The Young Adolescent and the Middle School


Book Description

(Sponsored by the Middle Level Education Research SIG and the National Middle School Association) The Young Adolescent and the Middle School focuses on issues related to the nature of young adolescence and the intersection of young adolescence with middle level schooling. This volume of the Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education marks the sixth installment in the series. The Handbook series, begun in 2001 by Vince Anfara, the series editor, has addressed varying thematic issues important to middle level education research. This volume, The Young Adolescent and the Middle School, focuses on the unique developmental needs of young adolescents and the role of the middle school in attending to these needs. The contributing authors in this volume address one of three developmental areas critical to young adolescents—physical development, intellectual/cognitive development, or social and personal development—and how these developmental characteristics affect the educational environment and the organization of middle schools.




Successful Schools for Young Adolescents


Book Description

At a time when the public, researchers, and policymakers are losing confidence in public schooling, this presentation of case studies of four schools offers solutions and concrete models of diverse ways in which excellence can be attained in middle-grade schools. Asking what "effectiveness" means for the young adolescent age group (a hitherto unexplored area in research literature), how effective schools come about, and how they achieve acceptance in their communities, Lipsitz identifies and examines successful middle-grade schools, noting that the major problem in schooling is meeting the massive individual differences in the development of early adolescents.




Young Adolescents and the Middle Schools They Need


Book Description

This textbook offers comprehensive information for middle level educators on understanding and addressing the unique challenges and opportunities in teaching students in grades 5–9. It illuminates the unique developmental processes of this population—physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and identity searches—and presents strategies for fostering their healthy overall growth. Drawing from neuroscience and psychological research, early chapters provide descriptions of middle schoolers’ developmental characteristics, while the remaining chapters delve into instructional, curricular, and assessment processes that match young adolescents’ needs. Together they create an extensive and distinct roadmap for designing effective schools for young adolescents. The personal thoughts of students including those of the Global Majority, those who are LGBTQIA+, and students who are immigrants are provided, with suggestions for how teachers should respond to their experiences and needs. An emphasis on equity and the importance of promoting racial, social, and gender justice in schools is also a focus throughout, as well as the encompassing effect of modern technology and the internet on adolescents’ learning and psyches. Ideal for courses in middle level education and young adolescent development, this book supports preservice teachers to be well prepared to meet their middle level students’ learning needs, both from a developmental and equitable lens. Inservice teachers working in the middle level will also gain an up-to-date perspective on young adolescent developmental trends and teaching strategies that best support their students.




Boxed in and Bored


Book Description

Many young adolescents, possibly as many as half, feel boxed in and bored in their middle schools. Research suggests that schools, parents, and the rest of the community must do more to make middle schools places where young adolescents thrive. In spite of the emergence of the junior high school and later the middle school in the 20th century, gaps still exist in understanding how context, culture, and environmental change affect young adolescents. Nevertheless, there has been significant progress in the past 25 years, and slightly more than half of middle schools today seem to be using practices that are exactly what experts say is needed for excellence. Developmentally responsive middle schools are characterized by educators committed to young adolescents, a shared vision, high expectations for all, an adult advocate for every student, family and community partnerships, and a positive school climate. Responsive middle schools provide: (1) challenging, integrative, and exploratory curriculum; (2) varied teaching and learning approaches; (3) assessment and evaluation that promote learning; (4) flexible organizational structures; (5) programs and policies that foster health, wellness, and safety; and (6) comprehensive guidance and support services. A discussion of the characteristics of normal adolescence emphasizes the ways these school characteristics and schools can mesh. Support through caring relationships with family and unrelated adults is the single most important asset young adolescents can have. Schools and communities need supportive teachers and other adults to present a shared vision for success. (Contains 88 references.) (SLD)




This We Believe-- and Now We Must Act


Book Description

In 1995, the National Middle School Association published a position paper defining foundational characteristics of developmentally responsive middle schools and program components that would create the kind of schools young adolescents need and deserve. This book provides a comprehensive, whole vision of schooling for the middle grades and makes more practical and accessible the basic concepts set forth in the 1995 position paper. The chapters are: (1) "The Imperative to Act" (Thomas O. Erb); (2) "Educators Committed to Young Adolescents" (C. Kenneth McEwin and Thomas S. Dickinson); (3) "Developing and Implementing a 'Shared Vision'" (Sue Swaim); (4) "High Expectations for All" (John Arnold); (5) "Advisory: Advocacy for Every Student" (Ross M. Burkhardt); (6) "School, Family, and Community Partnerships" (Joyce L. Epstein); (7) "A Positive School Climate" (Marion Johnson Payne); (8) "Curriculum That Is Challenging, Integrative, and Exploratory" (Chris Stevenson); (9) "Varied Teaching and Learning Approaches" (Barbara L. Brodhagen); (10) "Assessment and Evaluation that Promote Learning" (Gordon F. Vars); (11) "Flexible Organizational Structures" (Deborah Kasak); (12) "Programs and Policies that Foster Health, Wellness, and Safety" (Jean Schultz); and (13) "Comprehensive Guidance and Support Services" (Sherrel Bergmann). All chapters contain references. (KB)




Promoting Harmony


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This We Believe


Book Description




Middle School Ministry


Book Description

Many people run scared from the middle school youth room. But (thankfully!) there are people out there who are actually drawn to those young teens. Although often times they’re not equipped to deal with the unique challenges that middle school ministry presents, or they’re just not sure what to do when a room full of young teens (who are “part child, but not quite adult”) are running around the youth room. Finally, there’s a comprehensive guide to middle school ministry, from two veterans of this unchartered territory. Mark Oestreicher and Scott Rubin help youth workers understand the importance of middle school ministry, the development process for young teens and their implications for ministry, and how to best minister to these sometimes misunderstood students. They share their experiences (as middle school pastors and parents of middle schoolers), giving youth workers he encouragement, hope, and training they need to succeed in middle school ministry.




What Current Research Says to the Middle Level Practitioner


Book Description

This volume provides recent research findings on important topics related to the still-expanding middle school movement. They are divided into seven parts, addressing teaching/learning, curriculum, teacher education, social context, organization, leaderships, and issues and future directions. Following an introduction to middle level education research, by Irvin and Hough, the chapters are: (1) "Young Adolescent Development" (Eccles and Wigfield); (2) "Enhancing Self-Concept/Self-Esteem in Young Adolescents" (Lipka); (3) "Motivation and Middle School Students" (Anderman and Midgley); (4) "The Effects of Interdisciplinary Teaming on Teachers and Students" (Arhar); (5) "Teaching with Time on Your Side: Developing Long-Term Relationships in Schools" (McLaughlin and Doda); (6)"Middle Level Discipline and Young Adolescents: Making the Connection" (Bennett); (7) "Ability Grouping: Issues of Equity and Effectiveness" (Mills); (8) "Differing Perspectives, Common Ground: The Middle School and Gifted Education Relationship" (Rosselli); (9) "Inclusion" (Hines and Johnston); (10) "A Multifaceted Approach to Teaching Limited Proficiency Students" (VanNess and Platt); (11) "Assessment" (Stowell and McDaniel); (12) "Middle Level Competitive Sports Programs" (Swaim and McEwin); (13) "Middle Level Curriculum's Serendipitous History" (Toepfer); (14) "Effects of Integrative Curriculum and Instruction" (Vars); (15) "Curriculum for Whom?" (Brazee); (16) "Curriculum for What? The Search for Curriculum Purposes for Middle Level Students" (Beane); (17) "Current Issues and Research in Middle Level Curriculum: On Conversations, Semantics, and Roots" (Powell and Faircloth); (18) "Middle Level Teacher Preparation and Licensure" (McEwin and Dickinson); (19) "Multicultural Issues in Middle Level Teacher Education" (Hart); (20) "Improving Urban Schools: Developing the Talents of Students Placed at Risk" (Mac Iver and Plank); (21) "Service Learning and Young Adolescent Development: A Good Fit" (Schine); (22) "Home-School Partnerships: A Critical Link" (Brough); (23) "Organizational Trends and Practices in Middle Level Schools" (Valentine and Whitaker); (24) "A Bona Fide Middle School: Programs, Policy, Practice, and Grade Span Configurations" (Hough); (25) "Components of Effective Teams" (Trimble); (26) "Transition into and out of Middle School" (Mizelle and Mullins); (27) "Collaboration and Teacher Empowerment: Implications for School Leaders" (Clark and Clark); (28) "Women in Leadership Roles" (Clark and Clark); (29) "The Middle Level Principalship" (Valentine, Trimble, and Whitaker); and (30) "Setting a Research Agenda" (Hough and Irvin). Each chapter contains references. (HTH)