) motivation. It was designed for the end of primary school and for the start of secondary school. It consists of a four-stage scale. The scales target the different dimensions of motivation according to Deci & Ryan: External Regulation, Introjected Regulation, Identified Regulation and Intrinsic Motivation. There is a modified, shorter version of the questionnaire. It was developed by Deci, Hodges, Pierson & Tomassone in 1992. Modifications of the original questionnaire was used in Japan (for example Yamauchi & Tanaka, 1998) or in Austria (Müller & Thomas, 2011), too. This questionnaire seems to be suitable for the children of WEICHENSTELLUNG, as many have problems with the official language and this test is easier to set up and formulate. He was also elected for economic reasons. This questionnaire was used in parallel with the ALS. Both test methods were used longitudinally. This means at the beginning of the 4th grade (t1), in the second half of grade 4 (t2), immediately after the transition to grade 5 (t3) and at the end of grade 5 (t4). The qualitative part of the overall study is the focus. A total of 50 problem-centered interviews (Witzel 1985) were conducted. This at two times, one before the transition and the other after the transition. At the second time, their parents and teachers were also interviewed beside the children themselves and their mentors in order to better analyse the effects of the pandemic. At the end of the data collection, a group discussion on the individual issues was held among the mentors. The qualitative data are currently being evaluated in a content analysis (Mayring 2010).

The results from the tests and the interviews and group discussion are ultimately brought into a typology. In this way, individual dimensions that determine the course of development during the transition can be structured and related. Initial assumptions suggest that the learning stories can foster both constructs at the transition. What conditions this is based on has yet to be analysed, as not every child seems to be doing so in the same extent. The learning stories could be adapted within Europe in the most diverse areas of the school system and at the different transitions. This allows it to make transitions more individual and more suitable, in order to foster each child in the best possible way and that children manage the transitions profitably. Especially children from families with little support options would benefit from this. A way to ensure more educational justice and to redesign transitions?!

Brake, A. & Büchner, P. (2012). Bildung und soziale Ungleichheit. Eine Einführung. (Grundriss der Pädagogik. Erziehungswissenschaft Bd. 35). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Carr, M. (2001). Assessment in early childhood settings. Learning stories. London u.a.: SAGE Publications. Deci, E. L., Hodges, R., Pierson, L., & Tomassone, J. (1992). Autonomy and competence as motivational factors in students with learning disabilities and emotional handicaps. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25, 457-471. Griebel, W. (2006). Übergänge fordern das gesamte System. In Diskowski, D., Bernardo Hammes-Di, E., Hebenstreit-Müller, S. & Speck-Hamdan, A. (Hrsg.), Übergänge gestalten. Wie Bildungsprozesse anschlussfähig werden (S. 32–48). Weimar & Berlin: Verlag das netz. Grieper, E. (2017): Bildungs- und Lerngeschichten. Niedersächsisches Institut für frühkindliche Bildung und Entwicklung. Zugriff am 31.01.2021, https://www.nifbe.de/component/themensammlung?view=item&id=499:bildungs-und-lerngeschichten&catid=57. Hopson, B., Adams, J. & Hayes, J. (1976). Transition. Understanding and Managing Personal Change. London: Allanheld. Krause, Ch., Wiesmann, U. & Hannich, H.-J. (2004). Subjektive Befindlichkeit und Selbstwertgefühl von Grundschulkindern. Lengerich: Pabst. Leu, H., Flämig, K., Frankenstein, Y., Koch, S., Pack, I., Schneider, K. & Schweiger, M. (2010). Bildungs- und Lerngeschichten. Bildungsprozesse in früher Kindheit beobachten, dokumentieren und unterstützen (3. Aufl.). Weimar & Berlin: DJI Verlag das netz. Lin-Klitzing, S. (2010). Übergänge im Schulwesen. Chancen und Probleme aus sozialwissenschaftlicher Perspektive – eine Einführung. In Lin-Klitzing, S., Di Fuccia, D. & Müller-Frerich, G. (Hrsg.), Übergänge im Schulwesen. Chancen und Probleme aus sozialwissenschaftlicher Sicht (S. 8–19). Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt. Mayring, P. (2010). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken. 11. Aufl. Weinheim & Basel: Beltz. Müller, F. H. & Thomas, A. (2011). Self-Regulation Questionnaire for Adolescent Students (SRQ-A[G]). Skalen zur motivationalen Regulation beim Lernen von Schülerinnen und Schülern (überarbeitete Fassung). Universität Klagenfurt. Zugriff am 31.01.2021, https://ius.aau.at/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Schuelerfragebogen_Motivation_U.pdf. Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. (2018). Self-Determination Theory. Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. New York: The Guilford Press. Schauder, T. (2011). ALS. Die Aussagen-Liste zum Selbstwertgefühl für Kinder und Jugendliche (3. Aufl.). Göttingen u.a.: Hogrefe. Witzel, A. (1985). Das problemzentrierte Interview. In G. Jüttemann (Hrsg.), Qualitative Forschung in der Psychologie: Grundfragen, Verfahrensweisen, Anwendungsfelder (S. 227-255). Weinheim: Beltz. Wustmann Seiler, C. & Simoni, H. (Hrsg.) (2013). „Bildungs- und Lerngeschichten“ in der Schweiz. Umsetzungserfahrungen und Materialien. Zürich: Marie Meierhofer Institut für das Kind. Yamauchi, H., & Tanaka, K. (1998). Relations of autonomy, self-referenced beliefs and self-regulated learning among Japanese children. Psychological Reports, 82, 803-816.