Teaching and Learning in Middle Schooling: A Review of the Literature

Perceived Requirements for Successful Middle Schooling Initiatives

Key Requirements

Based on the published literature reviewed on successful middle schooling and educational change, the following aspects of middle schooling — and, the reviewers argue, any form of effective schooling, — have been advocated.

These are set out under the broad categories or themes of ‘teacher knowledge and skills’, ‘student knowledge and skills’, ‘catering for parental needs and rights’, and ‘what schools with middle years students may need to do more of’.

Teachers need greater knowledge/skills/capacity in:

• pedagogy, teaching strategies and quality teaching frameworks;
• curriculum development and connecting what is taught with the wider world;
• student learning in other areas of the curriculum;
• assessment (monitoring, evaluation, diagnosis from evidence);
• measuring and tracking student performance; gathering, using and interpreting data;
• planning, implementation and evaluation;
• cultural sensitivity and accommodation;
• meeting needs of individual students and students at risk;
• pastoral care, communication, feedback;
• improving teacher–student relations;
• focusing on students as learners and people;
• identifying and meeting their own learning needs, including a willingness to learn;
• collaboration with peers, flexibility and risk taking;
• structured, critical reflection; and
• professional learning/development targeted to middle schooling to achieve the above.
  

Students need greater knowledge/skills/capacities in:

• literacy, which is fundamental to learning and achievement;
• numeracy;
• thinking and problem-solving skills;
• engagement with learning, participation, attendance, retention;
• achievement and confidence in learning;
• reflection, self-awareness; and
• taking responsibility for their own learning, including self-direction and discipline and time management;
  

Parents need greater:

• feedback and accessibility to staff and school;
• information on student achievement and development and clearer, more regular reporting;
• information and understanding about school programmes and levels of performance;
• demonstration to, and by, them of the value of education.
• opportunity for input, although many may not want this.
  

Schools also often need to ensure that they:

• have a greater focus on transitions, including liaison and productive linkages with feeder primary schools and upper secondary schools and teachers, based upon mutual understanding and respect;
• build on known strengths and existing programmes;
• free up staff by allowing them time for planning, professional learning, evaluation, etc, and allocating funding and other resources for these purposes;
• distribute leadership under project leaders;
• set up project teams and working parties, especially for discrete projects;
• have clear communication, including sharing progress and ‘successes’;
• establish formal means of planning, coordination, learning, data gathering and evaluation for more diverse, ambitious approaches;
• improve horizontal (across years) and vertical (between years) communication and understanding;
• target new key staff where necessary;
• pay attention to staffing the middle years, which may mean a need to prioritise over upper secondary years to enable ‘best staff’ for the  middle years;
• demonstrate support from leadership at the ‘top’;
• give recognition to the role that ICT has to play both for administration and learning;
• understand that cross-faculty cooperation is important;
• understand that a consistently applied student welfare and discipline system underpins academic achievement;
• recognise that peer observation of teaching using some form of quality teaching framework for feedback can be highly effective, despite fears about this from some staff, who see it as judgemental rather than developmental;
• understand that getting started and maintaining momentum are both difficult and necessary; and
• accept that a strong research and evidence base is necessary for change.
  

For another perspective on the points listed above, but also reiterating many of the ingredients said to be important for middle schooling identified in this paper, the National Middle School Association of the USA¹ identified the following range of characteristics and/or precursors of successful middle schooling:

• educators who value working with this age group and are prepared to do so;
• courageous, collaborative leadership;
• a shared vision that guides decisions;
• an inviting, supportive, and safe environment;
• high expectations for every member of the learning community;
• students and teachers engaged in active learning;
• an adult advocate for every student;
• school-initiated family and community partnerships;
• curriculum that is relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory;
• multiple learning and teaching approaches that respond to student diversity;
• assessment and evaluation programmes that promote quality learning;
• organisational structures that support meaningful relationships and learning;
• school-wide efforts and policies that foster health, wellness, and safety;
• multifaceted guidance and support services.
  

Footnote

1. See their website: National Middle School Association (2000). How might middle school students be involved in classroom curriculum planning? Available for download in PDF format at: http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/WebExclusive/Planning/tabid/652/Default.aspx.