Through this exploratory study, I developed conjectures about classroom conditions that had the potential to support (or not) the development of productive dispositions toward mathematics. To do so, I listened to sixth-grade students' voices about their experiences with small-group work in 2 mathematics classrooms and contrasted their teachers'…

This research examined the important factors influencing the mathematics achievement of students in middle schools by hierarchically specifying the personal and contextual variables. The study focused on the effect of school climate at the class level and the effects of student gender, attitude toward mathematics, educational aspiration, parent…

Adolescent learning is a complex process, distinctive from learning prior to and after this stage because of the connection between learning and the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development of students in this age group. Indeed, questions about middle school learning examine both "what" and "how" they learn (Gross, 2002). This…

Middle school students perform well academically when their schooling environment meets their developmental needs (Eccles et al., 1993). Both school culture and student-teacher relationships are influential aspects of the school environment that impact academic expectations, school satisfaction, and academic performance. In the current study, we…

Curriculum integration is defined as students choosing topics to study based on their questions. Several middle schools throughout the United States offer students the opportunity to develop the curriculum during the year based on their questions about themselves and about the world. The author provides the rationale, the developmental reasons…

Although curriculum integration has a long history of myriad models, rarely have those stakeholders most connected to the practice--the students--been consulted about the efficacy of the approach. This study applied a longitudinal, intrinsic case study approach (Stake, 2000) to examine middle school students' perceptions of learning and engagement…

These authors relate the ways in which curriculum integration is explored in 2 university middle grades programs. In these settings, curriculum integration is encountered both in the design and pedagogy of courses and as a discrete content area for preservice and inservice teachers. Background information about the courses, the application of…

In this qualitative study, the author explored the concept of differentiation in urban, suburban, and rural language arts classrooms. The overall goal of understanding how differentiation occurred in these classrooms led to the following specific intentions: (1) to identify teachers' understandings of differentiation, (2) to understand their…

This research explored the experiences of students in a school district that limited early access to the study of algebra and to inform education policymakers of the impact of such tracking policies on the lives and futures of the students. Quantitative analysis had already yielded a snapshot of inequities deriving from the policies surrounding…

This article reports data from a 2-year longitudinal study on cooperative learning in school science. The study reported the effects of cooperative learning in science on science attainment, effective development and social connectedness, and interactions during transition from elementary to high school in rural and urban school settings. The…

The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of one class of sixth grade middle students enrolled in a Title I reading class. The class consisted of 15 students. Through instrumental case study, qualitative data were collected over 24 weeks through (a) interviews, (b) observations, and (c) documents: student…

The purpose of this study was to explore and interpret students' perspectives of their experiences in four urban middle school physical education programs. Focus group interviews with 76 students were supported by field notes and researchers' reflective journals. Researchers used constant comparison methods (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) to identify seven…

Young adolescents experience many cognitive, physical, and emotional changes during their middle school years; however, the middle school literature suggests that structural reforms supporting the emotional and social needs of young adolescents are implemented far more readily than the instructional reforms necessary for addressing young…

This study presents the development and basic psychometric characteristics of the "School Safety and Security Questionnaire" (SSSQ). This new measure was constructed to assess middle grade students' perceptions of safety and security during the school year. The content validity of the theoretically-based instrument was assessed and the measure was…

One of the essential principles for improving middle grade education is to establish a safe and healthy school environment (Jackson & Davis, 2000; Price & Waxman, 2005). The overall quality of the school climate or school environment has been argued to be one of the central problems of urban schools (Waxman & Huang, 1997). Several studies, for…