ABSTRACT
Approximately 6 million children between the ages of 5 and 13 transfer to new schools each year (Cornille, Bayer, & Smyth, 1983). For years, concerned educators and parents have sought to learn the effects of such mobility on children's adjustment and achievement. Although the literature is somewhat mixed on this important issue, it is possible to identify a subset of transfer students who are at-risk for academic failure. For such children, transfer represents a stressor that combines with vulnerabilities in academic areas and other environmental life stressors. A majority of school systems have developed orientation programs to ease the transition process. Among strategies used are helping the newcomers reach higher academic levels through tutoring, providing buddies who inform the transfer students about the schools' customs and routines, and offering group discussions to share experiences. Although the proliferation in recent years of these programs is an encouraging development, few if any of these interventions have been evaluated systematically.
