An Exploration of the Multidimensional Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Students in a Spanish Single-Structure School during their Transition from Primary to Secondary Education

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly influenced youth, forcing them to endure a lengthy period of confinement and extraordinary measures of isolation and social distancing, drastically altering their daily routines and experiences. This research addresses how this health crisis has affected students during their transition from primary to secondary education in a single-structure school in Spain. Through semi structured interviews with seven students and their parents, the study explores the pandemic's impact on personal, familial, academic, and social aspects during this critical period. As a qualitative case study-style research project, this thesis delves into the memories, concerns, and critical reflections of students and their parents, examining them retrospectively. Employing Jindal-Snape's Multiple and Multidimensional Transitions (MMT) theory (Divya Jindal-Snape, 2016), the research investigates whether the pandemic exacerbated the number and severity of transitions faced by students progressing to secondary education. Findings reveal a negative and multidimensional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022) on children and their families, with uncertainty being the primary source of distress for both youths and adults. Academically, the transition to online education posed numerous challenges. Furthermore, the pandemic has presented a greater challenge in the emotional and familial realms, particularly due to the absence of grandparents, and limited social interactions with peers and friends. The in-depth interviews show that families implemented conscious and intentional strategies to counteract the pandemic's negative effects, fostering significant personal development and growth in children, as reported by themselves and their parents. At the family 1 level, spending more time at home and slowing down life's pace were also highlighted as positive effects. It is observed that academic and media narratives have primarily focused on academic losses, neglecting to measure the impact in other vital areas such as social well-being and perceived personal growth. A narrow view of the concept of learning focused only on the academic, may have contributed to this lack of recognition of the social impact of the pandemic and the inclusion of personal development as an essential part of life learning. It does not appear that the pandemic has altered the negative anticipation students have prior to the transition, nor the generally positive experience they undergo upon entering secondary education. However, it has increased both the number and intensity of transitions that students and their parents have had to navigate during this critical moment in the lives of the youth. Finally, being a single-structure school seems to mitigate some of the risk factors associated with the transition process.