Middle school
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Middle school (also known as intermediate school or junior high school) covers a period of education that straddles primary education and secondary education, serving as a bridge between the two. The terms can be used in different ways in different countries, sometimes interchangeably. "Middle school" may be used as no more than an alternative name to "junior high school", or it might imply a pedagogical shift away from primary and secondary school practices. The concept itself dates back to 1909, with the founding of Indianola Junior High School in Columbus, Ohio. In the United States middle school usually refers to a grade span of 5-8, 6-8, or 7-8, while junior high refers to 7-8 or 7-9.
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[edit] Middle School as a Pedagogy
Although 'Middle School' in some countries can be a simple renaming of the junior high school practice, in other places the term has also developed a particular pedagogical meaning. Middle Schooling as a pedagogy has as a major premise that the special academic, socio-emotional and organizational discontinuities marked in many children aged somewhere between 10 to 15 years (around Years 5 to 8 or 9), justifies an appropriate educational (not just organisational) response. Students need, for example, to develop their identity, take risks (and yet be confident there is a safety net), and be challenged to become more independently organised.
Examing middle school practices elsewhere, the Australian Curriculum Studies Association in the 1990s identified the following principles operating in an effective Middle Schooling curriculum: the Middle School is
- Learner Centred: focused on needs and interests of students, with co-constructed learning
- Collaboratively-organised: team-teaching, with strong pastoral connections to students
- Outcome-based: explicit expectations of what skills, knowledge and values are required to be demonstrated
- Flexibly-constructed: learning contextualised in the needs of the local community, with creative organisation of resources, timetabling, and rooms
- Ethically-aware: values are foregrounded in relationships between teachers, students and the wider school community.
- Community-oriented: partnerships between the school and parents, local organisations and businesses
- Adequately resourced: skilled teachers have the support of quality facilities
- Strategically linked: interactively occupying the space between the primary and secondary phases of schooling.
The practical effects of such principles might include
- Reducing the number of lessons per day, to enable deeper engagement and less disruption
- Assigned a 'home room' class with a teacher entrusted with pastoral care
- Integrated curriculum, which can sometimes involve team teaching
- Invitations to parents to enhance their participation in the life of a school
- Authentic assessment, to engage students more
[edit] Asia
[edit] China
In the People's Republic of China, middle schools (chuzhong or 初中) refer to years 7–9. It covers the last 3 years of the 9-year compulsory education, which is supposed to be free but in fact is subject to fees. At the end of the last year, the college-bound students take exams to enter high school (gaozhong or 高中) others wishing to continue their training may enter technical high school (中学专科/中专) or vocational school (职业学校).
[edit] Japan
In Japan, junior high schools, which cover years seven through nine, are called chū gakkō (中学校, literally, middle school). They are referred to as "junior high schools" in most conversations in English but are referred to by MEXT as "lower secondary schools". (See Secondary education in Japan.)
[edit] South Korea
In the Republic of Korea, a middle school is called junghakgyo (중학교, 中學校) which includes grades 7 through 9.
[edit] India
In India, middle school consists of classes 6th, 7th and 8th.
[edit] Taiwan
Taiwanese middle schools (3-year) were originally called junior high school, or chuzhong (初級中學, 初中). However, in August 1968, they were renamed to middle schools, or guozhong (國民中學, 國中) when they became free of charge and compulsory. Private middle school nowadays are still called chuzhong. Taiwanese middle schools are attended normally by those older than twelve. Accompanied with the switch from junior high to middle school was the cancellation of entrance examination needed to enter senior high school.
[edit] Australasia
[edit] Australia
In 1996 and 1997 a national conference met to develop what became known as the 'National Middle Schooling Project', which aimed to develop a common Australian view of
- early adolescent needs
- guiding principles for educators
- appropriate strategies to foster positive adolescent learning.
As of 2007, the Northern Territory has introduced a three tier system featuring Middle Schools for years 7-9 (approx ages 11-14) and high school year 10-12.
[edit] New Zealand
In New Zealand intermediate schools cover years 7 and 8 (formerly known as form 1 and 2) in areas where the local primary schools teach year 1 to year 6 students. Many primary schools however, do teach year 7 and 8. These primary schools may have a relationship with a nearby intermediate school to teach manual training classes such as woodwork.
[edit] Europe
[edit] Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia
In the countries of former Yugoslavia, srednja škola (literaly translated as Middle School) refers to age between 15 and 19, and lasts 2-4 years since elementary school (which lasts 8 or 9 years).
[edit] United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, some English Local Education Authorities introduced Middle Schools in the 1960s and 1970s. The notion of Middle Schools was mooted by the Plowden Report of 1967 which proposed a change to a three-tier model including First Schools for children aged between 5 and 8, Middle Schools for 8–12 year-olds, and then Upper or High Schools for 12–16 year-olds. Some authorities introduced Middle Schools for ideological reasons, in line with the report, while others did so for more pragmatic reasons relating to the raising of the school leaving age in compulsory education to 16.
Different authorities introduced different age-range schools, although in the main, three models were used:
- 5–8 First Schools, followed by 8–12 Middle Schools, as suggested by Plowden
- 5–9 First Schools, followed by 9–13 Middle Schools
- 5–10 First Schools followed by 10–13 Middle Schools, or Intermediate Schools
In addition, some schools were provided as combined schools catering for pupils in the 5–12 age range as a combined first and middle school.
Around 2000 middle and combined schools were in place in the early 1980s. However, that number began to fall in the later 1980s with the introduction of the National Curriculum. The new curriculum's splits in Key Stages at age 11 encouraged the majority of Local Education Authorities to return to a two-tier system of Primary and Secondary schools.
Under current legislation, all middle schools must be deemed either primary or secondary. Thus, schools which accept pupils up to age 12 are entitled middle-deemed-primary, while those accepting pupils aged 13 or over are entitled middle-deemed-secondary. For statistical purposes, such schools are often included under primary and secondary categories "as deemed".
Some Middle Schools still exist in various areas of England. The are supported by the National Middle Schools' Forum. A list of Middle Schools in England is available.
In Scotland a similar system was trialled in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire between 1975 and 1987. (See Grangemouth middle schools article)
[edit] North America
[edit] Canada and the United States
In the United States and Canada, middle school refers to a distinct form of school organization rather than a general term for the middle level of education. Advocated by groups such as the National Middle School Association, the middle school concept is a relatively new model for the middle-level grades, contrasted with the more traditional junior high concept. North American children at this level are educated either at junior high schools or at middle schools, depending on location.
Middle schools are usually grades 6, 7, and 8, varying from area to area. The other common inclusion is 5th grade, or only grades 7 and 8. The combination of grades 7, 8 and 9 is often called a "junior high school."
Junior high schools are designed similarly to high schools. The faculty is organized into academic departments which operate more or less independently of one another. This is meant as a hybrid, to ease the transition from elementary school to high school for students. Sometimes they are called Intermediate schools.
The middle school concept, however, often involves a group of two to eight teachers from different disciplines working as a team with the same group of students of the same grade level, with each teacher teaching a different subject. This format facilitates interdisciplinary units, where part or all of the entire team teaches on the same general topic from the perspective of different disciplines.
In some school systems, students attend intermediate schools before or after middle school; in others, students attend middle school before moving on to junior high school. In most cases, however, the middle school (according to the middle school concept) is seen as an alternative and a replacement to the junior high and intermediate school. The middle school format has now replaced schools using the junior high format by a ratio of about ten to one in the U.S. In Canada, the junior high concept is primarily seen in Western Canada, while middle schools to US-standards are generally only seen in Ontario and parts of Atlantic Canada, where they are sometimes called senior elementary schools. See also: Secondary education in the United States, Education in Canada.
[edit] Professional organizations
The National Middle School Association (NMSA) was founded in 1973. It now claims over 30,000 members representing principals, teachers, central office personnel, professors, college students, parents, community leaders, and educational consultants across the United States, Canada, and 46 other countries. An equivalent organisation operates in the UK under the name of The National Middle Schools' Forum.
[edit] See also
| Preschool → | Kindergarten → | Primary → | Middle → | Secondary → | ————— Post-secondary ————— | ||
| Vocational education | —— Higher education —— | ||||||
| Undergraduate → | Postgraduate | ||||||
| Also: Early childhood education, Alternative education (Homeschooling), Adult education | |||||||
[edit] Further reading
- Arnold, J. "Needed: A Realistic Perspective of the Early Adolescent Learner." CLEARINGHOUSE 54:4 (1980).
- Beane, J. "Dance to the Music of Time: The Future of Middle Level Education." THE EARLY ADOLESCENT MAGAZINE 2 (September 1987):18–26.
- Beane, J. A MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY. Columbus, Ohio: National Middle School Association, 1990a.
- Beane, J. AFFECT IN THE CURRICULUM: TOWARD DEMOCRACY, DIGNITY, AND DIVERSITY. New York: Teachers College Press, 1990b.
- Cross Keys Middle School. A PLACE OF OUR OWN. Florissant, Missouri: Florissant Public Schools, 1990.
- Jennings, W., and Nathan, J. "Startling/Disturbing Research on School Program Effectiveness." PHI DELTA KAPPAN 59 (1977): 568–572.
- Fenwick, J. (Primary Author) Taking Center Stage: A Commitment to Standards-Based Education for California's Middle Grades Students. Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2001
- "Why Middle Level Schools Are KEY to Young Adolescent Success" Westerville, OH: NMSA, 2003. <http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/TheFamilyConnection/Vol8No2/tabid/214/Default.aspx>
[edit] External links
- Model Programs for Middle School Teacher Preparation
- The Transition to Middle School
- Integrating Literature into Middle School Reading Classrooms
- Middle School Education--The Critical Link in Dropout Prevention
- Integrated Curriculum in the Middle School
- Canada: Provincial Systems of Education
- National Middle School Association
- National Middle Schools' Forum (UK)
- UK Middle Schools
- Parents Against Change - large collection of research pro-Middle Schooling
