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Focus on the Wonder Years
Challenges Facing the American Middle School
Young teens undergo multiple physical, social-emotional, and intellectual changes, which have been viewed as setting them apart from both younger and older students. The basic concept of a separate middle school was to better focus on and serve the special needs of children in their early teens. The question is whether middle schools, as currently designed and operated, are performing that function well. Or, as some have alleged, do they unintentionally encourage poor behavior, alienation, disengagement, and low achievement? This monograph is a comprehensive assessment of the American middle school. It presents observations on a variety of very real issues — troubling social climates and associated behavioral problems, teachers who lack subject-matter expertise, parents who seem uninvolved, among others. The authors offer ways of tackling these issues: reassessing the organization of grades K-12; specifically assisting the students most in need; finding ways to prevent disciplinary problems; working with proven professional-development models; helping parents understand the schools goals and methods and how they can help their children learn at home; and exploring how other countries promote the well-being of and provide positive school climates for students of comparable age to support academic achievement.
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Pages: 178
ISBN/EAN: 0-8330-3390-5
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Contents
Chapter One:
Goals, Terms, Methods, and Organization
Chapter Two:
A Brief History of the U.S. Middle School
Chapter Three:
Core Practices of the Middle School Concept
Chapter Four:
Academic Achievement
Chapter Five:
Conditions for Student Learning
Chapter Six:
Principals
Chapter Seven:
Promoting Teacher Competence Through Training
Chapter Eight:
Parental Involvement
Chapter Nine:
Whole-School Reform Models
Chapter Ten:
Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendix A:
Characteristics of U.S. Public Schools Serving Middle Grades
Appendix B:
International and National Data Sets
Appendix C:
Factor Analysis of Health Behavior in School-Aged Children
Appendix D:
Research Recommendations
The research described in this report was conducted by RAND Education for Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.
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