For many
students, the transition to middle school is a particularly daunting event because of the shift
in emphasis from the supportive, mastery-based orientation typical of elementary schools to
a performance-focused setting characterized by increased expectations for academic
productivity, more intensive and teacher-directed instruction, and a greater focus on
normative comparisons and high-stakes outcomes (Eccles et al., 1993; Midgley & Edelin,
1998; Schunk & Miller, 2002; Zimmerman, 2002)