Written by: Maddie Seper, Crystal Williams, Ph.D., & Robyn DiPietro, Ed.M.
Throughout childhood and adolescence, all students experience many changes and transitions. However, military-connected youth are a population that experiences unique changes over the course of their lives. According to the Military Child Education Coalition (2017), military-connected students move a vast amount throughout their childhood, much more than their civilian peers. This can include a change in schools, cities, states, and sometimes, countries. These frequent changes, while unavoidable, can be challenging for students and impact them in many ways.
Frequent geographic moves may impact the peer relationships of military-connected students. Research shows, “…many students described that the inevitable ending of close relationships led them to avoid making close connections with peers at new schools,” meaning students may avoid developing relationships altogether (Ruff & Keim, 2014, p. 105). Similarly, students may not have opportunities to explore relationships with their peers outside of school, as military-connected students can have a difficult time participating in established extracurricular activities, such as sports teams (Ruff & Keim, 2014). The inability to participate in extracurriculars can create a barrier for military-connected students in not only establishing connections with peers who have similar interests, but also in forming lasting friendships.
Additionally, frequent moves can impact military-connected youth’s education. One challenge these students may face is a lack of “reciprocity between sending and receiving schools,” (MCEC, 2017, p. 8). This means that transient military families may experience different instruction, standards, and even curricula. New teachers who may be unfamiliar with a student’s past education can lead to the student’s frustration, as the student must re-establish themselves academically and as an individual. There are also inevitable stressors military-connected students may face when frequently changing schools, such as deployment of a family member, social pressures in a new school environment, and uncertainty of future moves (MCEC, 2017). These stressors may impact attention, desire to complete tasks, and anxiety related to school.
Despite these challenges, there are ways educators and other academic professionals can help students feel supported in new environments. Having a clear school culture and framework for supporting military-connected youth is one way to promote a comfortable environment for new students (PennState, 2025). Given that schools have differing policies (e.g., attendance, academic expectations) this can be difficult for transient military-connected students. An evidence-based approach of data storytelling can be used to promote consistency across schools (PennState, 2025). Through data-storytelling, schools rely on the local data that exists for military-connected youth so that there are similar approaches and practices used when working with military-connected youth. Using data storytelling, schools can have an agreed upon flexible attendance policy and social-emotional plans to implement when working with military-connected students. Creating similar environments across contexts can help foster a culture that seeks to understand and support military youth and their families. Additionally, having a similar framework for working with military-connected youth and their families creates a system of support that can help alleviate the stressors and uncertainties that military families face.
This is just some of the existing knowledge and research regarding military-connected youth, the challenges they may face, and ideas for how school personnel can provide support. We encourage you to be a part of the Military Family Readiness Academy to discover how you can support military-connected youth well-being! To learn more and register for the Academy, click here.
References
Military Child Education Coalition. (2017). The challenges of supporting highly mobile, military-connected children in school transitions: The current environment. https://www.militarychild.org/upload/files/resources/Military_Student_Transitions_Study_2017.pdf
PennState Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness. (2025, April 11). Supporting military-connected students in schools: A framework for success. School Resources to Support Military-Connected Students. https://schoolresources.militaryfamilies.psu.edu/blog/2025/04/
Ruff, S. B., & Keim, M. A. (2014). Revolving Doors: The impact of multiple school transitions on military children. Professional Counselor, 4(2), 103-113. https:doi.org/10.15241/sbr.4.2.103
Image Credit: Storyblocks.com, CC0
