Concluding comments. Transfer and transition: the next steps

The chapters in this edition of the journal provide a set of remarkably coherent findings. The effects of transfer, apart from the question of dips in pupils’ academic progress, have been investigated in a variety of settings and cultures. The evidence suggests, however, that current policy and practice are largely directed at ensuring the process is administratively efficient and that the pupilʹs personal and social concerns are reduced to the minimum. This suggests that future efforts should be focussed on the curriculum and on the accompanying pedagogy. The research conducted within the qualitative tradition further suggests that the transfer process is but one instance of the larger problem of school transition from one year to the next. These transitions need to be considered within the wider context of the pupilʹs encounters with various status passages that are part of the process of “growing up.” If teachers and policy makers are to manage these transitions effectively, they need to listen more carefully, than in the past, to what pupils have to say on these matters.