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.

Thus in some governmental and institutional contexts, "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.^{[citation needed]}

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 Grades or education Years 5 to 8 or 9), justifies an appropriate educational (not just organizational) 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 organized. Part of learning to socialize with others whist becoming better socially adept when experiencing the unfamiliar (and perhaps as yet untamed) influences of hormonal changes characteristic of early puberty is also a part of the puzzle, as is the fact that the males aged 16+ are generally well into a new growth phase and generally dwarf the adolescents earlier in their life cycle, thereby posing an unconscious, if not real threat.

In short, Middle Schools tend to allow groups of like sized and experienced individuals keep in close company with their contemporaries and concurrently exclude those both younger and older which may be deleterious influences and-or threats to those of a younger age group. Examining 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 Centered: focused on needs and interests of students, with co-constructed learning
Collaboratively-organized: 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 contextualized in the needs of the local community, with creative organization 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 organizations 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

Asia

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).

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.)

South Korea

In the Republic of Korea, a middle school is called junghakgyo (중학교, 中學校) which includes grades 7 through 9.

India

In India, middle school consists of classes 6th, 7th and 8th.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, a middle school is called Sekolah Menengah Pertama (SMP). It consists grades 7, 8, 9.

The Philippines

In the Philippines, what is referred to as middle school is generally consists of the grades 4 through 7. In the Philippines, there is no such thing as Middle School. It goes Kindergarten, Grade One, Grade Two, Grade Three, Grade four, Grade Five, Grade Six, Grade Seven, First Year High School, Second Year High School, Third Year High School, and Finally Fourth and Last Year of High School.

Taiwan

Taiwanese junior high schools (3-year) were originally called chuzhong (初級中學, 初中). However, in August 1968, they were renamed guozhong (國民中學, 國中) when they became free of charge and compulsory. Private middle school nowadays are still called chuzhong. Taiwanese junior high 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.

Australasia

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.

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.

Recently, however, Junior High Schools covering years 7-10 (the four years between primary and NCEA, the national secondary qualification). The first was Albany Junior High School in Albany, Auckland.

Europe

Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia

In the countries of former Yugoslavia, srednja škola (literally translated as Middle School) refers to age between 14 and half - 15 and 18, and lasts 2-4 years since elementary school (which lasts 8 or 9 years). The final four years of elementary school are actually what would be called junior high school in USA. Students have up to 12-13 different subjects in each school year (most of them only two 45-minute class periods per week). For example, 8th grade students do not have one subject called Science but three separate subjects called Chemistry, Physics and Biology.

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." Notably, most schools also follow teaching patterns in line with their deemed status, with most deemed-primary schools offering a primary-style curriculum taught by one class teacher, and most deemed-secondary schools adopting a more specialist-centered approach.

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)

North America

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The definition of "middle school" is muddied somewhat because, in North American contexts, "secondary education" quite frequently means post-compulsory (High School level) education, encompassing such diverse institutions as "English as a second language" schooling, trade schools and certificate programs, as well as other intermediate options such as Junior colleges, four-year colleges and full universities.

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.

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 organization operates in the UK under the name of The National Middle Schools' Forum.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Arnold, J. 1980. Needed: A Realistic Perspective of the Early Adolescent Learner. Clearinghouse, Vol. 54, No. 4.
Beane, J. 1987. "Dance to the Music of Time: The Future of Middle Level Education." The Early Adolescent Magazine, Vol. 2,18–26.
Beane, J. 1990. A Middle School Curriculum: From Rhetoric to Reality. Columbus, Ohio: National Middle School Association.
Beane, J. 1990. Affect in Curriculum: Toward Democracy, Dignity, and Diversity. New York: Teachers College Press.
Cross Keys Middle School. 1990. A Place of Our Own. Florissant, Missouri: Florissant Public Schools.
Jennings, W. and J. Nathan. 1977. "Startling/Disturbing Research on School Program Effectiveness." Phi Delta Kapan, Vol. 59, 568–572.
Fenwick, J. 2001. Taking Center Stage: A Commitment to Standards-Based Education for California's Middle Grades Students. Sacramento: California Department of Education.
2003. "Why Middle Level Schools Are KEY to Young Adolescent Success" Westerville, OH: NMSA. Retrieved on December 6, 2007.

External links

All links Retrieved on December 6, 2007.

Canada: Provincial Systems of Education
Collegiate Middle Level Association A pre-professional organization for students preparing to teach middle school.
Integrated Curriculum in the Middle School
Integrating Literature into Middle School Reading Classrooms
Middle School Education—The Critical Link in Dropout Prevention
Model Programs for Middle School Teacher Preparation
National Middle School Association
National Middle Schools' Forum (UK)
Parents Against Change - large collection of research pro-Middle Schooling
The Transition to Middle School
UK Middle Schools

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