Expectations on the Transition From Primary to Secondary Education for Students From Contexts of Social Vulnerability

Expectativas sobre la transición desde la educación básica a la educación media de estudiantes provenientes de contextos de vulnerabilidad social

Gabriela Gómez Vera, Marlene Rivas Muena, y Constanza Lobos Guerrero
Universidad de O’Higgins, Chile.

Abstract

This article examines the perspectives of young people, family members, teachers, and principals that support the process of transition from primary to secondary education for eighth-grade students in schools with high levels of social vulnerability. It analyzes the role and expectations of actors that support this transition, as well as the expectations of the young people themselves and those of their families. A total of 32 students and 12 of their mothers were interviewed, in addition to teachers and school principals. The analysis of these interviews reveals that, regardless of their levels of achievement, all of the students expect to complete secondary education and successfully join the labor market. The adult references for these students are almost exclusively their families, and their accounts make no mention of actors from the school. Meanwhile, principals and teachers have low expectations regarding the educational future of the eighth-grade students and believe it to be a level of education on which they have little potential impact. In this context, students experience the transition to secondary education with little support from the schools, which, in addition to the low expectations, jeopardizes the success of this transition.

Keywords: Educational transitions; educational trajectories; primary education; secondary education; aspirations.

Resumen

Este estudio aborda las perspectivas de jóvenes, familiares, docentes y directivos que acompañan el proceso de transición desde la educación primaria a la secundaria de estudiantes de octavo año básico en establecimientos de alta vulnerabilidad social. Se analizan el rol y las expectativas de los actores que acompañan esta transición, así como las expectativas de los propios jóvenes y sus familias. Se entrevistaron 32 jóvenes, así como las madres de 12 de ellos, docentes y directivos. Los análisis muestran que, más allá de su rendimiento, todos los estudiantes esperan completar la educación secundaria e integrarse exitosamente en el mundo laboral. El referente casi exclusivo de los jóvenes son sus familias; los docentes y otros actores del establecimiento escolar están ausentes de sus relatos. Los directivos y docentes, por su parte, tienen bajas expectativas respecto del futuro educativo de los estudiantes de octavo año, y consideran que se trata de un nivel en el que tienen pocas posibilidades de impactar. En este contexto, los jóvenes viven la transición a la educación media con escaso acompañamiento por parte de los establecimientos, lo que, sumado a las bajas expectativas, supone una situación que pone en riesgo el éxito de esta transición.

Palabras clave: transiciones educativas; trayectorias educativas; educación primaria; educación secundaria; expectativas.

Gabriela Gómez Vera

Alameda Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins 611, Universidad de O’Higgins, Rancagua, Chile.

gabriela.gomez@uoh.cl

Financiamiento asociado: Proyecto Fondecyt iniciación 11150209 (ANID, Gobierno de Chile).

Expectations on the transition process in educational trajectories

The school trajectory is comprised of different levels of education, including preschool, primary, and secondary education. As a student advances with their schooling, they experience stages, events, and transitions that will determine their educational trajectory and can also have an impact on other domains (Bernardi, Huinink, & Settersten, 2019). It is possible to understand these processes from the perspective of life trajectories or a life course approach (Blanco, 2011). Based on this approach, the life course is understood as the juxtaposition of biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors that act interdependently, interactively, and cumulatively (Hutchison, 2019). These numerous interactions also imply multiple possible paths traveled by the subjects. This approach emphasizes how the life trajectory of an individual constitutes a unit in which what happens during a period of experience is decisive for the subsequent trajectory (Hutchison, 2019).

The research underlines the strong link between people’s life experiences, the institutional frameworks in which they develop, and the specific socio-historical contexts on which this process depends (Sepúlveda, 2013). This means recognizing that these trajectories are affected by macro structures and individual capacity for action in the context of biographical experiences (Heinz & Krüger, 2001). Thus, from the study of trajectories (Tilleczek, 2008), it can be observed how subjects construct the meaning of their lives based on the various changes in their experiences. In this context, school trajectories are part of the multiple experiences that comprise the life course and which are therefore influenced by factors of various kinds (Newman, 2020).

During a subject’s life course, the different domains of the social spectrum form their particular trajectories, which can be juxtaposed with one other, as well as analyzed separately. In modern societies, the educational domain is highly institutionalized, and in such a way that it organizes the subjects’ experience. Specifically, in the educational system, children and young people are organized into educational stages or levels that are differentiated by age groups and teaching objectives. Therefore, all of those who are in the school system have to study different levels progressively and experience processes of transition in their educational trajectories.

Transitions within the educational trajectory

Transitions refer to changes that affect a subject’s life course, which can originate in their development (biological or psychological changes) or in contextual aspects (social or cultural changes). In this respect, transitions consist of the sequence of changes during the life course regarding variables that affect the life trajectory (life course) of the subjects (Billett et al., 2012; Wingens & Reiter, 2012; Newman, 2020). Adolescence is a period that is particularly marked by the sequence of profound life changes that affect individuals, which lead to a series of critical transitions (Newman, 2020; Tilleczek & Ferguson, 2007), including the educational transitions that involve advancing through the structure of the educational levels. This transition occurs in juxtaposition with other activities or transitions that form part of the student’s life course and which therefore influence their definition as a subject (Tilleczek, 2008). Specifically, the transition from primary to secondary education has a persistent effect on later life in terms of the roles, status, or identities that individuals assume in relation to their environment (Jindal-Snape, Symonds, Hannah, & Barlow, 2019; Rogoff, Turkanis, & Bartlett, 2001). From the perspective of individual development, the transition from one educational level to another has an impact on people’s social development, their view of themselves, and their ability to acquire new skills and knowledge (Colley, 2009). In this regard, it has been argued that positive promotion of educational transitions enables students to adapt better with the teachers, peers, content, and methodologies in their new environments, promoting the development of learning, skills and social competencies, as well as improving educational outcomes (Brooker, 2008).

Expectations of adults and the school regarding students’ transition process

Research on transitions from primary to secondary education has tended to focus on the experience of the students themselves and the factors that influence that process (Jindal-Snape et al., 2019; Tilleczek & Ferguson, 2007). Emphasis is placed on the difference between primary culture and secondary culture (Hargreaves, Earl, Moore, & Manning, 2001) and the factors that can determine a positive academic trajectory for students. These factors include the teacher-student relationship, relationships with peers, personal beliefs, and emotional factors (Escudero, González, & Martínez, 2009; Monarca, Rappoport, & González, 2012; Rodríguez Montoya, 2016; Jindal-Snape & Cantali, 2019). Various authors affirm the importance of academic self-perception in these trajectories, as well as the aspirations of the students themselves (Eccles & Roeser, 2009; Jindal-Snape & Miller, 2009, Jindal-Snape & Cantali, 2019). In this respect, it is the parents who contribute to shaping the aspirations of their children in the initial years of their academic trajectory (Sewell, Hauser, Springer, & Hauser, 2003), while other adult references or significant adults shape the educational expectations of the students (Lerner et al., 1996).

Teachers play a key role in school culture (Flores & Marini, 2019). For this reason, teachers’ expectations are a factor that affects various levels of learning development (Makuc, 2008). The studies reviewed focus on the experiences of students, or concentrate on revealing the characteristics of the secondary education system that need to be improved in order to better support the transition process (Jindal-Snape, Cantali, MacGillivray, & Hannah, 2019). The studies carried out therefore agree that work must be done on the differences between the two levels to reduce the negative consequences of the changes that the process involves. However, they have not focused on examining the influence of the expectations, perceptions, and beliefs of the schools during this period, even though they are acknowledged to be key factors. Investigating the expectations and discourses of adults who can act as references for students therefore explores an aspect of the transition process that complements the perspectives on this subject that have been studied previously.

The transition from primary to secondary education in Chile

In Chile, the General Education Law (Nº 20,370) establishes compulsory education lasting 12 years, which has increased levels of education coverage in the country. This means that there is an obligation to attend primary and secondary education, with a mandatory transition process between the two levels. Specifically, the transition from primary to secondary education has been identified as one of the most critical transitions in the Chilean school system (Dávila, Ghiardo, & Medrano, 2005; Raczynski, Hernández, Kegevic, & Rocco, 2011), which has negative consequences for academic performance and student dropout rates (Treviño, Villalobos, Hernández, Vielma, & Valenzuela, 2016). Studies such as that conducted by Hernández and Raczynski (2014) also highlight the situation of students in rural areas and those in the educational system who are most vulnerable. Vulnerability refers to conditions that affect not only school results, but which also imply lower access to medical care, culture, recreation, and a generally lower quality of life (Yoshikawa, Aber, & Beardslee, 2012). In this respect, the results of the SIMCE test indicate that not only are there decreases in the academic results of students throughout their educational trajectory, which are intensified in lower socioeconomic groups, but indicators of “self-esteem and motivation” also follow the same trend (Agency for the Quality of Education (ACE), 2017).

In this context, factors such as the expectations of the students and the adults who support the transition process can be decisive, in terms of providing continuity to, limiting, or transforming a trajectory. This paper aims to study a specific moment in time during the educational trajectory of a vulnerable group of students at municipal schools in Chile. Specifically, we observe how the expectations of the actors (principals, teachers, students, and their families) who follow the life course and accompany the transition from primary to secondary education are deployed. The results shown in this article were generated as part of a study on the determinants of academic success and the trajectories of eighth-grade students from vulnerable contexts in the O’Higgins region of Chile (Gómez & Rivas, 2017).

Methodology

In general terms, we carried out quantitative and qualitative procedures in successive stages with recurrences. As a consequence, we used a mixed research design, since it involved collecting and analyzing relevant quantitative data and case studies involving a variety of informants (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005; Woodside, 2010; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009).

Participants

In order to identify the sample, we used the IVE-SINAE index, which measures the vulnerability of the school according to the proportion of students at social risk in the country’s educational establishments. As shown in Table 1, the proportion of vulnerability in the O’Higgins region is close to the national average, which is significant, since it is a region that has been understudied until now1.

Table 1
Comparison of the vulnerability index of Chilean schools in 2017 according to the regional and national average
.

O’Higgins Region

Metropolitan Region

National average

Vulnerability in primary education establishments

78%

70%

80%

In order to focus the sample on highly vulnerable schools, we calculated the top 25% of the IVE-SINAE index in the region (>89%). The sample included municipal-run schools and we sought to maintain the proportions, taking into account the provinces into which the region is divided in administrative terms. A total of 127 educational establishments met these criteria for the 2017 school year. Schools with particularly small enrollment (>15 students enrolled) were not included in the sample. Of these, a group of six schools was created (two from each province, three of them rural) that constituted the sample for the study. At the individual level, the sample consisted of 192 eighth-grade students.

Table 2
Characterization of establishments participating in the study
.

Province

Urban/Rural

Total enrollment 2017

Enrollment in eighth grade

IVE-SINAE 2017

Case 1

Cachapoal

Urban

293

20

0.91

Case 4

Cachapoal

Urban

558

58

0.88

Case 2

Cardenal Caro

Rural

56

3

0.88

Case 3

Cardenal Caro

Rural

110

9

0.96

Case 5

Colchagua

Rural

171

18

0.88

Case 6

Colchagua

Urban

713

108

0.88

Procedures

Questionnaires were applied in each school to investigate the associated trajectories, transitions, protective factors, and risk factors. Questions were also included in the questionnaire to identify the characteristics of the family group, its composition, income level, and the occupations of both parents. We used the Progressive and Linguistic Complexity Reading Comprehension Test (CLP by the Spanish acronym) to assess performance in reading comprehension. This is a standardized and validated instrument in Chile and is widely known to teachers in the school system. In a second phase of the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 32 students according to the distribution of their performance on the CLP test: 12 high-achieving students, 12 average-achieving students, and eight low-achieving students. Of this group, we interviewed the mothers of 11 students, five of high-achievers, five of medium-achievers, and two of low-achievers. We also interviewed five principals of the participating schools and five Language and Communication teachers from each course of the school whose students took part in the study (see Appendix: Interview guidelines).

The field research was carried out between August and November 2017. First, the principals of the schools were invited to participate, and they facilitated contact with eighth-grade teachers, parents, and students. All of the participants were informed about the objectives of the research, their rights as participants, and the commitment to privacy of the information collected. All of the participants signed informed consent forms, which were previously validated by the ethics committee of the sponsoring university. The interviews were conducted in schools, in offices provided by the administration.

The results of this paper are focused on thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of the semi-structured interviews. The analysis process was carried out using double coding based on topics of interest for the study objective (expectations about the students, image of the actors, the role of the school, and the role of the family). After a first coding process using the Nvivo 11 software, the analysis team compared and adjusted the codes to increase the level of agreement reached (Kappa 0.84). Subsequently, all of the data was encoded. The results of the thematic analysis of the interviews are shown below.

Results

Discourse of students on the transition and supporting agents

Considering the expectations, the analysis focused on the academic aspirations of the students, asking them about their immediate and future projections. These were categorized depending on whether they referred to the secondary or tertiary level, respectively. With regard to immediate projections, eighth grade has been the final grade of Chilean primary education since 2017. In order to enroll in the subsequent grade, families apply to three secondary schools, to which they are randomly assigned. In this context, during the information-gathering period, the young people were in the process of applying to secondary schools and expressed some uncertainty regarding the following year: “I’m going to see which high school I get in to, because as it is on the internet now, it’s not the high school I want” (Stu. Case 22). No explicit questions were asked in order to assess the application process in the interviews. The young people were asked which schools they were applying to and what their expectations were of the secondary schools. In this regard—and not differentiating between the students considering the academic performance they achieved on the reading comprehension test—they were generally optimistic about continuing secondary education. However, and in spite of the importance that the literature attributes to the support of the adults that form the school community, in their narratives about the application process, the students made no mention of any adults, relatives, or school staff who had supported or facilitated the process.

Chilean secondary education is divided into two areas: humanistic-scientific secondary schools, whose goal is to prepare students for university education, and technical-vocational high schools, which provide an occupational specialization at the end of the four years of secondary education. Of the group of students interviewed regarding their future projections, only two (belonging to the group with the highest performance on the reading comprehension test) explicitly stated that they had opted for humanistic-scientific education in order to study at university subsequently. Most of the young people declared their preference for technical-vocational studies, which would allow them to obtain a profession. Their arguments for choosing technical secondary schools mentioned the need to improve their material and symbolic conditions in the future: “So I can become someone in life, I can be someone; I’m not going to be someone who doesn’t have anything, who doesn’t have a profession, who doesn’t have a good life” (Stu. case 1); “If I don’t study something, I’d have nothing. Besides, in the third year, you have to choose your specialty at the secondary school. So, if I don’t study, I don’t know what I’d do” (Stu. Case 2). The young people also place emphasis on increasing the learning they have achieved so far: “If it doesn’t go well for me now, it’ll be impossible for me to do well in the future if I haven’t learned what I need here” (Stu. case 6). There were only two cases in which the students saw secondary education as the last stage of their studies and had opted for other goals, such as being a professional soccer player or applying to the police or military academy. These were students who had shown lower performances on the reading comprehension test.

In several cases, these decisions included references to the families of the students, both regarding the choice of the educational establishment and the specialties to study: “I’ve got a brother … he’s done well at that high school, he is going to leave 12th grade [pause]; he’s done various things with iron, a machine gun, a helicopter” (Stu. Case 2); “I: Why do you like mechanics? Stu.: Because my dad, my cousin, my brother, my grandpa are mechanics” (Stu. Case 6). “I still want to go to [name of the establishment] because my mom was there too” (Stu. Case 5). In none of the interviews did the students mention teachers or other professional staff from their schools as references or informants regarding their choices for secondary education.

At another point in the interview, the young people were asked to talk about the adults they admire, specifically in their family and school environment. As already pointed out, in the context of transition, the presence of adults who act as references for young people is a key factor. In their discourse, regardless of their results on the reading comprehension test, the students stated that they admired their mothers, fathers, or both. For example, a student referring to his parents said he admired them because “they’re like a bigger figure than me, I want to be like them” (Stu. Case 6). In another case, a student stated that that she admired her mother because

She’s managed to get by alone, without anyone’s help. I: And of the other adults that you know, apart from your family, is there anyone else that you admire? Stu: [Doubt] No. I: Just your mom? Stu: She’s the heroine (Stu. Case 6).

When they are asked to name a second adult they admire, other adults in the family are mentioned, such as grandparents, uncles, or siblings. Teachers, meanwhile, were only mentioned as admired adults in three cases, and only when this second deepening question was asked, but never first or as the focus of the narrative.

Considering this evidence, we ask ourselves what the discourses of the principals and teachers that support the transition process mention regarding the future academic expectations of these young people and what role they play.

Expectations of principals and teachers regarding the transition

We observe that the academic expectations that the principals of the educational establishments have for the students who are in transition are mainly defined by their academic results, either in terms of their grades or their results on standardized tests. In this context, the SIMCE (system for measuring the quality of education in Chile) is a recurring reference in the narratives: “P: In eighth grade, we’re also improving, less than in fourth grade, but we’re also improving in terms of reading comprehension. We’ve risen by several points” (P. Case 2); “We hope that this course, at least, exceeds the national average ... It’s like a challenge for the course. I: And do they see it that way? P: They see it that way” (P. Case 4). When using the SIMCE results to support their statements regarding the academic quality of the students, it is inferred that the account is constructed considering that the results of these assessments are decisive in the success of the students’ academic trajectories.

Meanwhile, the principals’ discourse shows the greatest doubts regarding the academic development of the students who are beginning the transition:

The fourth grade, third grade, they’re courses that are quite motivated regarding the issue of reading. I: And what about the eighth and the seventh grades? P: It’s been hard for the eighth and seventh grades … although we have the hope that that course exceeds the national average at least (P. Case 2).

In another case, one of the principals states: “Eighth grade is a course that has a fair amount of potential, but it depends on the motivation, whether they make the effort to get a good result or not …. So, they’re not doing badly, I don’t think they’ll do too badly” (P. Case 1).

It is noteworthy that the principals state that the students could face academic difficulties in secondary education, but without revealing any responsibility regarding this fact at the same time: “Some drop out in ninth or 10th grade because they find it demanding… because the foundations with which they arrive aren’t the most solid” (P. Case 2). One specific case is a school that has an evening program for remedial studies, where students who graduated from primary education at the same school frequently return to complete their secondary education at night: “What happens is that, down the road, these children who fail in daytime education come to our evening classes and finish 12th grade with us …. They end up here by different routes …. It’s like coming home” (P. Case 1). The principal’s account of the school fails to establish a relationship between the students’ failure in secondary education and the teaching work carried out in primary education.

The teachers’ discourse refers less frequently to academic performance; instead, they often mention the emotional aspects of the young people, talking about difficulties with continuing due to lack of interest, students who are lazy or who lack support (they don’t have support from the home) or responsible family members: “We have 100% rural parents and guardians … work has been done to take them out of this context a little bit… that work doesn’t necessarily have to be in agriculture” (T. Case 4). In light of this, the teachers’ reaction is to discursively reinforce the motivation of the young people through dialogue: “We’ve talked a lot; that is, interventions have been made with the two eighth grades” (T. Case 2); “We have great hope for lots of students, in fact, we tell everyone that they’re capable” (T. Case 1); “I try to show them that I’m confident in them, just like the principal and all of the teachers do” (T. Case 4).

In this context, the teachers’ discourse is also one of low expectations. When they are asked about the future academic performance of the young people, the teachers’ answers tend to downplay their possibilities: “I: And how do you expect the eighth grade to do academically? T: I don’t think they’re going to be brilliant [pause], but not badly either” (T. Case 6); “I: And, in general, as a course, how do you think they will do at the end of the year? T: [We have] two students who could repeat the year [pause], but the others aren’t particularly exceptional either” (T. Case 1).

The role of the school in the transition

According to the data analysis, two categories are revealed that consider the role of the families and that of the educational agents in the educational trajectory of the children. The families of all of the students see the school as figure to train children and young people. Because of their context of vulnerability and the precarious conditions in which they develop, the families are unable to provide systematic academic support to the students (due to lack of time, lack of knowledge to support academic work, etc.), so they delegate the task of support for this trajectory to the school and its actors. Therefore, in most cases, there are no strategies to provide academic support for students at home or the promotion of certain skills or knowledge. In the case of families who recognize that the student has good grades, they are concerned about supporting him/her with his/her studies or schoolwork.

On the other hand, the discourse of the school actors shows that there are no strategies intended to motivate eighth-grade students; instead, the programs that do exist are aimed at the early grades of primary education. That said, in cases where there are strategies, they are focused on improving the indicators of the educational establishment, such as attendance or the scores obtained on the SIMCE test:

We’ve been working on self-esteem, telling them about all the benefits regarding the classification of the school, explaining to them what they are, that they have to leave a legacy for their classmates, because they’ve already received the benefits that came from other previous successes (P. Case 1).

In addition to this, the actors from the schools in the sample state that they have stopped working with the families, due to low participation or because doing so implies difficulties for them:

And we had to learn, and it’s a strength, to work without the support of the parent; the child learns during the eight hours that they’re here. Small amounts of homework, because we know that they either don’t have the means or don’t have anyone to help them (P. Case 1).

As a consequence, work with students and families, and the focus of these actions together, depends on the efforts of the principal, who may be changed every four years. When there is a change in this position, it often means that the principal’s main concern will be working with children in the lower grades, in order to “start with them from scratch” (T. Case 4). On the other hand, the initiatives that teachers might have to work with students at these levels cannot lead to major impacts, since they are not part of an institutional project.

Conclusions

This study describes the importance of the transition from primary to secondary education within the framework of the educational trajectories of the young subjects. The literature review revealed the extent to which a positive transition can lead to a change in the educational trajectory of young people. In turn, this allows us to highlight the impact that the educational communities that support this process of transition can have on life courses. In light of this scenario, it is important to observe the students who are close to transitioning from primary to secondary education. We have focused specifically on the expectations that students have about their academic future and the correlation generated by the principals, teachers, and the families, as well as the role that the school institution has regarding this process.

We can see that the expectations analyzed are part of an educational transition that is highly organized according to legal regulations and that, in the case of municipal education in Chile, involves physically moving from a primary educational institution to a different secondary school, with only few exceptions. The social group observed is a highly vulnerable population in economic and social terms, but also with respect to its geographical area, being closely linked to the agro-industrial context.

As regards the expectations of students experiencing the transition, we observe that, notwithstanding the differences in their performance on the applied language test, all of them have positive expectations about their progress to secondary education, even projecting themselves in tertiary education and future employment. With respect to the latter, the importance they give in their narratives to the type of secondary education they will receive is interesting. In this sense, a large proportion of those interviewed hope to study technical-vocational education in order to obtain a qualification that will allow them to enter the working world after graduating from secondary education. This finding gives even greater relevance to the process of transition from primary to secondary education for this group of young people, as well as to the question about the role that their educational communities play in that process, particularly if we consider that the fundamental and almost exclusive references for the projection of these students in secondary education are their close relatives, as their discourses make almost no mention of the actors in the school environment.

Specifically, the expectations of the adults regarding the success of young people in their educational trajectory is a relevant and prominent factor in the literature. However, this study demonstrates that principals and teachers at schools that serve highly vulnerable students have low expectations regarding the educational future of eighth-grade students. In the narratives of the principals and teachers, they doubt the success of the students’ academic trajectories. The principals frequently refer to the results of standardized assessments as a reference to downplay possible success. The teachers, meanwhile, make mention of emotional factors outside the academic context. In their narratives, the teachers have average or low expectations regarding the future academic development of the students. This is deepened by the schools’ view that eighth grade is a level at which primary school policies have only a reduced chance of making an impact.

With regard to the role of the family, the accounts reveal that there is a disconnect between the experience of the students and the school educational experience. While the family is the main reference for young people, the parents trust the role of the school. Meanwhile, the principals and teachers dismiss the role of the family, believing that it is not relevant to the school experience of young people. This view is frequently associated with the rural characteristics and vulnerability of the families.

As a consequence, the analysis of the agents’ roles shows that, for eighth-grade students, both the family and the school neglect to provide academic support for the transition. In the case of families, this is not because of a lack of interest, but instead due to a lack of academic resources to support the students. On the other hand, schools see eighth grade as a level on which they have little influence, preferring instead to focus their resources on the lower grades. This situation creates a vacuum in the school social space, where the emphasis is placed on the agency of the students as the main driver for the development of positive academic trajectories.

There is no evidence in the case studies of the existence of an institutional policy or project that promotes support for young people during the transition to secondary education. Support for students is subject to the personal initiatives of the adults who accompany them, the actions of whom are not coordinated. In this context, the success of the transition and, consequently, the positive development of young people’s trajectories, is jeopardized. Part of this project should include the family, given its role as a reference for the trajectories of young people. In this respect, we can hypothesize that efforts to foster alignment between the family and the school could have a positive impact on these trajectories, thus improving the current state of this process according to the results of this study and their connection to the literature on this topic.

The original paper was received on October 3rd, 2019
The reviewed paper was received on April 1st, 2020
The paper was accepted on June 18th, 2020

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Appendix.

In-depth interviews, topics and concepts discussed.

Topic

Sub-topic

The school as a protective environment

Perception of the school as a protective space

Perception of vulnerability in the school environment

Extracurricular activities

Image and expectations of the actors

Expectations of children’s academic achievement

Image of parents as models of resilience

Image of other adults or peers as models of resilience

School trajectories

Experiences of resilience

Situations of resilience at the family or individual level

Positive experiences lived at the family or individual level

Academic self-image

Self-perception of the children as students

Study strategies for academic challenges

Sociodemographic characteristics

Health conditions of the child or their family

Housing conditions of the child and their family

Environment of the educational space

Membership of ethnic minority, migratory processes, gender, religious group, social organization

Time

Use of time over the last year

Use of time at home

Access to and availability of resources

Availability of material resources for study at home

Access to school

Availability of resources and materials at school

Background of teachers

Profile of the teachers (training, years of experience, courses on which they teach, subjects)

Institutional background

School policies for resilient students

Targeted school policies for vulnerable students


1. A large proportion of education research on this subject in Chile takes the Metropolitan Region as a reference, or does not differentiate between that region and the others. The lower proportion of vulnerability in the Metropolitan Region could be explained by the higher proportion of educational establishments that serve the country's economic elite.

2. Stu. = student, I = Interviewer; P = Principal, T = Teacher, PG = Parent or Guardian.