Handbook of psychology volume 7 educational psychology

Conclusions and Provocations for the Field

251

1991) and social-emotional competencies such as the ability to

experience empathy and interpersonal trust (see Grusec &

Goodnow, 1994) are well-documented correlates of com-

pliance with—if not internalization of—socially valued

goals. Other factors such as students’ beliefs regarding the fair-

ness, relevance, and developmental appropriateness of teach-

ers’ goals and expectations also need to be investigated in this

regard (e.g., Smetana & Bitz, 1996). Finally, social informa-

tion processing skills that determine which social messages

and cues are attended to, how they are interpreted, and how

they are responded to are a critical component of socially com-

petent behavior (Crick & Dodge, 1994). These skills have been

widely researched in the area of peer relationships; extending

our knowledge of their influence to the realm of teacher-

student relationships and adaptation to classroom contexts is a

necessary next step in research on school adjustment.

Developmental Processes 

If the achievement of socially valued goals is accepted as a

critical component of school adjustment, investigations of

appropriate goals and expectations also must be conducted

within a developmental framework, taking into account the

age-related capabilities of the child. Issues of developmen-

tally appropriate practices have been addressed primarily at

the level of preschool education. However, a consideration of

developmental issues is critically important for students of all

ages. To illustrate, Grolnick (Grolnick et al., 1999) argues that

children face normative motivational challenges as they make

their way through school; issues of social integration define

the transition to school, the development self-regulatory skills

and positive perceptions of autonomy and competence define

the elementary years, and flexible coping and adaptation to

new environments mark the transitions into middle and high

school. The undertaking and mastery of these developmental

tasks as they relate to school activities need to be incorporated

into definitions and models of school adjustment and recog-

nized as core competencies that children need to achieve as

they progress through their school-aged years.

A developmental focus also is necessary for understanding

the demands on teachers of students of different ages. Re-

searchers (e.g., Brophy & Good, 1974; Eccles & Midgley,

1989) have observed that teachers treat students differently

and focus on different tasks and goals depending on the age

of their students. At this point, we do not know if changing

developmental needs of students or normative and societal

expectations for children at different ages drive these differ-

ences. However, if we are to understand the nature and

requirements of school adjustment, a critical look at the abili-

ties of children at different ages as well as the normative

requirements for competent classroom functioning is neces-

sary. Systematic longitudinal and experimental research is

needed to tease apart the relative contributions of children

and teachers to patterns of classroom behavior and student-

teacher interactions that appear to change across the elemen-

tary, middle school, and high school years.

Theory Building

As noted throughout this chapter, theoretically based models

of school adjustment are not well developed. In particular, the

role of context as it interacts with individual differences and

psychological processes needs careful and systematic consid-

eration. First, models need to address the possible ways in

which children and the various social systems in which

they develop—including home, peer groups, and schools—

interact to create definitions of school-related competence

(see Bronfenbrenner, 1989). In this regard, models that incor-

porate lay theories of what it means to be successful and be-

liefs concerning how success is achieved are essential (see

Ogbu, 1985; Sternberg & Kolligian, 1990). How these beliefs

change as children develop and ways in which they con-

tribute to children’s developing school-related goal hierar-

chies should be a primary target of researchers’ efforts.

Models of socialization also need to be developed with spe-

cific types of social relationship configurations in mind (e.g.,

dyads vs. groups, friendships vs. acquaintanceships) and per-

haps modified depending on whether the relationships are

with parents, peers, or teachers, and whether the target student

is in elementary, middle, or high school. Similarly, the impact

of other social context factors such as gender, race, and culture

need to be incorporated into the model. Continued research on

classroom reward structures (Ames, 1984), organizational

culture and climate (Maehr & Midgley, 1991), and person-

environment fit (Eccles & Midgley, 1989) also can inform our

understanding of how the social institutions and contexts

within which learning takes place can motivate children to

learn and behave in very specific ways.

Theoretical considerations of school adjustment also must

continue to focus on underlying psychological processes and

skills that promote the development and display of adjustment

outcomes. For example, researchers have clearly established

significant and powerful links between prosocial and socially

responsible behaviors and academic accomplishments. What

have not been identified, however, are the psychological un-

derpinnings of these behaviors. Research on skills and strate-

gies involved in emotion regulation (Eisenberg & Fabes,

1992), self-regulated learning (see the chapter by Schunk &

Zimmerman in this volume), social information processing

(Crick & Dodge, 1994), and goal coordination (Wentzel,

252

School Adjustment

1991b, 2002b) might be particularly fruitful in determining

the degree to which multiple aspects of school adjustment

(e.g., prosocial behavior, academic performance) reflect a

core set of psychological and emotional competencies as well

as the degree to which social behaviors themselves contribute

directly to learning outcomes.

Research Methods and Designs 

Our current understanding of school adjustment is based pri-

marily on correlational studies of white middle-class children.

Correlational strategies have resulted in a wealth of data that

can serve as a strong foundation for further theory building

and research. However, continued investigations in this area

would profit from extending these simple correlational de-

signs to incorporate ethnographic as well as experimental

components. For instance, understanding what constitutes

school adjustment in a classroom or broader school setting re-

quires in-depth conversations with and extensive observations

of students and teachers as they carry out their day-to-day

lives at school. In addition, identifying ways to promote

school adjustment requires careful, systematic long-term in-

tervention studies. Although such projects are rare (cf. Schaps

et al., 1997; Solomon et al., 1992), ongoing research involving

experimentation and evaluation of progress is essential if we

are to identify strategies and experiences that will improve the

lives of students in significant ways.

In addition to design considerations, researchers also need

to focus on more diverse samples. Although it is likely that

the underlying psychological processes that contribute to

school adjustment are similar for all students regardless of

race, ethnicity, gender, or other contextual and demographic

variables, the degree to which these latter factors interact with

psychological processes to influence adjustment outcomes is

not known. For instance, goal coordination skills might be

more important for the adjustment of children from minority

backgrounds than for children who come from families and

communities whose goals and expectations are similar to

those of the educational establishment (e.g., Fordham &

Ogbu, 1986; Phelan et al., 1991). Peer relationship skills

might be especially important for adjustment in schools

where peer cultures are particularly strong or where collabo-

rative and cooperative learning is emphasized. Achieving a

better understanding of such interactions deserves our full at-

tention. Similarly, definitions of competence and adjustment

are likely to vary as a function of race, gender, neighborhood,

or family background. Expanding our database to include the

voices of underrepresented populations can only enrich our

understanding of how and why children make successful

adaptations to school.

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