Relationships between the middle school concept and student demographics

PurposeThis study explored implementation of the middle school concept (MSC) in Illinois middle-level schools, examining relationships between MSC implementation and schools' relative wealth, racial/ethnic composition, and achievement levels.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative study utilized a sample of 137 Illinois middle-level schools, defined as containing any combination of grades 5–9, including at least two consecutive grade levels and grade 7. Principals completed an online survey, identifying levels of implementation of advisory, teaming with common planning time (CPT), and a composite of both advisory and teaming with CPT.FindingsSchools with high advisory implementation had significantly higher rates of Latinx enrollments. Schools with lower operating expenditures per pupil were significantly less likely to implement advisory or advisory and teaming. Teaming had a significant relationship with composite PARCC test scores, but there was no significant effect for advisory and no significant interaction of advisory and teaming together.Practical implicationsMSC is more expensive to implement, and affluent districts may have the financial means to absorb these costs. Although teaming facilitated improved state test scores, advisory programming did not result in significantly improved scores.Social implicationsLack of access to MSC programming in less affluent communities presents an equity issue for low-income students and students of color.Originality/valueThis study contributes to research examining underlying issues of race and poverty and their effects on academic achievement and the effectiveness of the MSC.

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Successful leadership in a rural, high-poverty school: the case of County Line Middle School

Journal of Educational Administration ◽

10.1108/jea-04-2013-0056 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 52 (4) ◽

pp. 422-445 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Hans W. Klar ◽

Curtis A. Brewer

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Service Learning ◽

Low Income ◽

Leadership Practices ◽

Leadership Strategies ◽

High Poverty ◽

Content Type ◽

School Principalship ◽

Successful School

Purpose – In this paper, the authors present a case study of successful school leadership at County Line Middle School. The purpose of the paper is to identify how particular leadership practices and beliefs were adapted to increase student achievement in this rural, high-poverty school in the southeastern USA. Design/methodology/approach – After purposefully selecting this school, the authors adapted interview protocols, questionnaires, and analysis frameworks from the International Successful School Principalship Project to develop a multi-perspective case study of principal leadership practices at the school. Findings – The findings illustrate the practices which led to students at this school, previously the lowest-performing in the district, achieving significantly higher on state standardized tests, getting along “like a family,” and regularly participating in service learning activities and charity events. A particularly interesting finding was how the principal confronted the school's negative self-image and adapted common leadership practices to implement a school-wide reform that suited its unique context. Research limitations/implications – While the findings of the study explicate the specific ways the principal adapted leadership strategies to enhance student learning, this study also highlights the need to understand how principals become familiar with their community's needs, cultures, norms, and values, and exercise leadership in accordance with them. Practical implications – The case offers an example of the need for context-responsive leadership in schools. In particular, it illustrates how this principal enacted leadership strategies that successfully negotiated what Woods (2006) referred to as the changing politics of the rural. To realize this success, the principal utilized his understanding of this low income, rural community to guide his leadership practices. Critically, part of this understanding included the ways the community was connected to and isolated from dominant sub-urban and urban societies, and how to build enthusiasm and capacity through appeals to local values. Originality/value – While it is widely acknowledged that school leaders need to consider their school and community contexts when making leadership decisions, less research has focussed on understanding how this can be achieved. This case provides rich examples of how this was accomplished in a rural, high-poverty middle school.

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The Pond: Doing Research Together

Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School ◽

10.5951/mtms.1.9.0696 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 1 (9) ◽

pp. 696-704

Author(s):

Kevin Kinneavy

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

School Mathematics ◽

Teaching Mathematics ◽

Approaches To Teaching ◽

Interdisciplinary Instruction ◽

Evaluation Standards ◽

Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽

Middle School Concept ◽

School Concept

Interdisciplinary approaches to teaching all subjects are central to the middle school concept. Such approaches can be especially useful for teaching mathematics, a subject that has traditionally been the bane of many students' existence. The NCTM recognizes the importance of interdisciplinary instruction in its Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989, 84).

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Lower alcohol wines in the UK market: some baseline consumer behaviour metrics

British Food Journal ◽

10.1108/bfj-03-2013-0077 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 116 (7) ◽

pp. 1143-1161 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Johan Bruwer ◽

Vladimir Jiranek ◽

Lulie Halstead ◽

Anthony Saliba

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Online Survey ◽

Consumer Behaviour ◽

Product Category ◽

Research Information ◽

Content Type ◽

Lower Alcohol ◽

Research Questions ◽

Profile Characteristics ◽

The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide clearer insights into and identify the key consumer behaviour metrics of the lower alcohol category (<11 per cent ABV) in the UK wine market. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via an online survey from a sample size of 598 regular UK wine drinkers. To operationalise the study, five research questions were formulated. A highly structured quantitatively directed questionnaire was designed to find the answers to the research questions. Findings – Barriers to a larger uptake of the product category included non-availability of the products, lower quality perceptions, taste issues, lack of awareness, lack of alcohol's “feel effect” and absence of a lower alcohol drinking occasion. Many UK consumers are not yet convinced how/if lower alcohol wine fits into their wine drinking occasions. The lower ABV wine buyer's main profile characteristics are weighted towards females, Millennial and Baby Boomer age generations, mostly mid to low income, who drink mainly white and rosé wines. Lower alcohol on its own is not seen as a big benefit, thus lower ABV wines should be more creatively communicated to sell the benefits. Originality/value – This study contributes to the knowledge base in that it is the first to investigate consumer behaviour metrics as regards lower ABV wine in one of the world's leading markets, in the process providing some important baseline research information on this category. As such it is of value to academic researchers and practitioners alike.

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Learning the Middle School Concept through field based experiences

Middle School Journal ◽

10.1080/00940771.1987.11494752 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 37-39

Author(s):

Deborah A. Butler ◽

Thomas S. Dickinson

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Concept ◽

School Concept

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Middle School Concept Helps High-Poverty Schools Become High-Performing Schools

Middle School Journal ◽

10.1080/00940771.2004.11461458 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 4-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ali Callicoatte Picucci ◽

Amanda Brownson ◽

Rahel Kahlert ◽

Andrew Sobel

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

High Poverty ◽

High Poverty Schools ◽

High Performing Schools ◽

High Performing ◽

Middle School Concept ◽

School Concept

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Missing the sociopolitical: examining discourses of writing in a US high-performing, urban middle school

English Teaching Practice & Critique ◽

10.1108/etpc-12-2019-0166 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Nadia Behizadeh

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Middle School ◽

Writing Instruction ◽

Critical Literacy ◽

Test Scores ◽

Small Sample ◽

Future Research ◽

Content Type ◽

High Performing ◽

Urban Middle School

Purpose This paper aims to examine two teachers’ beliefs and practices on teaching writing at an urban, high-performing middle school to determine: What discourses of writing are being taught in an urban, high-performing US public middle school? What factors prevent or enable particular discourses? Design/methodology/approach Drawing on case study methods, this study uses a single-case design with two seventh-grade teachers at a high-performing urban school as embedded units of analysis. Data collection took place over one semester. Data sources included observations and interviews with the two teachers, an interview with an administrator and multiple instructional artifacts, including unit and lesson plans. Observational data were analyzed using a priori code for writing discourses (Ivanic, 2004) and interview data were analyzed for factors affecting instruction using open, axial and selective coding. Findings Both teachers enacted extended multi-discourse writing instruction integrating skills, creativity, process, genre and social practices discourses supported by their beliefs and experience; colleagues; students’ relatively high test scores; and relative curricular freedom. However, there was minimal evidence of a sociopolitical discourse aligned with critical literacy practices. Limits to the sociopolitical discourse included a lack of a social justice orientation, an influx of low-performing students, a focus on raising test scores, data-focused professional development and district pacing guides. Racism is also considered as an underlying structural factor undermining the sociopolitical discourse. Research limitations/implications Although generalizability is limited because of the small sample size and the unique context of this study, two major implications are the need to layer discourses in writing instruction while centering critical pedagogy and develop teacher beliefs and knowledge. To support these two implications, this study suggests developing university-school partnerships and professional development opportunities that create a community of practice around comprehensive writing instruction. Future research will involve continuing to work with the participants in this study and documenting the effects of providing theory and tools for integrating the sociopolitical discourse into middle school curricula and instruction. Originality/value This study contributes to the field of literacy education’s understanding of internal and external factors limiting the sociopolitical discourse in a high-performing, urban middle school in the USA, an understudied context.

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