The prevailing cultural narrative about middle school is that those years are extremely difficult, and the best students can hope for is to endure them until finding relief in high school. Nancy Deutsch argues that these years are, in fact, a time of great potential if schools can abandon their stereotypes about young adolescents and create school…

This study explores how the ideology of racial individualism--which prioritizes an understanding of racism as individual wrongdoing--becomes embedded in the curriculum and discourse of the middle school social studies classroom and becomes embedded in the curriculum and discourse of the middle school social studies classroom to shape the racial…

Scholars from various disciplines have theorized a relationship between reading fiction and empathy. Research in cognitive studies suggests that understanding fiction requires Theory of Mind, or the cognitive ability to understand the feelings and motivations of others. Some studies build on this research to suggest reading fiction helps to…

Virtual reality (VR) has evolved to include non-immersive to fully-immersive experiences for the classroom. This study seeks to understand the potential effects VR may offer, specifically characteristics associated with how a student experiences a VR intervention and the effects of using a VR device for learning. A group experimental design was…

School refusal is heterogeneous in aetiology and presentation. The heterogeneity in its presentation, the focus of this study, complicates the conceptualisation and assessment of school refusal. The present study documents the development of a descriptive model of school refusal that was used to inform the development of a questionnaire for…

Researchers and practitioners in fields such as psychology and social work increasingly recognize the significant need for schools, in general, to be sites for delivery of trauma-informed practices. Given the extent and nature of trauma exposure in our schools, we believe it is critical that the primary individual supporting trauma-informed…

Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with chronic conditions should acquire self-management skills as part of their healthcare transition (HCT) from pediatric to adult-focused care. HCT/self-management skills have the potential to help mitigate health disparities among minority AYA with chronic conditions. This study investigated school…

Specialized preparation and credentialing for teachers of young adolescents continue to be the focus of advocacy efforts within the field of middle level education. To better understand the status of middle level teacher credentialing throughout the United States, this descriptive, pragmatic, qualitative study explored how specialized middle level…

Civility is an important construct to be addressed in relation to child and youth development. The issue of classroom incivility is of particular interest, given its potential negative impacts to both the psychosocial well-being of adolescents and the overall learning environment. Therefore, the current study sought to investigate similarities and…

Transition from primary (elementary) to secondary school can be both an exciting and a daunting prospect for young adolescents. Ensuring that students quickly settle into their new secondary school environment is the goal of transition programmes employed by schools. These programmes typically comprise a number of discrete and interrelated…

Neuroscience research has discovered that during adolescence the brain establishes stronger connections between brain regions, prunes out unused synapses, and increases activity in the emotional and social centers. This research supports many concepts that have been part of the concept of middle schools for over 50 years, including integrated…

The educational development level of migrant children is affected by many factors, and it is practical to study it. Based on the current situation of migrant children study in China, this study explored the multiple mediating effects of educational support and moderating effect of the age on the level of educational development by policy…

Montessori Education is over a century old. Since its inception, Montessori schools have been opened worldwide. While most are pre-schools serving three- to six-year-old children, many people are not aware that Montessori spoke and wrote about middle level education before her death in 1952. Her concept for the Erdkinder, an intentionally designed…

A total of 418 adolescents completed the Revised Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student, the Basic Needs Satisfaction Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Based on self-determination theory, this study examines the relationship between academic autonomous motivation, basic psychological needs…

Reforms to support and expand personalized learning increasingly are being introduced in middle schools across the United States. Personalization, as enacted in response to these reforms, encourages teachers to implement many practices that long have been recommended by advocates of middle grades philosophy. To better understand the practices of…