Middle-school-age children are faced with a variety of developmental tasks, including the beginning phases of individuation from the family, building peer groups, social and emotional transitions, and cognitive shifts associated with the maturation process. This article summarizes how traumatic events impair and complicate these developmental…

Amid growing recognition that strong academic skills alone are not enough for young people to become successful adults, this comprehensive report offers wide-ranging evidence to show what young people need to develop from preschool to young adulthood to succeed in college and career, have healthy relationships, be engaged citizens, and make wise…

Mitigating the perils of transition to early adolescence, while also supporting the promise of this stage of human development, has been a major focus of middle school reform (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989; Jackson & Davis, 2000). As a result, there are many classroom-based educational programs that target the social and…

The community-based arts environment is uniquely suited to addressing the needs of young people in the area of growing emotional intelligence. The arts offer specific structures, systems, and dynamics that allow for the emergence of the emotional adolescent self. Leaders in the community-based arts field must consciously position their…

In middle school, counselors should promote optimal development as students navigate the formative stage of puberty. A search for identity is an important developmental task in early adolescence, but school counselors often neglect racial identity development. Through an actual case of an 8th-grade student, both individual and systemic strategies…

The field of youth development is based on a long tradition of youth work practice, a body of research on adolescent development, an increasing understanding of developmental processes, and work in related applied fields like education and child care. Whereas multiple lists have emerged describing what comprises or is needed for youth development,…

Offers a detailed examination of both external and internal assets that middle school students may have, and discusses those that can be significantly affected by middle schools. Describes what successful middle schools do, and discusses teacher training and positive youth development. (SR)

The middle school originated out of an understanding for the need of a learning environment geared specifically to the needs of the early adolescent. The transition from concrete to formal operational thought and the affective and psychomotor developmental stages demonstrate the uniqueness of the early adolescent experience. (JN)

Continuous progress education is designed to relate to the special interests, needs, and abilities of each individual learner. A curriculum responsive to the needs of early adolescents would include the elements of content organization, learning activities, time allocations, student assessment, staff and materials development, and budget. (JN)

Describes a developmental guidance curriculum on transition for grades six, seven, and eight. Provides the background, methodology, and some of the children's responses to the material, which consists of units on awareness, understanding, and challenge. Includes a list of children's stories on transitions. (JAC)

Describes the development of a New Jersey adventure program for homeless teenagers. Discusses the developmental tasks of adolescence--separating from family, forging a healthy sexual identity, preparing for the future, and developing a moral value system--and the positive impacts of adventure on these tasks. Addresses the issue of closure and…

This paper defines "adventure-based intervention,""young people," and "trouble and risk" in light of the therapeutic work done at Bryn Melyn Community (Bala, Wales), a therapeutic treatment center. Bryn Melyn provides intensive individualized therapy to young people, aged 15-18, who are in the care of social services…

Uses Havighurst's 11 developmental tasks for normal adolescence as a basis for a discussion of the prepared environment for the adolescent; tasks include adjusting to a new physical self and intellectual abilities, establishing adult vocational goals, and establishing emotional and psychological independence from parents. Considers the needs and…

The social and interpersonal characteristics of early adolescents are described in relation to puberty and the physical and emotional changes that are experienced by the preteen. Learning characteristics for this age group include problem-solving strategies, self-directed learning, and emerging value systems. (JN)

The Brief Intervention Program (BIP) is a mental health day program in Melbourne (Australia) for adolescents with severe mental health problems who are at risk for suicide. The 10-week program serves closed groups of 6-8 adolescents aged 13-18 years and has 3 phases: engagement and orientation (week 1), treatment (weeks 2-9), and integration (week…