Expectations Regarding the Transition from Elementary School to Secondary School among Students of Turkish Origin: An Analysis of Positive and Negative Emotions

Emotions are considered important for wether or not students can to cope with the transition from elementary to secondary school. This study focuses on the question whether there are differences between students of Turkish descent and German students in their emotions concerning the transition and how they can be explained by the academic self-confidence and academic achievement. Analyses in this paper are based on data from the German Transition Study, which is part of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007, in which N = 2995 fourth graders were analyzed (N = 332 Students of Turkish descent). Students of Turkish descent showed more negative emotions concerning the transition to the secondary school level. The differences could partially be explained by the academic self-confidence and academic achievement. Here, their comparatively lower academic achievement penalized these students. However, their superior academic self-confidence proved to be a resource for coping with the transition. The negative emotions students of Turkish descent associate with the transition will be discussed.