Abstract

This article analyzes how students deal with deep changes in methodology and didactics when they transition from innovative primary rural schools to mainstream secondary high schools in Gipuzkoa, a southwestern European region. The research was based on two case studies using qualitative methodology. Data was collected from sixteen focus groups, sixty-eight hours of classroom observation, and the activity analysis of primary grade six and secondary grade one student notebooks. The results suggest that changes in methodology and didactics were the most important concerns, and, in fact, the collected evidence suggests that deep changes took place in terms of methodology and didactics when transitioning from primary to secondary school. Furthermore, the elements facilitating and hampering transitions were identified. Nonetheless, students were found to adapt to the new situation in a few months, as long as there were no additional academic or social difficulties, which were considered to be mainly individual problems. Moreover, evidence suggests that preoccupations about the compatibility between methodologies might not be the best leading idea, and, instead, the challenge of overcoming academic and social difficulties may be more appropriate to lead to future improvements.