Middle School

Foundations for Middle Schools

Middle school principles are based on the distinctive nature of early adolescence. Early adolescence, [Page 560]defined as the approximate ages of 10 to 15, is marked by rapid growth and development. In fact, it is said that the rate of change in early adolescence is exceeded only by the rate of change in infancy. During this time, the young adolescent experiences rapid but uneven physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth. Physically, the young adolescent experiences the beginning stages of puberty. Physical growth in height and weight are accompanied by the development of secondary sexual characteristics. With this physical growth, the young adolescent's focus on the self becomes predominant.

In addition to physical growth, the young adolescent in modern cultures experiences social and emotional changes. During this time the influence of the family begins to fade and the influence of the peer group increases. Young adolescents rely on peers to set the standards for dress, appearance, preferences, and actions. Because growth is uneven for an individual and across individuals, the focus on the self and heightened comparison to peers can cause emotional distress. Emotions can range across the spectrum from very negative to very positive feelings. Although this is true at all ages, the newness of unfamiliar feelings, the rapidity of change, and the struggle for self-regulation can make the young adolescent seem highly emotional.

Finally, early adolescence marks a shift in cognitive development. Young adolescents straddle what psychologist Jean Piaget called the concrete operational and formal operational stages. This means that they are only beginning to think in abstract terms. Instruction for young adolescents, then, must focus on providing concrete examples and experiences while at the same time challenging students to think abstractly about concepts.

Because the shifts in physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development are fluid and uneven, young adolescents require a school that provides a flexible environment to accommodate their ever-changing needs. Large, subject-centered, inflexible junior high schools seemed unable to address students' changing needs. While the founders of the National Middle School Association began the work of reforming junior high schools in the 1960s and 1970s, the focus on the deficits of the U.S. educational system of the 1980s, sparked by A Nation at Risk, accelerated their work. In 1989, the Task Force on Education of Young Adolescents of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development published its influential report, Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century. This report drew attention to the great risks that young adolescents face as they progress from elementary to high school. It chastised the educational reform movement for its lack of attention to young adolescents and implicated large, impersonal, academically weak junior high schools with putting students at risk for alienation, school failure, drug and alcohol abuse, and dropping out. The Turning Points report supported many of the practices that the National Middle School Association recommended for middle schools. Since that time, the research on young adolescents and middle schools has helped to refine the principles and practices of effective middle schools.

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