Short Sleep Duration Among Middle School and High School Students - United States, 2015.

PubMed

Wheaton, Anne G; Jones, Sherry Everett; Cooper, Adina C; Croft, Janet B

2018-01-26

Insufficient sleep among children and adolescents is associated with increased risk for obesity, diabetes, injuries, poor mental health, attention and behavior problems, and poor academic performance (1-4). The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended that, for optimal health, children aged 6-12 years should regularly sleep 9-12 hours per 24 hours and teens aged 13-18 years should sleep 8-10 hours per 24 hours (1). CDC analyzed data from the 2015 national, state, and large urban school district Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBSs) to determine the prevalence of short sleep duration (<9 hours for children aged 6-12 years and <8 hours for teens aged 13-18 years) on school nights among middle school and high school students in the United States. In nine states that conducted the middle school YRBS and included a question about sleep duration in their questionnaire, the prevalence of short sleep duration among middle school students was 57.8%, with state-level estimates ranging from 50.2% (New Mexico) to 64.7% (Kentucky). The prevalence of short sleep duration among high school students in the national YRBS was 72.7%. State-level estimates of short sleep duration for the 30 states that conducted the high school YRBS and included a question about sleep duration in their questionnaire ranged from 61.8% (South Dakota) to 82.5% (West Virginia). The large percentage of middle school and high school students who do not get enough sleep on school nights suggests a need for promoting sleep health in schools and at home and delaying school start times to permit students adequate time for sleep.

Middle School and High School Students Who Stutter: A Qualitative Investigation of School Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cobb, Tiffany R.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and further understand the ways in which middle school and high school students perceive their school experiences within the school environment. School has an important impact on the social development of children (Milsom, 2006). Learning is not done individually as classrooms are inherently social…

Motivating Middle School Readers: The Graphic Novel Link

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Buffy

2009-01-01

Middle school students are not reading for pleasure as frequently as they formally have, due to the influx of video games, cell phones, MP3 players, and other electronic device. This is not even to mention the common stresses of the average middle school student. Current research on reading motivation finds that as children move from upper…

Preparing Students for Middle School Through After-School STEM Activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno, Nancy P.; Tharp, Barbara Z.; Vogt, Gregory; Newell, Alana D.; Burnett, Christopher A.

2016-12-01

The middle school years are a crucial time for cultivating students' interest in and preparedness for future STEM careers. However, not all middle school children are provided opportunities to engage, learn and achieve in STEM subject areas. Engineering, in particular, is neglected in these grades because it usually is not part of science or mathematics curricula. This study investigates the effectiveness of an engineering-integrated STEM curriculum designed for use in an after-school environment. The inquiry-based activities comprising the unit, Think Like an Astronaut, were intended to introduce students to STEM careers—specifically engineering and aerospace engineering—and enhance their skills and knowledge applicable related to typical middle school science objectives. Results of a field test with a diverse population of 5th grade students in nine schools revealed that Think Like an Astronaut lessons are appropriate for an after-school environment, and may potentially help increase students' STEM-related content knowledge and skills.

Families of Children with Disabilities in Elementary and Middle School: Advocacy Models and Strategies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alper, Sandra; And Others

1996-01-01

This article describes models and methods of advocacy for families of children with disabilities in elementary and middle school, including self-advocacy, social support advocacy, interpersonal advocacy, and legal advocacy. Issues for parents during these years are discussed, as are the role and needs of siblings. Advocacy is seen as a dynamic…

[Violence prevention in secondary schools: the Faustlos-curriculum for middle school].

PubMed

Schick, Andreas; Cierpka, Manfred

2009-01-01

Schools and kindergartens are particularly suitable for the implementation of violence prevention programs. Many German schools and kindergartens have securely established the violence prevention curriculum Faustlos. The Faustlos programs for kindergartens and elementary schools are now complemented with the version for middle schools. As the kindergarten- and elementary school versions the middle school program too focuses on the theoretically profound, age group-tailored promotion of empathy, impulse control and anger management. These dimensions are subdivided into the five themes "understanding the problem" "training for empathy"; "anger management", "problem solving" and "applying skills" and taught stepwise, highly structured and based on several video sequences in 31 lessons. US-American evaluation studies proof the effectiveness and the violence prevention potential of the program. With the curriculum for middle schools a comprehensive Faustlos program package is now made available to sustainably promote core violence prevention competences of children and adolescents on a developmentally appropriate level and with a consistent didactic approach.

Salivary Cortisol, Socioemotional Functioning, and Academic Performance in Anxious and Non-Anxious Children of Elementary and Middle School Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathewson, Karen J.; Miskovic, Vladimir; Cunningham, Charles E.; McHolm, Angela E.; Boyle, Michael H.; Schmidt, Louis A.

2012-01-01

Research Findings: Individual and contextual variables were examined in relation to children's ability to cope with socioemotional and academic challenges in a sample of typically developing (n = 51) and anxious (n = 72) children of elementary and middle school age. Anxious children had greater social difficulties than controls and showed…

Middle-school children's understanding of physical activity: "if you're moving, you're doing physical activity".

PubMed

Pearce, Patricia F; Harrell, Joanne S; McMurray, Robert G

2008-06-01

This qualitative descriptive study explored the understanding of physical activity from the perspectives of middle-school children (n = 12; ages 11-15 years) who participated in 15 collaborative exploratory meetings (approximately 1.5 hours/meeting) that were audiorecorded. Content analysis was completed; a pediatric nurse specialist and the participating children validated the findings. The children understood physical activity concretely, considering everything they did as physical activity based on their primary criterion of body movement. The children adeptly recalled activities and activity time duration, but struggled with categorizing the intensity of their activities. Domains of activity included home and school; social activities crossed both arenas. The study contributes to our knowledge of children's understanding of physical activity, highlighting the concreteness of the children's thinking, including their perspectives on evidence and conclusions based on their notions of evidence. Implications for nursing are discussed.

Improving Comprehension in Middle School Math by Incorporating Children's Literature in the Instruction of Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Shekitra

2013-01-01

Children from the United States score poorly on international math tests compared to their cohorts in other countries. These gaps grow as students enter high school and develop a dislike and fear of mathematics, suggesting the need to improve mathematics education in middle school. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of reading…

Are middle schools harmful? The role of transition timing, classroom quality and school characteristics.

PubMed

Holas, Igor; Huston, Aletha C

2012-03-01

Are middle schools ill-suited for early adolescents, or can school characteristics account for any differences in student functioning? Achievement, school engagement, and perceived competence of children starting middle schools in 5th and 6th grades were compared to those of their same-grade peers in elementary schools in a national, longitudinal sample (NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, n = 855; 52% Female, 82% White). Classroom quality (observed and teacher-reported) and school characteristics (composition and size) were considered as explanations for any relationships between school-level and student functioning. Fifth grade middle school students did not differ from those in elementary school, but students entering middle school in 6th grade, compared to those in elementary school, experienced lower classroom quality, which in turn predicted slightly lower achievement. They also had lower school engagement, explained by larger school size. Classroom quality and school characteristics predicted youth functioning regardless of school type. We suggest reshaping the research and policy debate with renewed focus on classroom quality and school size instead of grade organization.

Body weight status, dietary habits, and physical activity levels of middle school-aged children in rural Mississippi.

PubMed

Davy, Brenda M; Harrell, Kris; Stewart, Jimmy; King, Deborah S

2004-06-01

Obesity and cardiovascular diseases are more prevalent in the Southeast as compared with other geographic regions of the United States. However, few investigations have addressed health disparities among children in rural Southeastern areas. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the risk of overweight and obesity in middle school-aged children residing in a racially diverse rural community, and to characterize their dietary and physical activity habits. Two hundred and five middle school children from Scott County, Mississippi were enrolled in this investigation. Measurements included height, weight, body mass index, dietary intake using a 24-hour recall, and physical activity level using pedometers. Of the 205 children studied, 54% were "overweight" or "at risk for overweight" according to a body mass index-for-age sex-specific percentile. Intake of saturated fat and sodium exceeded recommended levels, whereas intake of calcium, fruits, and vegetables was inadequate. One third of the sample consumed 12 fluid ounces or more of soda on the day of the recall. Physical activity level was below that previously reported for children in this age range, and knowledge of the importance of diet and physical activity in the prevention of cardiovascular disease was poor, particularly among African-American children. The children in our sample are at increased risk for overweight and obesity. Factors that may be targeted for intervention include a reduction in dietary intake of fat, saturated fat, sodium, and soft drinks, and an increased intake of fruits and vegetables. Physical activity should be encouraged. Many of these factors could be improved through changes within the school environment.

A Case Study on Collective Cognition and Operation in Team-Based Computer Game Design by Middle-School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ke, Fengfeng; Im, Tami

2014-01-01

This case study examined team-based computer-game design efforts by children with diverse abilities to explore the nature of their collective design actions and cognitive processes. Ten teams of middle-school children, with a high percentage of minority students, participated in a 6-weeks, computer-assisted math-game-design program. Essential…

A School Improvement Model for Motivating Adolescents to Achieve Success in Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutchinson, Stuart R.

2012-01-01

Effectively addressing the unique developmental and academic needs of adolescents is a challenge that educators have been grappling with since the mid-1960's when school systems began to convert junior high schools into middle schools. While educators have recognized the need to create developmentally responsive schools that help children to form…

School Administrators' Perceptions of Factors that Influence Children's Active Travel to School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Anna E.; Pluto, Delores M.; Ogoussan, Olga; Banda, Jorge A.

2011-01-01

Background: Increasing children's active travel to school may be 1 strategy for addressing the growing prevalence of obesity among school age children. Using the School Travel Survey, we examined South Carolina school district leaders' perceptions of factors that influence elementary and middle school students walking to school. Methods: Frequency…

Race and Gender Effects on Persistence, Barriers to Engineering and Life Goals by Middle School Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Rose Morgan; Schaer, Barbara B.

The under-representation of women and African Americans in engineering spurred the research documented in this study. This document reports the reults of a study investigating middle school (in a southeastern rural community) children's attitudes toward persistence, life goals and sex-stereotypes, as potential barriers to their pursuit of…

Helping Struggling Middle School Literacy Learners Achieve Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palumbo, Anthony; Sanacore, Joseph

2009-01-01

Teachers can help minority children close the academic achievement gap in intermediate and middle school by combining literacy instruction and content-area material. This connection improves reading achievement and increases curriculum knowledge, even if students have previously experienced difficulty with primary school reading. Fortunately,…

Motivacion y estudiantes de secundaria (Motivation and Middle School Students). ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderman, Lynley Hicks; Midgley, Carol

Research has shown a decline in motivation and performance for many children as they move from elementary school into middle school; however, research has also shown that the nature of motivational change on entry to middle school depends on characteristics of the learning environment in which students find themselves. This Digest outlines some…

Languages Discourses in Australian Middle-Class Schools: Parent and Student Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Jan; Cruickshank, Ken; Black, Stephen

2018-01-01

Much of the literature on social class and language study in schools argues that for middle-class parents and their children, languages are chosen for their capacity to offer forms of distinction that provide an edge in the global labour market. In this paper, we draw on data collected from interviews with parents and children in middle-class…

Middle School Advisement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ball, Tricia

Designed for those teaching an advisement program to middle school students, this book provides a year-long program with suggestions for many activities geared to middle school students. The text is divided into the traditional four-quarter school year but can be adapted to any school year configuration. The activities are designed so that the…

Middle School Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finks, Harry

The middle school provides a planned transition from childhood to young adulthood: it moves a student from the protective nurture of elementary school to the more depersonalized high school setting gradually, sensitively, and by design. Composed of the ideas from middle school education that each of the educators who choose this wonderful level of…

It is not just the poor kids: the use of AAE forms by African-American school-aged children from middle SES communities.

PubMed

Horton-Ikard, RaMonda; Miller, Jon F

2004-01-01

This study examined the production of African-American English (AAE) forms produced by 69 school-aged African-American children from middle socio-economic status (SES) communities to determine if age would influence: (a) the number of different types of AAE tokens and (b) the rate of dialect. Descriptive data revealed that there were more than 20 AAE morpho-syntactic forms collectively used by the children. The findings also indicated that factors of age, gender, and sampling context interacted in a variety of ways to influence these children's production of the number of different types of AAE tokens, and the rate of dialect. Readers should have (1) an increased awareness about the use of AAE forms in school-age children from middle SES homes; (2) a greater understanding of how the production of AAE might be influenced by age, gender, and sampling context.

Electronic bullying among middle school students.

PubMed

Kowalski, Robin M; Limber, Susan P

2007-12-01

Electronic communications technologies are affording children and adolescents new means of bullying one another. Referred to as electronic bullying, cyberbullying, or online social cruelty, this phenomenon includes bullying through e-mail, instant messaging, in a chat room, on a website, or through digital messages or images sent to a cell phone. The present study examined the prevalence of electronic bullying among middle school students. A total of 3,767 middle school students in grades 6, 7, and 8 who attend six elementary and middle schools in the southeastern and northwestern United States completed a questionnaire, consisting of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and 23 questions developed for this study that examined participants' experiences with electronic bullying, as both victims and perpetrators. Of the students, 11% that they had been electronically bullied at least once in the last couple of months (victims only); 7% indicated that they were bully/victims; and 4% had electronically bullied someone else at least once in the previous couple of months (bullies only). The most common methods for electronic bullying (as reported by both victims and perpetrators) involved the use of instant messaging, chat rooms, and e-mail. Importantly, close to half of the electronic bully victims reported not knowing the perpetrator's identity. Electronic bullying represents a problem of significant magnitude. As children's use of electronic communications technologies is unlikely to wane in coming years, continued attention to electronic bullying is critical. Implications of these findings for youth, parents, and educators are discussed.

Transitions between subclasses of bullying and victimization when entering middle school.

PubMed

Williford, Anne; Boulton, Aaron J; Jenson, Jeffrey M

2014-01-01

We examined the effects of depressive symptoms, antisocial attitudes, and perspective-taking empathy on patterns of bullying and victimization during the transition from late elementary (4th grade to 5th grade) to middle school (6th grade) among 1,077 students who participated in the Youth Matters (YM) bullying prevention trial. Latent transition analysis was used to establish classes of bullying, victimization, bully-victimization, and uninvolvement. The intervention had a positive impact on children as they moved from elementary to middle school. More students in the YM group transitioned from the involved statuses to the uninvolved status than students in the control group during the move to middle school. Elementary school bullies with higher levels of depressive symptoms were less likely than other students to move to an uninvolved status in the first year of middle school. Students who held greater antisocial attitudes were more likely to be a member of the bully-victim status than the uninvolved status during the move to middle school. Perspective-taking empathy, however, was not a significant predictor of status change during the transition to middle school. Implications for school-based prevention programs during the move to middle school are noted. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Rescuing Middle School Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayo, L. A.; Janney, D.

2010-12-01

There is a crisis in education at the middle school level (Spellings, 2006). Recent studies point to large disparities in middle school performance in schools with high minority populations. The largest disparities exist in areas of math and science. Astronomy has a universal appeal for K-12 students but is rarely taught at the middle school level. When it is taught at all it is usually taught in isolation with few references in other classes such as other sciences (e.g. physics, biology, and chemistry), math, history, geography, music, art, or English. The problem is greatest in our most challenged school districts. With scores in reading and math below national averages in these schools and with most state achievement tests ignoring subjects like astronomy, there is little room in the school day to teach about the world outside our atmosphere. Add to this the exceedingly minimal training and education in astronomy that most middle school teachers have and it is a rare school that includes any astronomy teaching at all. In this presentation, we show how to develop and offer an astronomy education training program for middle school teachers encompassing a wide range of educational disciplines that are frequently taught at the middle school level. The prototype for this program was developed and launched in two of the most challenged and diverse school systems in the country; D.C. Public Schools, and Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools.

Art Teaching: Elementary through Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szekely, George; Bucknam, Julie Alsip

2011-01-01

"Art Teaching" speaks to a new generation of art teachers in a changing society and fresh art world. Comprehensive and up-to-date, it presents fundamental theories, principles, creative approaches, and resources for art teaching in elementary through middle-school. Key sections focus on how children make art, why they make art, the unique…

Project Trust: Breaking down Barriers between Middle School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batiuk, Mary Ellen; Boland, James A.; Wilcox, Norma

2004-01-01

This paper analyzes the success of a camp retreat weekend called Project Trust involving middle school students and teachers. The goal of the camp is to break down barriers between cliques identified as active in the school. The camp focuses on building team relationships across clique membership and incorporates elements of peace education and…

Perceptions of School Nurses regarding Obesity in School-Age Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moyers, Pamela; Bugle, Linda; Jackson, Elaine

2005-01-01

Obesity is epidemic in the nation's school-age population with African American and Hispanic children and adolescents specifically at risk. School nurses at elementary and middle public schools in the Missouri 8th Congressional District were surveyed regarding their perceptions of childhood obesity. School nurses supported preventive interventions…

Middle school transition and body weight outcomes: Evidence from Arkansas Public Schoolchildren.

PubMed

Zeng, Di; Thomsen, Michael R; Nayga, Rodolfo M; Rouse, Heather L

2016-05-01

There is evidence that middle school transition adversely affects educational and psychological outcomes of pre-teen children, but little is known about the impacts of middle school transition on other aspects of health. In this article, we estimate the impact of middle school transition on the body mass index (BMI) of public schoolchildren in Arkansas, United States. Using an instrumental variable approach, we find that middle school transition in grade 6 led to a moderate decrease of 0.04 standard deviations in BMI z-scores for all students. Analysis by subsample indicated that this result was driven by boys (0.06-0.07 standard deviations) and especially by non-minority boys (0.09 standard deviations). We speculate that the changing levels of physical activities associated with middle school transition provide the most reasonable explanation for this result. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Middle School Children's Mathematical Reasoning and Proving Schemes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Yating; Manouchehri, Azita

2013-01-01

In this work we explored proof schemes used by 41 middle school students when confronted with four mathematical propositions that demanded verification of accuracy of statements. The students' perception of mathematically complete vs. convincing arguments in different mathematics branches was also elicited. Lastly, we considered whether the…

School Counselors' Perceptions of Biracial Children: A Pilot Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Henry L.

2002-01-01

Examines school counselors' personal perceptions of biracial children. It was found that elementary school counselors perceived biracial children as having more behavioral problems than their middle and high school counterparts. Results also suggested that the perceptions of biracial individuals held by school counselors working in school…

Developmental Assets and the Middle School Counselor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scales, Peter C.

2005-01-01

Search Institute has identified 40 Developmental Assets[TM] that are building blocks of healthy development and success for children and adolescents. Young people's experience of most of these developmental assets declines over the middle school years. In this article, research is described showing the prevalence and impact of developmental assets…

Hormone-Driven Kids: A Call for Social and Emotional Learning in the Middle School Years.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stern, Robin

1999-01-01

Describes the basic tenets of social and emotional learning; discusses the emotional and social challenges that middle school children face; and provides suggestions for parents and teachers to help promote smooth sailing through these rocky middle school years. (SR)

Middle Schools Reach Out to the Homebound.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tellekamp, Madeleine

The problem addressed in this practicum was multifaceted: how to alleviate feelings of isolation experienced by hospitalized and homebound (H/H) children and their families; how to increase professional understanding of H/H teachers' sensitive and demanding roles; and how to increase the sensitivity of middle school students and faculty to the…

Exploring School Stress in Middle Childhood: Interpretations, Experiences, and Coping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sotardi, Valerie A.

2017-01-01

With increased academic and social challenges at school, middle childhood can be a particularly stressful time. The present study explored how a sample of children from a supportive learning environment interpreted, experienced and reported coping with everyday stress at school. Using a phenomenological approach, third graders attending an…

Value recognition and eating patterns of Kimchi in female middle school students and their mothers

PubMed Central

Lee, Min-June; Yoon, In-Kyung

2007-01-01

This study analyzed Kimchi eating culture in 178 households with female middle school children located in Incheon and Seosan areas, investigated the Kimchi eating patterns of female middle school students, and also analyzed the differences in value recognition for Kimchi between mothers and their female middle school students. Results showed that 23.0% of subject households answered eat Kimchi at every meal and the main reason for eating Kimchi in most households was good for taste. Most households made their own Kimchi, and only 12.3% of households bought Kimchi. Subject households preferred hot and spicy taste (34.8%) and pleasing taste (20.2%), and 44.4% of middle school children answered as eating Kimchi at every meal, and the source for information on Kimchi was home in 51.6% and mass media in 33.7%, suggesting the lack of school education. Both mothers and their female middle school students placed high value on Kimchi for its nutritional aspect and on Kimchi from the market for its convenience. Mothers showed significantly higher value (p<0.05) on the storage aspect of Kimchi compared to their middle school students, and female middle school students showed significantly higher value (p<0.05) on the value recognition for Kimchi as an international food compared to their mothers. Also, the value for hot pepper powder was high among other additional ingredients, and both mothers and middle school students had high values for Kimchi stew among other food dishes using Kimchi, and middle school students showed higher values (p<0.001) on foreign dishes using Kimchi such as Kimchi pizza and Kimchi spaghetti compared to the mothers group. Therefore, based on these results, the development of educational programs on Kimchi is needed not only at home but also at schools, by re-emphasizing the importance of value recognition for KImchi in our food culture. PMID:20535401

Science Achievement and Self-Efficacy among Middle School Age Children as Related to Student Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, William; Sottile, James M., Jr.; Carter, Jennifer

The purpose of this research was to document the relationship among student development, science achievement, and self-efficacy among middle school students. A novel survey was created to determine the self-efficacy levels of the middle school students. The middle school students were also administered two novel content quizzes in the area of…

Changes in Student Science Interest from Elementary to Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coutts, Trudi E.

2012-01-01

This study is a transcendental phenomenological study that described the experience of students' interest in science from elementary school through middle school grades and the identification of the factors that increase or decrease interest in science. Numerous researchers have found that interest in science changes among children and the change…

Reliability and validity of a brief questionnaire to assess television viewing and computer use by middle school children.

PubMed

Schmitz, Kathryn H; Harnack, Lisa; Fulton, Janet E; Jacobs, David R; Gao, Shujun; Lytle, Leslie A; Van Coevering, Pam

2004-11-01

Sedentary behaviors, like television viewing, are positively associated with overweight among young people. To monitor national health objectives for sedentary behaviors in young adolescents, this project developed and assessed the reliability and validity of a brief questionnaire to measure weekly television viewing, usual television viewing, and computer use by middle school children. Reliability and validity of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) question on weekday television viewing also were examined. A brief, five-item television and computer use questionnaire was completed twice by 245 middle school children with one week apart. To concurrently assess validity, students also completed television and computer use logs for seven days. Among all students, Spearman correlations for test-retest reliability for television viewing and computer use ranged from 0.55 to 0.68. Spearman correlations between the first questionnaire and the seven-day log produced the following results: YRBS question for weekday television viewing (0.46), weekend television viewing (0.37), average television viewing over the week (0.47), and computer use (0.39). Methods comparison analysis showed a mean difference (hours/week) between answers to questionnaire items and the log of -0.04 (1.70 standard deviation [SD]) hours for weekday television, -0.21 (2.54 SD) for weekend television, -0.09 (1.75 SD) for average television over the week, and 0.68 (1.26 SD) for computer use. The YRBS weekday television viewing question, and the newly developed questions to assess weekend television viewing, average television viewing, and computer use, produced adequate reliability and validity for surveillance of middle school students.

Mayhem in the Middle: How Middle Schools Have Failed America--And How to Make Them Work. Compact Guides to Education Solutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yecke, Cheri Pierson

2005-01-01

The author defines "middle schoolism" as "an approach to educating children in the middle grades (usually grades 5-8), popularized in the latter half of the 20th century, that contributed to a precipitous decline in academic achievement among American early adolescents." She argues that many middle schools are on the right…

The Role of Executive Function in Children’s Competent Adjustment to Middle School

PubMed Central

Jacobson, Lisa A.; Williford, Amanda P.; Pianta, Robert C.

2012-01-01

Executive function (EF) skills play an important role in children’s cognitive and social functioning. These skills develop throughout childhood, concurrently with a number of developmental transitions and challenges. One of these challenges is the transition from elementary into middle-level schools, which has the potential to significantly disrupt children’s academic and social trajectories. However, little is known about the role of EF in children’s adjustment during this transition. This study investigated the relation between children’s EF skills, assessed both before and during elementary school, and sixth grade academic and social competence. In addition, the influences of the type of school setting attended in sixth grade on children’s academic and behavioral outcomes were examined. EF assessed prior to and during elementary school significantly predicted sixth grade competence, as rated by teachers and parents, in both academic and social domains, after controlling for background characteristics. The interactions between type of school setting and EF skills were significant: parents tended to report more behavioral problems and less regulatory control in children with weaker EF skills who were attending middle school. In contrast, teachers reported greater academic and behavioral difficulty in students with poorer EF attending elementary school settings. In conclusion, children’s performance-based EF skills significantly affect adjustment to the academic and behavioral demands of sixth grade, with parent report suggesting greater difficulty for children with poorer EF in settings where children are provided with less external supports (e.g., middle school). PMID:21246422

Are Middle Schools More Effective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bedard, Kelly; Do, Chan

2005-01-01

While nearly half of all school districts have adopted middle schools, there is little quantitative evidence of the efficacy of this educational structure. We estimate the impact of moving from a junior high school system, where students stay in elementary school longer, to a middle school system for on-time high school completion. This is a…

Educating At-Risk Urban African American Children: A Comparison of Two Types of Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenzel, L. Mickey; Domingues, Janine; Raughley, Brigid C.

2006-01-01

Evidence is clear that urban high poverty public schools are failing to meet the educational needs of its students, particularly students of color. The present study examines the effectiveness of two types of high poverty parochial schools for 354 African American middle school students. Results show that alternative middle schools, known as…

Middle School Teachers and School Leadership Perceptions of School Culture: An Examination of the Transition from Junior Highs to Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaney, Maura Chase

2013-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to examine the transition from junior high school to a middle school as experienced in two middle schools from a mid-sized urban school district located in the Rocky Mountains. The overarching question that guided data collection for this study centered on the factors that influenced school culture before,…

Geo-spatial and log-linear analysis of pedestrian and bicyclist crashes involving school-aged children.

PubMed

Abdel-Aty, Mohamed; Chundi, Sai Srinivas; Lee, Chris

2007-01-01

There is a growing concern with the safety of school-aged children. This study identifies the locations of pedestrian/bicyclist crashes involving school-aged children and examines the conditions when these crashes are more likely to occur. The 5-year records of crashes in Orange County, Florida where school-aged children were involved were used. The spatial distribution of these crashes was investigated using the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the likelihoods of crash occurrence under different conditions were estimated using log-linear models. A majority of school-aged children crashes occurred in the areas near schools. Although elementary school children were generally very involved, middle and high school children were more involved in crashes, particularly on high-speed multi-lane roadways. Driver's age, gender, and alcohol use, pedestrian's/bicyclist's age, number of lanes, median type, speed limits, and speed ratio were also found to be correlated with the frequency of crashes. The result confirms that school-aged children are exposed to high crash risk near schools. High crash involvement of middle and high school children reflects that middle and high schools tend to be located near multi-lane high-speed roads. The pedestrian's/bicyclist's demographic factors and geometric characteristics of the roads adjacent to schools associated with school children's crash involvement are of interest to school districts.

Listening to Their Voices: Middle Schoolers' Perspectives of Life in Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinberg, Mary Anne; McCray, Erica D.

2012-01-01

This article examines middle schoolers' perspectives on their lives in middle school. Fifteen middle school students from three middle schools in the Southeast region of the United States participated in a basic qualitative study using focus groups at their schools where they were asked the central question, "If you could change one thing at…

Health Shocks and Children's School Attainments in Rural China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Ang; Yao, Yang

2010-01-01

Using a long panel dataset of Chinese farm households covering the period of 1987-2002, this paper studies how major health shocks happening to household adults affect children's school attainments. We find that primary school-age children are the most vulnerable to health shocks, with their chances to enter middle school dropping by 9.9…

Woodbridge Middle School: Getting Better Together

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Principal Leadership, 2012

2012-01-01

This article features Woodbridge Middle School, a middle school in Woodbridge, Virginia, which has always celebrated a tradition of excellence. Today's Woodbridge Middle School in no way resembles the school that existed in 2005. Then, the students were mostly White and few qualified for the free and reduced-price meals program; today, there is no…

Parental aggression as a predictor of boys’ hostile attribution across the transition to middle school

PubMed Central

Yaros, Anna; Lochman, John E.; Wells, Karen C.

2015-01-01

Aggression among youth is public health problem that is often studied in the context of how youth interpret social information. Social cognitive factors, especially hostile attribution biases, have been identified as risk factors for the development of youth aggression, particularly across the transition to middle school. Parental behaviors, including parental aggression to children in the form of corporal punishment and other aggressive behavior, have also been linked to aggressive behavior in children at these ages. Despite the important role played by these two risk factors, the connection between the two has not been fully studied in the literature. This study examined the link between parental aggression and children’ hostile attributions longitudinally among a diverse sample of 123 boys as they entered middle school. Results support acceptance of a model in which parental aggression to children prior to entering middle school predicted children’s hostile attributions after the transition to middle school above and beyond that which was predicted by previous levels of hostile attributions. As expected, hostile attributions also predicted change in parent- and teacher-rated child aggression. These findings provides important evidence of the role that parental behavior plays in youth social cognition at this critical age, which has implications for understanding the development of aggressive behavior. PMID:27647945

Middle School Teachers' Theories of Puberty.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LeTendre, Gerald

This study explored middle school teachers' perspectives on and expectations of adolescence and puberty, using observations and interviews of 15 teachers in two Japanese middle schools and two United States (U.S.) middle schools, as well as a survey of teachers in selected schools in both nations. Teachers in the U.S. described puberty as being…

Middle School Students' Beliefs about Matter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakhleh, Mary B.; Samarapungavan, Ala; Saglam, Yilmaz

2005-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine middle school students' developing understanding of the nature of matter and to compare middle school students' ideas to those of elementary schools students, as was done by Nakhleh and Samarapungavan ["J Res Sci Teach" 36(7):777-805, 1999]. Nine middle school students were interviewed using a scripted,…

The Role Behavioral Adjustment Plays in Placing Middle School Students "At Risk" of Academic Failure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flynn, Timothy M.

The role of behavioral adjustment in placing middle school students at risk academically is examined using 23 middle school teachers' and 378 parents' ratings of 389 children (53 percent blacks and 47 percent whites) on Conner's Parent Rating Scale and Conner's Teacher Rating Scale. The average rating on the scales for both sets of ratings is…

Engaging Middle School Students in Physical Education and Physical Activity Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doolittle, Sarah

2016-01-01

With school-based physical activity emerging as a public health issue, it is more important than ever to understand what keeps children and adolescents interested and participating in physical education and physical activity. As the research on physical activity patterns indicates, the middle school years may be a watershed moment in the lives of…

Parental School Choices in Market-Oriented School Systems: Why Middle Class Asian Immigrants Self-Select into Specialized Academic Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Padilla, Hoang-Thuy

2012-01-01

This study addresses racial segregation in schools by examining the self-selecting patterns of middle class Asian immigrant parents in a public non-charter school district who enrolled their children in specialized academic programs. This phenomenological study focused on the educational history and the decision-making process of school choice in…

Female Middle School Principals' Voices: Implications for School Leadership Preparation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Cathy; Ovando, Martha; High, Cynthia

2009-01-01

This study was an attempt to add the voices of women to the discourse of school leadership. It focused on the nature of the middle school leadership experiences of three female middle school principals, their social interactions based on gender role expectations and their own leadership perspectives. Findings suggest that middle school leadership…

Who dispenses pharmaceuticals to children at school?

PubMed

Francis, E E; Hemmat, J P; Treloar, D M; Yarandi, H

1996-12-01

Use of both prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals has increased among children. Many of these drugs are taken during school hours and dispensed by school personnel who are not health professionals. They know little or nothing about the drugs themselves or the medical conditions requiring their use. This survey examined the extent to which pharmaceuticals are dispensed in schools in one Florida county. Public elementary, middle, and high schools and six private schools were surveyed for one week. All medications dispensed by school personnel during that time were recorded. Of 28,134 children surveyed, 1,016 children received 5,411 doses of medication. Thirty-one categories of drugs were dispensed including controlled substances. Methylphenidate was the most widely dispensed drug, comprising about half of all the medications given in school. Medication use was evaluated in terms of gender, race, and socioeconomic status of the children.

Effects of tobacco smoke exposure on asthma prevalence and medical care use in North Carolina middle school children.

PubMed

Sturm, Jesse J; Yeatts, Karin; Loomis, Dana

2004-02-01

We sought to determine the effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and childhood cigarette smoking on asthma symptoms among middle school children in North Carolina. During 1999-2000, information was collected from a survey completed by the children. Outcomes of asthma symptom reporting were regressed on tobacco smoke exposures. Children who currently smoked or reported any exposure to ETS were at increased risk of reporting active asthma symptoms. Exposure to ETS and childhood cigarette smoking was responsible for 15% of the asthma cases observed in the study population and $1.34 million in excess medical expenditures. Even at low levels of exposure, childhood cigarette smoking and ETS are independently associated with asthmatic symptoms.

[Preschool familial environment and academic difficulties: A 10-year follow-up from kindergarten to middle school].

PubMed

Câmara-Costa, H; Pulgar, S; Cusin, F; Dellatolas, G

2016-02-01

The persistence of academic difficulties from childhood through adulthood has led researchers to focus on the identification of the early factors influencing children's subsequent achievement in order to improve the efficient screening of children who might be at risk of school failure. The foundations of academic achievement can be accurately traced back to the preschool years prior to children's entry in formal schooling and are largely influenced by environmental determinants. Importantly, some environmental conditions act as early risk factors undermining children's later academic achievement due to the well-established relation between underachievement and exposure to moderate to high levels of environmental risk. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the longitudinal effects of environment-level factors (sociodemographic and family characteristics) and early risk exposure at kindergarten on children's subsequent academic achievement at the end of middle school (grade 9). The sample of analysis comprised 654 kindergarteners aged 5-6 years (2001-2002 school year) followed through the end of middle school when they were aged 14-15 years (2010-2011 school year). At kindergarten, assessment included questionnaire-based measures of sociodemographic and family background characteristics. These included an original set of information pertaining to family background including parental nationality, education level, history of reading difficulties, type of early childcare, family situation, family size, and language-based bedtime routines, as well as individual-level factors such as children's first language, medical history, language delay, birth weight, age of walking onset, and gestation period. At grade 9, outcome measures were composed of children's results in the national evaluations performed at the end of middle school ("Diplôme National du Brevet"), or history of repetition for a second year of the same class. The results indicated that all family

School Counselors' Perceptions of Their Training Regarding School-Age Children's Mental Health Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Primiano, Jaime

2013-01-01

A scarcity of research exists concerning professional school counselors' perceptions of their training regarding recognizing and addressing the mental health issues of children and adolescents in the elementary, middle, and high school setting. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of professional school counselors regarding…

Middle school students' beliefs about matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakhleh, Mary B.; Samarapungavan, Ala; Saglam, Yilmaz

2005-05-01

The objective of this study was to examine middle school students' developing understanding of the nature of matter and to compare middle school students' ideas to those of elementary schools students, as was done by Nakhleh and Samarapungavan [J Res Sci Teach 36(7):777-805, 1999]. Nine middle school students were interviewed using a scripted, semistructured interview. The interview probed students' understanding of the composition and particulate (atomic/molecular) structure of a variety of material substances; the relationship between particulate structure and macroscopic properties such as fluidity and malleability; as well as understanding of processes such as phase transition and dissolving. The results indicate that most of the middle school students interviewed knew that matter was composed of atoms and molecules and some of them were able to use this knowledge to explain some processes such as phase transitions of water. In contrast, almost no elementary students knew that matter was composed of atoms and molecules. However, the middle school students were unable to consistently explain material properties or processes based on their knowledge of material composition. In contrast to elementary school students, who had scientifically inaccurate but relatively consistent (macrocontinuous or macroparticulate) knowledge frameworks, the middle school students could not be classified as having consistent knowledge frameworks because their ideas were very fragmented. The fragmentation of middle school students' ideas about matter probably reflects the difficulty of assimilating the microscopic level scientific knowledge acquired through formal instruction into students' initial macroscopic knowledge frameworks.

Male and Female Middle School Students' Perceptions of Maternal Employment as a Function of Gender and School Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Debi; Lindquist, Mia; Strauss, Aviva; Gorton, Larua; McCauley, Joyce; Nyce, Susan; Johnson, Lisa; Covert, Stephanie; Maggi, Leigh; Fields, Susan; Eddy, Preethy; Black, Aimee; Denis, Lauren; Chambliss, Catherine

This study examined middle school students' perceptions of maternal employment, as a function of their gender and type of school environment (suburban vs. urban). A four-part survey, which included information about the respondents' mother's work status, the Beliefs About Consequences of Maternal Employment for Children (BACMEC) scale, and…

Which behavioral, emotional and school problems in middle-childhood predict early sexual behavior?

PubMed

Parkes, Alison; Waylen, Andrea; Sayal, Kapil; Heron, Jon; Henderson, Marion; Wight, Daniel; Macleod, John

2014-04-01

Mental health and school adjustment problems are thought to distinguish early sexual behavior from normative timing (16-18 years), but little is known about how early sexual behavior originates from these problems in middle-childhood. Existing studies do not allow for co-occurring problems, differences in onset and persistence, and there is no information on middle-childhood school adjustment in relationship to early sexual activity. This study examined associations between several middle-childhood problems and early sexual behavior, using a subsample (N = 4,739, 53 % female, 98 % white, mean age 15 years 6 months) from a birth cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Adolescents provided information at age 15 on early sexual behavior (oral sex and/or intercourse) and sexual risk-taking, and at age 13 on prior risk involvement (sexual behavior, antisocial behavior and substance use). Information on hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems, depressive symptoms, peer relationship problems, school dislike and school performance was collected in middle-childhood at Time 1 (6-8 years) and Time 2 (10-11 years). In agreement with previous research, conduct problems predicted early sexual behavior, although this was found only for persistent early problems. In addition, Time 2 school dislike predicted early sexual behavior, while peer relationship problems were protective. Persistent early school dislike further characterized higher-risk groups (early sexual behavior preceded by age 13 risk, or accompanied by higher sexual risk-taking). The study establishes middle-childhood school dislike as a novel risk factor for early sexual behavior and higher-risk groups, and the importance of persistent conduct problems. Implications for the identification of children at risk and targeted intervention are discussed, as well as suggestions for further research.

Fieldale-Collinsville Middle School: Banishing Anonymity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Principal Leadership, 2010

2010-01-01

It is no accident that the staff at Fieldale-Collinsville Middle School adopted a central tenet of "Breaking Ranks in the Middle"--to banish anonymity by creating a personalized learning environment for all of its students. The school was created six years ago when the four middle schools in Henry County, VA, were consolidated into two…

Recruiting Middle School Students into Nursing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matutina, Robin E.

2008-01-01

The purpose of this literature review is to illustrate the importance of initiating nursing recruitment during the middle school years. Data sources included citations from the years 1989 to 2006. The study focused on middle school students 9 to 13 years of age in Grades 6 to 8. One survey compared middle school students' perceptions of an ideal…

Renewing the Middle School: The Early Success of Middle School Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Paul S.

2009-01-01

Renewing the Middle School is a special three-part series in which the author, an eminent scholar in the field of middle grades education, offers his view on the status of middle grades education and its prospects for the future. In this part of the series, he responds strongly to some of the criticism that has been aimed at American public…

White Middle Class Identities and Urban Schooling. Identity Studies in the Social Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reay, Diane; Crozier, Gill; James, David

2011-01-01

This book examines experiences and implications of "against-the-grain" school choices, where white middle class families choose ordinary and "low performing" secondary schools for their children. It offers a unique view of identity formation, taking in matters like family history, locality and whiteness.

Middle School Program and Participatory Planning Drive School Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Kevin

1996-01-01

Uses the example of award-winning Black Hawk Middle School in Minnesota to examine: (1) developing a middle school architecture; (2) benefits of the house concept; (3) the need for staff involvement in school design; (4) assembling houses into schools; (5) reduced discipline problems; (6) fostering teacher collaboration; and (7) measuring success.…

Alternative education programmes and middle school dropout in Honduras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Jeffery H.; Aguilar, Claudia R.; Alas, Mario; Castellanos, Renán Rápalo; Castro, Levi; Enamorado, Ramón; Fonseca, Esther

2014-05-01

Honduras has made steady progress in expanding post-primary school coverage in recent years, but many rural communities still do not provide a middle (lower secondary) school. As a result, Honduras has implemented a number of middle school alternative programmes designed to meet the needs of at-risk populations throughout the country. This article analyses dropout in three of the four main alternative lower secondary school programmes in Honduras over a three-year period for a cohort of roughly 5,500 students. The results show that these programmes are indeed reaching a vulnerable population in the country, but dropout rates are generally very high - upwards of 50 per cent in some cases - between Grades 7 and 9. Furthermore, even in the control school comparison samples made up of formal lower secondary schools, about 25 per cent of children leave school between Grades 7 and 9. The authors' analysis includes propensity score matching (PSM) methods that make more focused comparisons between students in alternative programmes and control samples. These results show that dropout rates in alternative programmes are not much different than in control schools, and only significant in one programme comparison, when taking into account family background characteristics like socioeconomic status (SES). Multivariate analysis within alternative programme samples finds that attrition is lower in those learning centres which have adopted key features of formal schools, such as university-educated teachers. The results highlight the tremendous variation in the alternative middle school sector in terms of programme features, school quality and student outcomes, as well as the challenges of expanding this sector to meet the growing demand for lower secondary schooling in Honduras.

Student Achievement and Fidelity of Implementation of the Middle School Concept in Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Delilah A.

2013-01-01

This study, using qualitative, multiple case methodology, examined four middle schools within a Local Education Agency (LEA) in eastern North Carolina to determine whether the implementation of key middle school features; (a) interdisciplinary teaming, (b) flexible scheduling, (c) advisor/advisee relationships, and (d) an integrative, exploratory…

Middle-Class Mothers on Urban School Selection in Gentrifying Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Amy; Lakes, Richard D.

2016-01-01

This study examined middle-class mothers' engagement in urban school selection as residents of two gentrifying neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia. Gentrifiers levy social capital when activating or exercising agency and create social networks that valorize child-rearing concerns through exchange of information. Thirty mothers with children under…

Associations between parental limits, school vending machine purchases, and soft drink consumption among Kentucky middle school students.

PubMed

Nickelson, Jen; Roseman, Mary G; Forthofer, Melinda S

2010-01-01

To examine associations between parental limits on soft drinks and purchasing soft drinks from school vending machines and consuming soft drinks among middle school students. Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the middle school Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Eight public middle schools in central Kentucky. All sixth- through eighth-grade students in 7 schools and all eighth-grade students in 1 school (n = 4,049). Self-reported parental limits on soft drink intake, school vending machine soft drink purchases, soft drink consumption, and control variables. Chi-square and binary logistic regression analyses. Compared to students with no parental limits on soft drink consumption, students with the strictest limits were less likely to purchase soft drinks from school vending machines and consume soft drinks; conversely, students with minor parental limitations were more likely to consume soft drinks. The odds of consuming soft drinks were nearly 4 times greater when students purchased soft drinks from school vending machines than when they did not. Further research may enhance understanding of the influence of varying degrees of parental limitations. Efforts to reduce children's soft drink consumption may be augmented by policies limiting soft drink purchases in schools. Copyright 2010 Society for Nutrition Education. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lesher Middle School: Commitment by Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Principal Leadership, 2012

2012-01-01

This article features Lesher Middle School, a school of choice, as are all of the schools in the Poudre School District in Ft. Collins, Colorado. In 2004, it was a traditional junior high school with a declining enrollment that housed an application-based International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) that resulted in tracking…

The Challenge of Counseling in Middle Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Rourke, Kathleen, Ed.

This book of readings presents 33 articles that address topics of importance to counselors who serve middle school students. It was written for counselors already working in middle schools and for individuals who are preparing for careers as middle school counselors. The book will also benefit both elementary school counselors who help children…

School-level economic disadvantage and obesity in middle school children in central Texas, USA: a cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Background Although children of lower socio-economic status (SES) in the United States have generally been found to be at greater risk for obesity, the SES-obesity association varies when stratified by racial/ethnic groups-with no consistent association found for African American and Hispanic children. Research on contextual and setting-related factors may provide further insights into ethnic and SES disparities in obesity. We examined whether obesity levels among central Texas 8th grade students (n=2682) vary by school-level economic disadvantage across individual-level family SES and racial/ethnicity groups. As a secondary aim, we compared the association of school-level economic disadvantage and obesity by language spoken with parents (English or Spanish) among Hispanic students. Methods Multilevel regression models stratified by family SES and ethnicity were run using cross-sectional baseline data from five school districts participating in the Central Texas CATCH Middle School project. For family SES, independent multi-level logistic regression models were run for total sample and by gender for each family SES stratum (poor/near poor/just getting by, living comfortably, and very well off), adjusting for age, ethnicity, and gender. Similarly, multi-level regression models were run by race/ethnic group (African American, Hispanic, and White), adjusting for age, family SES, and gender. Results Students attending highly economically disadvantaged (ED) schools were between 1.7 (95% CI: 1.1-2.6) and 2.4 (95% CI: 1.2-4.8) times more likely to be obese as students attending low ED schools across family SES groups (p<.05). African American (ORAdj =3.4, 95% CI: 1.1-11.4), Hispanic (ORAdj=1.8, 95% CI 1.1-3.0) and White (ORAdj=3.8, 95% CI: 1.6-8.9) students attending high ED schools were more likely to be obese as counterparts at low ED schools (p<.05). Gender-stratified findings were similar to findings for total sample, although fewer results reached significance. While

Developmental Characteristics of Middle Schoolers and Middle School Organization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thornburg, Hershel D.

The extent to which the middle school becomes a true educational alternative is directly related to the ability of middle school educators and researchers to identify and investigate the developmental needs and learning capacities of students. Three important developmental characteristics of early adolescents are a high need for peer friendships,…

The role of anxiety symptoms in school performance in a community sample of children and adolescents

PubMed Central

Mazzone, Luigi; Ducci, Francesca; Scoto, Maria Cristina; Passaniti, Eleonora; D'Arrigo, Valentina Genitori; Vitiello, Benedetto

2007-01-01

Background Anxiety symptoms are relatively common among children and adolescents and can interfere with functioning. The prevalence of anxiety and the relationship between anxiety and school performance were examined among elementary, middle, and high school students. Methods Samples of elementary (N = 131, age 8–10 years), middle (N = 267, age 11–13 years), and high school (N = 80, age 14–16 years) children were recruited from four public schools in a predominantly middle-class community in Catania, Italy. Children completed the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC). T-scores were computed for the MASC total scores, and considered to be in the anxious range if 65 or above. Current academic grades were obtained from school records. Results Of the 478 children, 35 (7.3%) had a MASC T-score in the anxious range. The rate of children in the anxious range was 2.3% in elementary, 7.9% in middle, and 15.9% in high school (χ2 = 7.8, df = 2, p < 0.05), and was 14.1% among students with insufficient grades, 9.4% among those with sufficient grades, and 3.9% among those with good or very good grades (χ2 = 11.68, df = 2, p < 0.01). Conclusion In this community sample of children and adolescents attending elementary through high school, the prevalence of abnormally high self-reported levels of anxiety increased in frequency with age and was negatively associated with school performance. PMID:18053257

The role of anxiety symptoms in school performance in a community sample of children and adolescents.

PubMed

Mazzone, Luigi; Ducci, Francesca; Scoto, Maria Cristina; Passaniti, Eleonora; D'Arrigo, Valentina Genitori; Vitiello, Benedetto

2007-12-05

Anxiety symptoms are relatively common among children and adolescents and can interfere with functioning. The prevalence of anxiety and the relationship between anxiety and school performance were examined among elementary, middle, and high school students. Samples of elementary (N = 131, age 8-10 years), middle (N = 267, age 11-13 years), and high school (N = 80, age 14-16 years) children were recruited from four public schools in a predominantly middle-class community in Catania, Italy. Children completed the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC). T-scores were computed for the MASC total scores, and considered to be in the anxious range if 65 or above. Current academic grades were obtained from school records. Of the 478 children, 35 (7.3%) had a MASC T-score in the anxious range. The rate of children in the anxious range was 2.3% in elementary, 7.9% in middle, and 15.9% in high school (chi2 = 7.8, df = 2, p < 0.05), and was 14.1% among students with insufficient grades, 9.4% among those with sufficient grades, and 3.9% among those with good or very good grades (chi2 = 11.68, df = 2, p < 0.01). In this community sample of children and adolescents attending elementary through high school, the prevalence of abnormally high self-reported levels of anxiety increased in frequency with age and was negatively associated with school performance.

Strategies for Helping Children with Diabetes in Elementary and Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Getch, Yvette; Bhukhanwala, Foram; Neuharth-Pritchett, Stacey

2007-01-01

Given the increase in the numbers of children who are at risk for, or who have been diagnosed with, diabetes, school personnel must work as a team to effectively manage and support those children in school-based settings. Understanding the diabetic condition, developing an individualized healthcare plan that addresses the medical and academic…

Changes in Student Science Interest from Elementary to Middle School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coutts, Trudi E.

This study is a transcendental phenomenological study that described the experience of students’ interest in science from elementary school through middle school grades and the identification of the factors that increase or decrease interest in science. Numerous researchers have found that interest in science changes among children and the change in interest seems to modulate student motivation, which ultimately leads to fewer children choosing not only science classes in the future but science careers. Research studies have identified numerous factors that affect student interest in science; however, this study incorporated the lived experience of the child and looked at this interest in science through the lens of the child. The study design was a collective cross-case study that was multi-site based. This study utilized a sample of children in fifth grade classes of three different elementary schools, two distinct seventh grade classes of different middle schools, and ninth grade children from one high school in the State of Illinois. The phenomenon was investigated through student interviews. The use of one-on-one semi-structured interviews limited to 45 minutes in length provided the researcher with data of each child’s description of science interest. All interviews were audio- recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data was collected and analyzed in order to identify themes, and finally checked for validity. The most significant findings of this study, and possible factors contributing to science interest in children as they progress from elementary to high school, were those findings relating to hands-on activities, the degree to which a student was challenged, the offering of new versus previously studied topics in the curriculum, the perceived relevance of the curricular materials to personal life, and the empowerment children felt when they were allowed to make choices related to their learning experiences. This study’s possible implications for

Perceived impact on student engagement when learning middle school science in an outdoor setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbatiello, James

Human beings have an innate need to spend time outside, but in recent years children are spending less time outdoors. It is possible that this decline in time spent outdoors could have a negative impact on child development. Science teachers can combat the decline in the amount of time children spend outside by taking their science classes outdoors for regular classroom instruction. This study identified the potential impacts that learning in an outdoor setting might have on student engagement when learning middle school science. One sixth-grade middle school class participated in this case study, and students participated in outdoor intervention lessons where the instructional environment was a courtyard on the middle school campus. The outdoor lessons consisted of the same objectives and content as lessons delivered in an indoor setting during a middle school astronomy unit. Multiple sources of data were collected including questionnaires after each lesson, a focus group, student work samples, and researcher observations. The data was triangulated, and a vignette was written about the class' experiences learning in an outdoor setting. This study found that the feeling of autonomy and freedom gained by learning in an outdoor setting, and the novelty of the outdoor environment did increase student engagement for learning middle school science. In addition, as a result of this study, more work is needed to identify how peer to peer relationships are impacted by learning outdoors, how teachers could best utilize the outdoor setting for regular science instruction, and how learning in an outdoor setting might impact a feeling of stewardship for the environment in young adults.

Effectiveness of Basic Life Support Training for Middle School Students.

PubMed

Aloush, Sami; Tubaishat, Ahmad; ALBashtawy, Mohammed; Suliman, Mohammad; Alrimawi, Intima; Al Sabah, Ashraf; Banikhaled, Yousef

2018-01-01

Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation improves survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a basic life support (BLS) educational course given to 110 middle school children, using a pretest posttest design. In the pretest, students were asked to demonstrate BLS on a manikin to simulate a real-life scenario. After the pretest, a BLS training course of two sessions was provided, followed by posttest on the same manikin. Students were assessed using an observational sheet based on the American Heart Association's BLS guidelines. In the pretest, students showed significant weakness in the majority of guidelines. In the posttest, they demonstrated significant improvement in their BLS skills. BLS training in the middle school was effective, considering the lack of previous skills. It is recommended that BLS education be compulsory in the school setting.

Self-efficacy and enjoyment of middle school children performing the progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run (PACER).

PubMed

Kane, Irene; Robertson, Robert J; Fertman, Carl I; Nagle, Elizabeth F; McConnaha, Wendell R; Rabin, Bruce S

2013-10-01

Self-efficacy and enjoyment were examined among 34 middle school children (M age = 12.5 yr.) performing the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER). Exercise self-efficacy (running) and physical activity enjoyment were measured after viewing a video illustrating the PACER, and subsequently following a PACER test. Significantly greater pre- than post-exercise self-efficacy was reported; enjoyment scores did not differ. Ratings of self-efficacy were higher before exercise than after, but enjoyment scores were not significantly different. A significant correlation was found between post-exercise self-efficacy and enjoyment, but not between pre-exercise self-efficacy and enjoyment. Although positive correlations were found between PACER laps and pre-/post-exercise self-efficacy, correlations with ratings of enjoyment were not significant. Exercise self-efficacy was associated with children's beliefs about the task-specific PACER aerobic exercise; however, exercise enjoyment was stable. Children's self-efficacy and enjoyment beliefs should be considered when developing interventional strategies to promote aerobic exercise participation.

Epidemiology of basketball, soccer, and volleyball injuries in middle-school female athletes.

PubMed

Barber Foss, Kim D; Myer, Greg D; Hewett, Timothy E

2014-05-01

An estimated 30 to 40 million school children participate in sports in the United States; 34% of middle-school participants become injured and seek medical treatment at an annual cost close to $2 billion. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the injury incidence and rates in female athletes in the middle-school setting during the course of 3 seasons. Female basketball, soccer, and volleyball players were recruited from a single county public school district in Kentucky consisting of 5 middle schools. A total of 268 female athletes (162 basketball, 26 soccer, and 80 volleyball) participated. Athletes were monitored for sports-related injury and number of athlete exposures (AEs) by an athletic trainer. Injury rates were calculated for specific types of injuries within each sport. Injury rates for games and practices were also calculated and compared for each sport. A total of 134 injuries were recorded during the 3 sport seasons. The knee was the most commonly injured body part (99 injuries [73.9%]), of which patellofemoral dysfunction (31.3%), Osgood-Schlatter disease (10.4%), and Sinding-Larsen-Johansson/patella tendinosis (9%) had the greatest incidence. The ankle was the second most commonly injured body part, accounting for 16.4% of all injuries. The overall rates of injury by sport were as follows: soccer, 6.66 per 1000 AEs; volleyball, 3.68 per 1000 AEs; and basketball, 2.86 per 1000 AEs. Female middle-school athletes displayed comparable injury patterns to those seen in their high-school counterparts. Future work is warranted to determine the potential for improved outcomes in female middle-school athletes with access to athletic training services. As the participation levels and number of injuries continue to rise, middle-school athletes demonstrate an increasing need for medical services provided by a certified athletic trainer.

Epidemiology of Basketball, Soccer, and Volleyball Injuries in Middle-School Female Athletes

PubMed Central

Barber Foss, Kim D.; Myer, Greg D.; Hewett, Timothy E.

2014-01-01

Background An estimated 30 to 40 million school children participate in sports in the United States; 34% of middle-school participants become injured and seek medical treatment at an annual cost close to $2 billion. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the injury incidence and rates in female athletes in the middle-school setting during the course of 3 seasons. Methods Female basketball, soccer, and volleyball players were recruited from a single county public school district in Kentucky consisting of 5 middle schools. A total of 268 female athletes (162 basketball, 26 soccer, and 80 volleyball) participated. Athletes were monitored for sports-related injury and number of athlete exposures (AEs) by an athletic trainer. Injury rates were calculated for specific types of injuries within each sport. Injury rates for games and practices were also calculated and compared for each sport. Results A total of 134 injuries were recorded during the 3 sport seasons. The knee was the most commonly injured body part (99 injuries [73.9%]), of which patellofemoral dysfunction (31.3%), Osgood-Schlatter disease (10.4%), and Sinding-Larsen-Johansson/patella tendinosis (9%) had the greatest incidence. The ankle was the second most commonly injured body part, accounting for 16.4% of all injuries. The overall rates of injury by sport were as follows: soccer, 6.66 per 1000 AEs; volleyball, 3.68 per 1000 AEs; and basketball, 2.86 per 1000 AEs. Conclusions Female middle-school athletes displayed comparable injury patterns to those seen in their high-school counterparts. Future work is warranted to determine the potential for improved outcomes in female middle-school athletes with access to athletic training services. Clinical Relevance As the participation levels and number of injuries continue to rise, middle-school athletes demonstrate an increasing need for medical services provided by a certified athletic trainer. PMID:24875981

School-Wide Discipline Policies: In-School Suspension in One Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chung, Gloria; Paul, Rachel

One of the more perplexing problems facing middle schools is the use of in-school suspension (ISS). So as to understand better the effects of this practice, one middle school's ISS program was studied and evaluated. Current research on ISS polices and practices is limited, and there is little evidence that supports its use or reform; however, in…

Middle School Students' Perceptions of Safety: A Mixed-Methods Study.

PubMed

Sweeney, Shannon M; Von Hagen, Leigh Ann

2015-10-01

Active travel to school has been on the decline, despite its beneficial influence on children's current and future well-being. Adults' safety perceptions have been shown to influence children's active travel. Children's perceptions, particularly of safety, may be an important link not only to their present health and travel behaviors, but also their future health and behaviors. This study examined middle school students' perceptions of the built environment and safety. Overall, 776 students from 3 schools in Hudson County, New Jersey participated in a visual survey and structured, interactive classroom discussions. Emergent themes from the discussions were tested using multivariate statistical models. Findings suggest that older students, boys, and students who self-identified as black, rated built environment scenes as safer. Students also perceived being near adults, traveling in a group, and using crosswalks as significantly safer and want additional recognition of these to further improve safety. Students perceived that being near a school, in daylight, and aesthetics as factors contributing to safety. Schools and municipalities may increase programs for students to travel in groups, prioritize maintenance in school zones, and increase the number of crossing guards, particularly outside the immediate school proximity to further improve safety. © 2015, American School Health Association.

Mouthguard usage by middle and high school student-athletes in Houston, Texas.

PubMed

Miller, Michael B; Johnson, Cleverick D; Cooley, Ralph A; Sharp, Holly; Servos, Thomas A

2016-01-01

This survey recorded utilization levels of stock and custom mouthguards among middle and high school athletes in a US metropolitan area and gathered data on the prevalence of traumatic injuries that have occurred as a consequence of school-based athletic competition. The data also included reasons for the athletes' noncompliance. A 23-question, online survey form was developed. A geographically diverse list of public and private schools in the Houston metropolitan area was identified and included 30 public middle schools, 32 public high schools, 8 private middle schools, and 10 private high schools. The sports surveyed were baseball, basketball, field hockey, football, lacrosse, soccer, softball, volleyball, and wrestling. Only 1 private middle school participated. Only 5 of 32 public high schools and 1 private high school participated, representing response rates of 16% and 10%, respectively. Overall, there were 503 responses, and 56% of the respondents did not have a mouthguard. Among athletes who owned a mouthguard, most (70%) had stock versions purchased in a retail store, while 11% had a custom mouthguard fabricated by a dentist, and 19% had both types. The most frequent reasons cited for not wearing a mouthguard were forgetting to use it and a lack of comfort. The injury rates reported by respondents in the stock and custom mouthguard groups were 26% and 9%, respectively. A consistent, concerted effort by local dental societies should be aimed at school administrators and coaches to encourage enforcement or reinforcement of mouthguard usage policies among high school athletes, but, ultimately, parents need to step up to protect their children.

Working While in Middle School: Student Perceptions of School Climate & Connectedness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Sabrena

2016-01-01

Does working during the school year result in lowered perceptions of school climate and connectedness for middle school students? According to outcomes from a Rocky Mountain Region School District's (RMRSD) school climate survey, 20% of their middle school student population works during the school year. Existing literature on youth employment…

"He Was a Bit of a Delicate Thing": White Middle-Class Boys, Gender, School Choice and Parental Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Katya; Jamieson, Fiona; Hollingworth, Sumi

2008-01-01

This paper examines the impact of gender on white middle-class parents' anxiety about choosing inner-city comprehensives and their children's subsequent experiences within school, particularly in relation to social mixing. Drawing on interview data from an ESRC funded study of white middle-class parents whose children attend inner-city…

Effect of Retention in Elementary Grades on Transition to Middle School

PubMed Central

Im, Myung Hee; Hughes, Jan H.; Kwok, Oi-man; Puckett, Stevie; Cerdia, Carissa Analise

2013-01-01

The authors investigated the effects of retention in grades 1 to 5 on students’ reading and math achievement, teacher-rated engagement, and student-reported school belonging in middle school. From a multiethnic sample (N = 784) of children who scored below the median on a test of literacy in grade 1, an average of 75 students subsequently retained in grades 1 to 5 were matched with an average of 299 continuously promoted students on the basis of propensity to be retained in the elementary grades. A total of 20 imputed datasets were analyzed, all of which showed good balance across the 67 baseline covariates used to calculate propensity scores. The hypothesis that retained students, who are “old for grade” when they make the transition to middle school, would have a more difficult transition to middle school than promoted peers was tested with 3-level, piecewise growth modeling. Piece 1 included assessments prior to the transition to middle school, and piece 2 included assessments after the transition. Retained and continuously promoted students did not differ on any of the outcome measures during the year prior to transition, nor did they differ in their post-transition trajectories. Discrepancies between these results and results of prior research are discussed in terms of demographic and generational differences as well as differences in methodological rigor. PMID:23816229

Musicals Enrich Middle School Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Douglas D.; North, Rita

2005-01-01

An enriching fine arts program has long been advocated as an essential element of an effective middle school program. The vocal music program at Pleasant Hill (Missouri) Middle School supports student growth and development beyond the regular classroom. It supports students' existing skills and talents and provides opportunities for them to…

Padres Trabajando por la Paz: a randomized trial of a parent education intervention to prevent violence among middle school children.

PubMed

Murray, N G; Kelder, S H; Parcel, G S; Frankowski, R; Orpinas, P

1999-06-01

This paper reports the results of a randomized trial to test the effectiveness of a theoretically derived intervention designed to increase parental monitoring among Hispanic parents of middle school students. Role model story newsletters developed through the process of Intervention Mapping were mailed to half of a subsample of parents whose children participated in Students for Peace, a comprehensive violence prevention program. The results indicated that parents in the experimental condition (N = 38) who had lower social norms for monitoring at baseline reported higher norms after the intervention than the parents in the control condition (N = 39) (P = 0.009). Children of parents in the experimental group reported slightly higher levels of monitoring at follow-up across baseline values, whereas control children who reported moderate to high levels of monitoring at pre-test reported lower levels at follow-up (P = 0.04). These newsletters are a population-based strategy for intervention with parents that show some promise for comprehensive school-based interventions for youth.

Predisposing, Reinforcing and Enabling Predictors of Middle School Children's After-School Physical Activity Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Kristi M.; Ogletree, Roberta J.; Fetro, Joyce V.; Brown, Stephen L.; Partridge, Julie A.

2011-01-01

Children's participation in after-school physical activity can attenuate the overweight and obesity rates among rural, low socioeconomic status (SES) children. Children's individual determination, as well as social and environmental factors, can influence their behaviors. Purpose: The purposes of this study were to determine if a difference…

Emotional and Behavioral Profile Assessment Using the BASC-2 with Korean Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myunghee Ahn, Christine; Ebesutani, Chad

2015-01-01

Korean middle school students are experiencing high rates of behavioral and emotional problems, suggesting a need for comprehensive screening instruments with strong psychometric properties in school settings. The present study investigated the utility of the Behavior Assessment System for Children-2 Self-Report of Personality, Adolescent Form…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Picucci, Ali Callicoatte; Brownson, Amanda; Kahlert, Rahel; Sobel, Andrew

2004-01-01

The results of a study conducted by the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin for the U.S. Department of Education during the 2001-02 school year showed that elements of the middle school concept can lead to improved student performance, even in high-poverty schools. This article describes common elements of the middle school…

Middle School: Lessons from the Rand Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bunting, Carolyn E.

2005-01-01

This article reports on a recent study by the Rand Corporation that concluded that there is cause for middle schools to worry. Commissioned by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, one of four major philanthropies supporting the middle school movement, the Rand investigation is clear in its assessment: The American middle school leaves adolescents…

A randomized, controlled trial to teach middle school children to recognize stroke and call 911: the kids identifying and defeating stroke project.

PubMed

Morgenstern, Lewis B; Gonzales, Nicole R; Maddox, Katherine E; Brown, Devin L; Karim, Asha P; Espinosa, Nina; Moyé, Lemuel A; Pary, Jennifer K; Grotta, James C; Lisabeth, Lynda D; Conley, Kathleen M

2007-11-01

Underutilization of acute stroke therapy is driven by delay to hospital arrival. We present the primary results of a pilot, randomized, controlled trial to encourage calling 911 for witnessed stroke among middle school children and their parents. This project occurred in Corpus Christi, an urban Texas community of 325,000. Three intervention and 3 control schools were randomly selected. The intervention contained 12 hours of classroom instruction divided among sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Parents were educated indirectly through homework assignments. Two-sample t tests were used to compare pretest and posttest responses. Domain 1 test questions involved stroke pathophysiology. Intervention students improved from 29% to 34% correct; control students changed from 28% to 25%. Domain 2 test questions involved stroke symptom knowledge. Intervention school students changed from 28% correct to 43%; control school students answered 25% correctly on the pretest and 29% on the posttest. Domain 3 test questions involved what to do for witnessed stroke. Intervention school students answered 36% of questions correctly on the pretest and 54% correctly on the posttest, whereas control students changed from 32% correct to 34%. A comparison of change in the mean proportion correct over time between intervention and control students was P<0.001 for each of the 3 individual domains. A poor parental response rate impaired the ability to assess parental improvement. A scientific, theory-based, educational intervention can potentially improve intent to call 911 for stroke among middle school children. A different mechanism is needed to effectively diffuse the curriculum to parents.

A Comparison of the School Performance of Sexually Abused, Neglected and Non-Maltreated Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reyome, Nancy Dodge

1993-01-01

Compared the school performance of sexually abused children and neglected children with the performance of two matched groups of nonmaltreated children, those from lower middle class families and from families receiving public assistance. Analyses of children's behavior ratings and school achievement indicated marked cognitive and behavioral…

Pattern Finding Skills of Pre-School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tarim, Kamuran

2017-01-01

This study investigates the pattern finding skills of pre-school children and the in-class pattern activities conducted by teachers. The research was designed as a descriptive survey study carried out with a total of 162 children aged 60-77 months from families with middle socio-economic status. The findings of the study revealed that the…

School Size and Incidents of Violence among Texas Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohler, Elizabeth A.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Combs, Julie P.; Bustamante, Rebecca M.; Edmonson, Stacey L.

2015-01-01

Although many studies have been conducted regarding (a) school violence in middle schools and (b) the size of schools, to date, no researcher appears to have examined the role that the size of the middle school plays in determining incidents of violence specifically fighting, assaults, and aggravated assaults. Thus, the purpose of this study was…

An investigation of school violence through Turkish children's drawings.

PubMed

Yurtal, Filiz; Artut, Kazim

2010-01-01

This study investigates Turkish children's perception of violence in school as represented through drawings and narratives. In all, 66 students (12 to 13 years old) from the middle socioeconomic class participated. To elicit children's perception of violence, they were asked to draw a picture of a violent incident they had heard, experienced, or witnessed. Children mostly drew pictures of violent events among children (33 pictures). Also, there were pictures of violent incidents perpetrated by teachers and directors against children. It was observed that violence influenced children. Violence was mostly depicted in school gardens (38 pictures), but there were violent incidents everywhere, such as in classrooms, corridors, and school stores as well. Moreover, it was found that brute force was the most referred way of violence in the children's depictions (38 pictures). In conclusion, children clearly indicated that there was violence in schools and they were affected by it.

In the Beginning of the Middle: Curriculum Considerations for Middle School General Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giebelhausen, Robin

2015-01-01

Middle school general music is an experience that numerous music educators feel underprepared to teach. Because many undergraduate programs spend little time on this teaching scenario and because the challenges of middle school general music are different from those of elementary general music or middle school ensembles, teachers often lack the…

It Is Not Just the Poor Kids: The Use of AAE Forms by African-American School-Aged Children from Middle SES Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horton-Ikard, RaMonda; Miller, Jon F.

2004-01-01

This study examined the production of African-American English (AAE) forms produced by 69 school-aged African-American children from middle socio-economic status (SES) communities to determine if age would influence: (a) the number of different types of AAE tokens and (b) the rate of dialect. Descriptive data revealed that there were more than 20…

Stuck in the Middle: How and Why Middle Schools Harm Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rockoff, Jonah E.; Lockwood, Benjamin B.

2010-01-01

Could middle schools be bad for student learning? Could something as simple as changing the grade configuration of schools improve academic outcomes? That's what some educators have come to believe. States and school districts across the country are reevaluating the practice of educating young adolescents in stand-alone middle schools, which…

Is Pre-K Classroom Quality Associated with Kindergarten and Middle-School Academic Skills?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Sara; Phillips, Deborah

2017-01-01

We employed data from a longitudinal investigation of over 1,000 children who participated in Tulsa's universal school-based pre-K program in 2005, and path modeling techniques, to examine the contribution of pre-K classroom quality to both kindergarten- and middle-school academic skills. We also examined gender and income-related differences in…

Community initiative: elementary and middle school students--a creative approach.

PubMed

Sell, Sandra; Palmer, Laura

2004-04-01

Initiatives to increase the visibility and public awareness of nurse anesthetists have been an ongoing effort of the profession for years. In 2001, the Nurse Anesthesia Program at the University of Pittsburgh designed and implemented a large-scale initiative to target school-aged children. The purpose of the program was to educate the school-aged child about nurse anesthesia and the operating room. It was presented at elementary and middle schools and consisted of a classroom presentation, a mock operating room simulation, and hands-on activities. The program was viewed as a success by all those involved. Teachers were impressed with the school-aged students' interest and level of focus during the events. Many teachers reported that prior to the program they did not know that the nurse anesthesia profession existed. More than 1,000 children and teachers participated in the programs in a 2.5-year period. The ability to have an impact on the school-aged children during their formative years, in addition to educating the teachers about the nurse anesthesia profession, proved to be a dual reward in presenting the program.

Calculus in the Middle School?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barger, Rita H.; McCoy, Ann C.

2010-01-01

This article presents an example of how middle school teachers can lay a foundation for calculus. Although many middle school activities connect directly to calculus concepts, the authors have decided to look in depth at only one: the concept of change. They will show how teachers can lead their students to see and appreciate the calculus…

Mining the Middle School Mind

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vawter, David

2010-01-01

Middle school students are walking dichotomies. They can talk about world peace and then hit the kid next to them. They can recycle to ease global warming only to leave the cafeteria a mess. Why? Well, scientifically, it is because their brains do not work. When people look at middle school students, they can plainly see evidence of physical…

Children's Tendency to Defend Victims of School Bullying

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porter, James R.; Smith-Adcock, Sondra

2017-01-01

Defenders, or children who help victims, are studied less often than children who bully or are victims of bullying. In this study, the authors examined middle schools students' perceived normative pressure from significant others to help victims. Findings suggest that normative pressure from best friends mediated gender and defending, and the…

Food use in middle and high school fundraising: does policy support healthful practice? Results from a survey of Minnesota school principals.

PubMed

Kubik, Martha Y; Lytle, Leslie A; Farbakhsh, Kian; Moe, Stacey; Samuelson, Anne

2009-07-01

This descriptive, cross-sectional study aimed to examine classroom, school-wide, and club/sports teams fundraising policies and practices of middle and high schools; concordance between policy and practice; and associations between healthful policy/practice scores and selected school characteristics. In 2006, principals/designees of middle (n=45) and high (n=71) schools in the St Paul/Minneapolis, MN, metropolitan area completed a self-administered mailed survey. Schools were attended by a convenience sample of students (n=349) participating in a longitudinal measurement study of children and their environments to assess obesity-related factors. Descriptive statistics, chi(2) tests, and multivariate linear regression were used to examine variables and associations of interest. Across schools, 50% had policies addressing the nutrient quality of food and drink items used in fundraising or disallowed food use for fundraising. About one third used chocolate, candy, and high-fat baked goods for classroom and school-wide fundraising; 60% sold these items for club/sports teams fundraising. More middle than high schools reported healthful fundraising policies or practices, as well as greater concordance between policies and practices. For all fundraising activities, high schools had significantly lower healthful policy/practice scores than middle schools (P<0.01). For school-wide fundraising, scores were significantly lower for public than private schools (P=0.02). Policies to regulate food used for fundraising were common and most supported healthful practice, particularly in middle schools. However, use of foods high in fat and added sugars remains a prevalent fundraising practice, especially in high schools and for club/sports teams, and requires additional attention.

Parent Involvement and Science Achievement during Students' Transition Years from Elementary School to Middle School: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis Using ECLS-K

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Letao

2015-01-01

Transitioning from elementary school to middle school can be a difficult time for many adolescents. It is a period often correlated with a decline in students' academic achievement, perceptions of performance, potential, and value in schooling. Research has shown evidence that parents' involvement in their children's education significantly…

Student Engagement and the Use of Volunteer Teachers in Alternative Urban Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenzel, L. Mickey; Flippen, Gerivonni M.

2006-01-01

The use of recent college graduates as volunteer teachers has increased in recent years with the growth of the Teach for America program and alternative middle schools for at-risk children from low income homes. Very few studies to date have investigated the effects of the use of such teachers on student learning and engagement in school. The…

Impact of a Comprehensive Safety Program on Bicycle Helmet Use among Middle-School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Houten, Ron; Van Houten, Joy; Malenfant, J. E. Louis

2007-01-01

A bicycle helmet program was evaluated in three middle schools using a multiple baseline across schools design. Two of the three schools had histories of enforcement of helmet use. During baseline many students riding their bikes to and from school did not wear their helmets or wore them incorrectly. A program that consisted of peer data…

The Middle School Mess: If You Love Bungee Jumping, You're the Middle School Type

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Peter

2011-01-01

Suspended "between childhood and the adult world, pre-teens have been called the toughest to teach." Indeed, one can't touch middle school without hearing about "raging hormones." By all accounts, middle schools are a weak link in the chain of public education. Is it the churn of ill-conceived attempts at reform that's causing all the problems? Is…

Validation of the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders in Middle and Junior High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caldarella, Paul; Young, Ellie L.; Richardson, Michael J.; Young, Benjamin J.; Young, K. Richard

2008-01-01

The Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD), a multistage screening system designed to identify elementary school--age children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders, was evaluated for use with middle and junior high school students. During SSBD Stage 1, teachers identified 123 students in grades 6 through 9 with…

Effects of changes in lunch-time competitive foods, nutrition practices, and nutrition policies on low-income middle-school children's diets.

PubMed

Alaimo, Katherine; Oleksyk, Shannon C; Drzal, Nick B; Golzynski, Diane L; Lucarelli, Jennifer F; Wen, Yalu; Velie, Ellen M

2013-12-01

The School Nutrition Advances Kids project tested the effectiveness of school-initiated and state-recommended school nutrition practice and policy changes on student dietary intake in low-income middle schools. Schools recruited by an application for grant funding were randomly assigned to (1) complete an assessment of nutrition education, policies, and environments using the Healthy School Action Tools (HSAT) and implement an action plan, (2) complete the HSAT, implement an action plan, and convene a student nutrition action team, (3) complete the HSAT and implement an action plan and a Michigan State Board of Education nutrition policy in their cafeteria à la carte, or (4) a control group. All intervention schools were provided with funding and assistance to make self-selected nutrition practice, policy, or education changes. Block Youth Food Frequency Questionnaires were completed by 1176 seventh-grade students from 55 schools at baseline and during eighth-grade follow-up. Nutrient density and food group changes for the intervention groups were compared to the control group, controlling for baseline dietary intake values, gender, race/ethnicity, school kitchen type, urbanization, and percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Analyses were conducted by randomization and based on changes the schools self-selected. Improvements in students' nutrient density and food group intake were found when schools implemented at least three new nutrition practice changes and established at least three new nutrition policies. Students in schools that introduced mostly healthful foods in competitive venues at lunch demonstrated the most dietary improvements. New USDA nutrition standards for à la carte and vending will likely increase the healthfulness of middle school children's diets.

Parental Aspirations for Their Children's Educational Attainment: Relations to Ethnicity, Parental Education, Children's Academic Performance, and Parental Perceptions of School Climate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spera, Christopher; Wentzel, Kathryn R.; Matto, Holly C.

2009-01-01

This study examined parental aspirations for their children's educational attainment in relation to ethnicity (African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic), parental education, children's academic performance, and parental perceptions of the quality and climate of their children's school with a sample of 13,577 middle and high school parents. All…

How Can Gender Affect Psychopathology in Lebanese School-Age Children?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khamis, Vivian

2018-01-01

This study investigated the extent to which gender differences in coping, school and family environments could account for variation in psychopathology among school-age children. Participants were 665 middle school students. Results showed no gender differences for PTSD. Females scored higher on emotional problems and prosocial behavior whereas…

Effects of Peer-Mediated Implementation of Visual Scripts in Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ganz, Jennifer B.; Heath, Amy K.; Lund, Emily M.; Camargo, Siglia P. H.; Rispoli, Mandy J.; Boles, Margot; Plaisance, Lauren

2012-01-01

Although research has investigated the impact of peer-mediated interventions and visual scripts on social and communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorders, no studies to date have investigated peer-mediated implementation of scripts. This study investigated the effects of peer-implemented scripts on a middle school student with…

School Libraries and Science Achievement: A View from Michigan's Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mardis, Marcia

2007-01-01

If strong school library media centers (SLMCs) positively impact middle school student reading achievement, as measured on standardized tests, are they also beneficial for middle school science achievement? To answer this question, the researcher built upon the statistical analyses used in previous school library impact studies with qualitative…

Associations between food environment around schools and professionally measured weight status for middle and high school students.

PubMed

Tang, Xuyang; Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam; Abbott, Joshua K; Aggarwal, Rimjhim; Tulloch, David L; Lloyd, Kristen; Yedidia, Michael J

2014-12-01

Obesity rates among school-age children remain high. Access to energy-dense foods at home, in schools, in stores, and restaurants around homes and schools is of concern. Research on the relationship between food environment around schools and students' weight status is inconclusive. This study examines the association between weight status of middle and high school students and proximity to a comprehensive set of food outlets around schools. Deidentified nurse-measured heights and weights data were obtained for 12,954 middle and high school students attending 33 public schools in four low-income communities in New Jersey. Geocoded locations of supermarkets, convenience stores, small grocery stores, and limited-service restaurants were obtained from commercial sources. Random-effect regression models with robust standard errors were developed to adjust for unequal variances across schools and clustering of students within schools. Proximity to small grocery stores that offered some healthy options (e.g., five fruits, five vegetables, and low-fat/skim milk) and supermarkets was associated with healthier student weight status. Having a small grocery store within 0.25 mile of school and an additional such store within that radius was associated with a lower BMI z-score (p<0.05). An additional supermarket within 0.25 mile of schools was associated with a lower probability of being overweight/obese (p<0.05). Improving access to healthy food outlets, such as small stores, that offer healthy food options and supermarkets around middle and high schools is a potential strategy for improving weight outcomes among students.

Associations between Food Environment around Schools and Professionally Measured Weight Status for Middle and High School Students

PubMed Central

Tang, Xuyang; Abbott, Joshua K.; Aggarwal, Rimjhim; Tulloch, David L.; Lloyd, Kristen; Yedidia, Michael J.

2014-01-01

Abstract Background: Obesity rates among school-age children remain high. Access to energy-dense foods at home, in schools, in stores, and restaurants around homes and schools is of concern. Research on the relationship between food environment around schools and students' weight status is inconclusive. This study examines the association between weight status of middle and high school students and proximity to a comprehensive set of food outlets around schools. Methods: Deidentified nurse-measured heights and weights data were obtained for 12,954 middle and high school students attending 33 public schools in four low-income communities in New Jersey. Geocoded locations of supermarkets, convenience stores, small grocery stores, and limited-service restaurants were obtained from commercial sources. Random-effect regression models with robust standard errors were developed to adjust for unequal variances across schools and clustering of students within schools. Results: Proximity to small grocery stores that offered some healthy options (e.g., five fruits, five vegetables, and low-fat/skim milk) and supermarkets was associated with healthier student weight status. Having a small grocery store within 0.25 mile of school and an additional such store within that radius was associated with a lower BMI z-score (p<0.05). An additional supermarket within 0.25 mile of schools was associated with a lower probability of being overweight/obese (p<0.05). Conclusions: Improving access to healthy food outlets, such as small stores, that offer healthy food options and supermarkets around middle and high schools is a potential strategy for improving weight outcomes among students. PMID:25343730

Does elementary school alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use increase middle school risk?

PubMed

Wilson, Nance; Battistich, Victor; Syme, S Leonard; Boyce, W Thomas

2002-06-01

To assess whether alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use in elementary school may have serious implications for continued ATOD use in middle school and beyond. Longitudinal analyses were conducted on questionnaire data from 331 middle school students who had previously provided ATOD-use data during elementary school. Non-school personnel administered questionnaires in three participating school districts in three different states. The sample of students was ethnically and geographically diverse, including students from a range of low socioeconomic status backgrounds living in rural, urban or inner-city environments. Middle school alcohol use was almost three times as likely to occur if alcohol use had occurred in elementary school (OR = 2.94, p <.001). Elementary school use of tobacco and marijuana also greatly increased the likelihood of middle school use (OR = 5.35, p <.001 and OR = 4.25, p <.05, respectively). Early use of ATOD is associated with greatly increased odds of later use, which has important implications for the timing of drug prevention programs. Preventive interventions designed for use in pediatric practice settings should commence no later than elementary school, during the middle childhood years.

Rural Middle School Students' Perceptions of Bullying

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Jonte' C.

2009-01-01

The present study is an examination of bullying perceptions by rural middle school students. Three rural middle schools participated in the study which involved 138 students completing The School Bullying Survey to determine their experiences with bullying by types and the overall school climate as it relates to bullying behavior. Results from…

Rural parents' vaccination-related attitudes and intention to vaccinate middle and high school children against influenza following educational influenza vaccination intervention

PubMed Central

Painter, Julia E.; Pazol, Karen; Gargano, Lisa M.; Orenstein, Walter; Hughes, James M.; DiClemente, Ralph J.

2011-01-01

Objective: This study examined changes in parental influenza vaccination attitudes and intentions after participating in school-based educational influenza vaccination intervention. Methods: Participants were drawn from three counties participating in a school-based influenza vaccination intervention in rural Georgia (baseline N=324; follow-up N=327). Data were collected pre- and post-intervention from phone surveys with parents’ with children attending middle- and high-school. Attitudes, beliefs, vaccination history, and intention to vaccinate were assessed.  Results:  Parents who participated in the intervention conditions reported significantly higher influenza vaccination rates in their adolescents, relative to a control group, as well as increased vaccination rates post-intervention participation relative to their baseline rates. Intervention participants reported greater intention to have their adolescent vaccinated in the coming year compared to control parents.  Significant differences were observed post intervention in perceived barriers and benefits of vaccination. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a school-delivered educational influenza vaccination intervention targeting parents and teens may influence influenza vaccination in rural communities. Future influenza vaccination efforts geared toward the parents of rural middle- and high-school students may benefit from addressing barriers and benefits of influenza vaccination. PMID:22048112

School Mobility among Middle School Students: When and for Whom Does It Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Sara

2017-01-01

This study sought to understand the extent to which elementary or middle school mobility was associated with adverse middle school academic achievement and mental health and whether youth or contextual characteristics moderated associations. I contrasted elementary and middle school mobility to consider whether a recent school move or elementary…

The association of ACE, ACTN3 and PPARA gene variants with strength phenotypes in middle school-age children.

PubMed

Ahmetov, Ildus I; Gavrilov, Dmitry N; Astratenkova, Irina V; Druzhevskaya, Anastasiya M; Malinin, Alexandr V; Romanova, Elena E; Rogozkin, Victor A

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to determine the association between ACE I/D, ACTN3 R577X and PPARA intron 7 G/C gene polymorphisms and strength-related traits in 457 middle school-age children (219 boys and 238 girls; aged 11 ± 0.4 years). The assessment of different phenotypes was conducted with a number of performance tests. Gene polymorphisms were determined by PCR. The ACE D allele was associated with high results of standing long-jump test in boys [II 148.3 (16.3) cm, ID 152.6 (19.6) cm, DD 158.2 (19.1) cm; P = 0.037]. The ACTN3 R allele was associated with high results of performance tests in males only in combination with other genes (standing long-jump test: P = 0.021; handgrip strength test: P < 0.0001). Furthermore, the male carriers of the PPARA gene C allele demonstrated the best results of handgrip strength testing than GG homozygotes [GG 14.6 (4.0) kg, GC/CC 15.7 (4.3) kg; P = 0.048]. Thus, the ACE, ACTN3 and PPARA gene variants are associated with strength-related traits in physically active middle school-age boys.

Indicators of Middle School Implementation: How Do Kentucky's Schools to Watch Measure Up?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Christopher M.; Faulkner, Shawn A.; Kinne, Lenore J.

2009-01-01

High-performing middle schools are a critical link in the educational continuum. In an effort to stimulate the sluggish reform efforts of middle schools, the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform established the Schools to Watch recognition program. Using responses of school personnel to a statewide survey, this study examined the…

Nonfatal Injuries and Psychosocial Correlates among Middle School Students in Cambodia and Vietnam.

PubMed

Peltzer, Karl; Pengpid, Supa

2017-03-08

The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of nonfatal injury among middle school students in Cambodia and Vietnam. Cross-sectional data from 7137 school children (mean age 15.5 years, SD = 1.4) who were randomly sampled for participation in nationally representative Global School-based Health Surveys (GSHS) in Cambodia and Vietnam were analyzed. The proportion of school children reporting one or more serious injuries in the past year was 22.6% among boys and 17.5% among girls in Cambodia and 34.3% among boys and 25.1% among girls in Vietnam. The most prevalent cause of the most serious injury in Cambodia was traffic injuries (4.7% among boys and 4.3% among girls) and in Vietnam it was falls (10.0% among boys and 7.0% among girls). In multinomial logistic regression analyses, experiencing hunger (as an indicator for low socioeconomic status) and drug use were associated with having sustained one injury and two or more injuries in the past 12 months in Cambodia. In addition, poor mental health was associated with two or more injuries. In Vietnam, being male, experiencing hunger, current alcohol use, poor mental health and ever having had sex were associated with having sustained one injury and two or more injuries in the past 12 months. Several psychosocial variables were identified which could help in designing injury prevention strategies among middle school children in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Agriscience Education for the Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henrico County Public Schools, Glen Allen, VA. Virginia Vocational Curriculum and Resource Center.

This curriculum guide, which is intended for middle school agriculture teachers in Virginia, outlines a three-course competency-based agriscience program to give middle school students an understanding of basic science concepts through agriculture. The guide begins with a program description that includes descriptions of the program's three…

Risk factors of bicycle traffic injury among middle school students in chaoshan rural areas of china.

PubMed

Lin, Zhen-Bin; Ji, Yan-Hu; Xiao, Qing-Yu; Luo, Li-Bo; Li, Li-Ping; Choi, Bernard

2017-01-26

Bicycle injuries are a leading cause of accidental death among children in the world, and bicycle-related injuries are also very common in China, thus to find out bicycle injury risk factors is imperative. This study aims to identify the cyclist-, bicycle- and road-related risk factors of bicycle injury, to develop health education programs as an intervention and to provide a scientific basis for establishing policies against bicycle injury. We selected two middle schools randomly among seven schools in Chaoshan rural areas,where the main means of transportation for students from home to school was bicycle. The subjects were middle school students from 7th to 9th grades from Gucuo Middle School and Hefeng Middle School. Cyclists were surveyed through questionnaires about bicycle injury in the past 12 months. Multivariable logistic analysis showed that compared with a combination-type road、 motor lane and a non-intact road were both risk factors of bicycle injuries. This was followed by riding with fatigue, non-motor lane and inattentive riding. Bicycle injuries are frequent in China. Three risk factors on bicycle traffic injury among middle school students in Chaoshan rural areas of China were identified. This study provides important data to develop intervention strategies for China and other developing countries.

Middle School Developmental Guidance. "Steps to Success."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orange County Public Schools, Orlando, FL.

This document articulates the goals and objectives of the middle school guidance program in Orange County, Florida Public Schools system. Professional roles and responsibilities are discussed, as well as program implementation. These goals to assist students are listed for the middle school guidance program: (1) understanding the school…

Dental fluorosis and its association with the use of fluoridated toothpaste among middle school students of Delhi.

PubMed

Tiwari, Poornima; Kaur, Suminder; Sodhi, Alka

2010-01-01

Fluorosis can manifest as dental fluorosis (seen mostly in secondary dentition), skeletal fluorosis, and systemic fluorosis. Groundwater with high fluoride concentrations, diet rich in fish and tea, indoor air-pollution, and use of fluoride toothpastes may contribute considerably to total exposure. To assess the prevalence of dental fluorosis and associated factors particularly fluoridated toothpastes, among middle school children of a resettlement colony in Delhi. This survey was conducted among the middle school students (VI th -VIII th ) studying in three government schools of Sangam Vihar, South Delhi. Students were examined for dental fluorosis by experts. A pre-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data regarding age, source of drinking water, toothpaste used, etc. Height, weight, and hemoglobin were recorded. Two repeat visits were made. Out of 432 students enrolled in these schools, 413 students were examined. Descriptive and chi-square statistics were used. Dental fluorosis was prevalent in 121 (29.3%) study subjects. It was significantly more in children of age 13 years or above, in those who used fluoridated toothpaste for dental cleaning (P=0.033) and in anemic children (P<0.001). However, there was no significant association of disease with gender (P=0.02), source of drinking water (P=0.417), and with BMI (P=0.826). As dental fluorosis is very common (in about one-fourth) among the middle school children, in this resettlement colony of Delhi, various control measures e.g. discouraging the fluoridated toothpastes, educating parents about fluorosis, de-fluoridation of water in the high risk areas, etc may help to tackle this situation.

Smoking and its risk factors in Chinese elementary and middle school students: a nationally representative sample study.

PubMed

Zhang, Xinghui; Li, Yajun; Zhang, Qin; Lu, Furong; Wang, Yun

2014-05-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of smoking in a nationally representative sample of Chinese elementary and middle school students and to investigate its risk factors from families and schools. The data were from the National Children's Study of China (NCSC), in which 24,013 fourth- to ninth-grade students were recruited from 100 counties in 31 provinces in China. Chi-square tests and one-way ANOVAs were used to analyze the relationships between smoking and the risk factors. Logistic regressions were used to calculate odds ratios. The prevalence of ever smokers and current smokers were 19.0% and 5.4%. Focusing on current smokers, boys, middle school students, rural students, boarding students, non-only children and those owning parents with low educational levels reported smoking significantly more than girls, elementary school students, urban students, non-boarding students, only children and those owning parents with high educational levels. Lower trust and support from teachers and higher parent-child conflict positively predicted both smoking and smoking frequency. Lower trust and support from classmates was associated with higher possibility of smoking. However, higher trust and support from classmates was associated with higher smoking frequency. Teacher smoking and friend smoking were only predictive of smoking, but not of smoking frequency. Boys, middle school students, rural students, boarding students, non-only children and those owning parents with low educational levels need special attention. The most risk factors for smoking and smoking frequency were lower trust and support from teachers and higher parent-child conflict. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sugar and Spice and Puppy Dog Tails: Gender Equity among Middle School Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Esther Zager; Orenstein, Fran M.

This study examined the issue of gender equity among middle school students. Literature of the past 20 years was reviewed, showing that bias in schools still exists. The purposes of the study were to determine if changes in attitudes and behaviors have occurred as a result of gender equitable treatment and to ascertain if exposure to inequitable…

Barriers and Facilitators to School-Based Parent Involvement for Parents of Urban Public Middle School Students

PubMed Central

Murray, Kantahyanee W.; Finigan-Carr, Nadine; Jones, Vanya; Copeland-Linder, Nikeea; Haynie, Denise L.; Cheng, Tina L.

2016-01-01

Using semistructured interviews, we explored barriers and facilitators to school-based parent involvement (SBPI) in a sample of predominately African American parents (N = 44) whose children attended urban public middle schools. Barriers to SBPI (e.g., perceptions of hostile parent–teacher interactions and aggressive, disrespectful students in the school) were more commonly reported than facilitators (e.g., child invitations for involvement). Findings suggest that parents’ motivations for engaging in SBPI may be undermined by a variety of barriers, resulting in low participation. Implications and tailored strategies for enhancing SBPI in this population are presented. PMID:27088049

Guided Investigations in Middle School Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schroth, Stephen T.; Helfer, Jason A.

2008-01-01

Gifted middle school mathematics students often exhibit boundless energy, a desire to exert some degree of control over their learning, and an ability to think logically and abstractly in ways that astound their parents and teachers. Middle school math curriculum that combines guided investigations of real-life problems with product-based…

Helping Your Child with Homework: For Parents of Children in Elementary through Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Education, Washington, DC. Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs.

Homework is an opportunity for children to learn and for families to be involved with their children's education, but helping children with homework is not always easy. This booklet is designed to provide parents of elementary and middle grades students with an understanding of the purpose and nature of homework and offers suggestions for helping…

Classroom Management and the Middle School Philosophy. Fastback 500.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dougherty, John W.

This document explores how teachers can connect the instructional and interpersonal approaches embedded in middle-school philosophy to effective classroom management. It describes the current mismatch between middle-school philosophy and practice and how the creation of middle-school grades introduced a volatile mismatch between a school's…

The Netherlands: Report on the Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Western European Education, 1985

1985-01-01

The Commission for Renewal of the Middle School (ICM) in the Netherlands has been concentrating its efforts on introducing the middle school into the secondary school system. Described is a report published by the ICM in which the group discusses what it is proposing and problems that it is encountering. (RM)

Multiple Influences: Latinas, Middle School Science, and School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Carolyn

2014-01-01

This paper describes the multiple school and school science experiences of eight Latina students of Central American descent in a tracked, urbanized, middle school setting. Framed by a sociocultural perspective, I describe how eight seventh and eighth grade Latino girls interacted with school science. Implications for the concept "science for…

Friendships and social interactions of school-aged children with migraine.

PubMed

Vannatta, K; Getzoff, E A; Gilman, D K; Noll, R B; Gerhardt, C A; Powers, S W; Hershey, A D

2008-07-01

We set out to evaluate the friendships and social behaviour of school-aged children with migraine. Concern exists regarding the impact of paediatric migraine on daily activities and quality of life. We hypothesized that children with migraine would have fewer friends and be identified as more socially sensitive and isolated than comparison peers. Sixty-nine children with migraine participated in a school-based study of social functioning. A comparison sample without migraine included classmates matched for gender, race and age. Children with migraine had fewer friends at school; however, this effect was limited to those in elementary school. Behavioural difficulties were not found. Middle-school students with migraine were identified by peers as displaying higher levels of leadership and popularity than comparison peers. Concern may be warranted about the social functioning of pre-adolescent children with migraine; however, older children with migraine may function as well as or better than their peers.

Connect for Success: Building a Teacher, Parent, Teen Alliance. A Toolkit for Middle and High School Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Recruiting New Teachers, Inc., Belmont, MA.

Beginning in middle school, there is an increasing gap between school and the home. In linguistically and ethnically diverse communities, there is often an even greater separation between children's school lives and the home. This toolkit provides teachers, particularly new teachers and those in high-poverty urban and rural communities, with…

Private Middle School Parents' Perspectives Regarding School-Located Immunization Programs (SLIPs)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Venkatesh, Sheila R.; Acosta, Amy B.; Middleman, Amy B.

2013-01-01

The perspectives of parents of private middle school students regarding the use of school-located immunization programs (SLIPs) are unknown. Parents of private middle school students in a large, urban setting were surveyed "N" = 1,210) regarding their willingness to use SLIPs. Analyses included frequencies and chi-square analyses. Data…

Domain-Specific Impulsivity in School-Age Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsukayama, Eli; Duckworth, Angela Lee; Kim, Betty

2013-01-01

Impulsivity is a salient individual difference in children with well-established predictive validity for life outcomes. The current investigation proposes that impulsive behaviors vary systematically by domain. In a series of studies with ethnically and socioeconomically diverse samples of middle school students, we find that schoolwork-related…

An Investigation of School Violence through Turkish Children's Drawings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yurtal, Filiz; Artut, Kazim

2010-01-01

This study investigates Turkish children's perception of violence in school as represented through drawings and narratives. In all, 66 students (12 to 13 years old) from the middle socioeconomic class participated. To elicit children's perception of violence, they were asked to draw a picture of a violent incident they had heard, experienced, or…

9-13 Middle Schools: A Local View

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gorwood, Brian

1978-01-01

States that his experience leads him to question the similarity of constitution among middle schools. Examines the causes of that diversity which he believes characterizes the nine to thirteen middle school system in Hull. (Author/RK)

An after-school exercise program improves fitness, and body composition in elementary school children.

PubMed

Carrel, Aaron L; Logue, Julie; Deininger, Heidi; Clark, R Randall; Curtis, Vanessa; Montague, Paul; Baldwin, Sharon

2011-07-01

Reduced cardiovascular fitness (CVF) is a risk factor for obesity and cardiovascular disease. It has previously shown that a school-based fitness curriculum can improve CVF, and other health indicators in middle school aged children. Whether an afterschool program improves CVF and other health markers in elementary-school children is unresolved. The objective of this study was therefore to determine whether an on-site afterschool-based fitness program improves body composition, cardiovascular fitness level, in elementary school children. 80 elementary school children were evaluated in a "fitness-oriented" afterschool program managed by the local YMCA. Children underwent evaluation of cardiovascular fitness by maximal VO 2 treadmill testing and body composition by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), at baseline (prior to the school-year) and again at end of the school year. Findings revealed that, at baseline, children had a mean age of 8.8 years, BMI of 18.7± 3, with a maximal VO 2 of 40.03 ± 7.6 ml/kg/min, and percent body fat of 28.7 ± 7%. After a 9-month intervention, children maximal VO 2 increased to 44.8 ± 7.5 ml/kg/min (p=0.04) and percent body fat decreased to 25.8 ± 6.2% (p=0.033). The study concluded that on-site afterschool programming focusing on fitness improved body composition and cardiovascular fitness, in elementary school children. Combined with prior studies, these data demonstrate that afterschool-based fitness curricula can benefit both obese and non-obese children. It was therefore recommended that, partnerships with schools to promote fitness even outside of school time should be a part of a school approach to improving children's health.

Children in the Muslim Middle East.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernea, Elizabeth Warnock, Ed.

The Middle East has been undergoing vast social and economic change, but in all reports available today, little attention has been paid to the situation of children. The purpose of this book is to help readers better understand the children of the Middle East to give a sense of their lives today and a sense of attitudes toward children and their…

An After-School Counseling Program for High-Risk Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kruczek, Theresa; Alexander, Charlene M.; Harris, Kevin

2005-01-01

There are a number of middle school students who experience difficulty making the transition from childhood to early adolescence and may be described as high-risk. This article describes an after-school program designed to promote healthy identity and adaptive personal choice behaviors in a high-risk group of middle school students.

Schools in the Middle: Developing a Middle-Level Orientation. The Practicing Administrator's Leadership Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKay, Jack A.

This handbook was designed to help school administrators, teachers, and community members make a successful transition from a junior high school to a middle school. The focus is on the process rather than content. Chapter 1 provides an example of how one junior high school faculty and administration made the shift to a middle school. Chapter 2…

Promoting healthy computer use among middle school students: a pilot school-based health promotion program.

PubMed

Ciccarelli, Marina; Portsmouth, Linda; Harris, Courtenay; Jacobs, Karen

2012-01-01

Introduction of notebook computers in many schools has become integral to learning. This has increased students' screen-based exposure and the potential risks to physical and visual health. Unhealthy computing behaviours include frequent and long durations of exposure; awkward postures due to inappropriate furniture and workstation layout, and ignoring computer-related discomfort. Describe the framework for a planned school-based health promotion program to encourage healthy computing behaviours among middle school students. This planned program uses a community- based participatory research approach. Students in Year 7 in 2011 at a co-educational middle school, their parents, and teachers have been recruited. Baseline data was collected on students' knowledge of computer ergonomics, current notebook exposure, and attitudes towards healthy computing behaviours; and teachers' and self-perceived competence to promote healthy notebook use among students, and what education they wanted. The health promotion program is being developed by an inter-professional team in collaboration with students, teachers and parents to embed concepts of ergonomics education in relevant school activities and school culture. End of year changes in reported and observed student computing behaviours will be used to determine the effectiveness of the program. Building a body of evidence regarding physical health benefits to students from this school-based ergonomics program can guide policy development on the healthy use of computers within children's educational environments.

Shifting Attendance Trajectories from Middle to High School: Influences of School Transitions and Changing School Contexts

PubMed Central

Benner, Aprile D.; Wang, Yijie

2014-01-01

In the current study, we examine patterns of school attendance across middle and high school with a diverse sample of 8,908 students (48% female; 54% Latino, 31% White, 13% African American, 2% Asian American). Attendance declined from middle through high school, but this overall pattern masked important variations. In total, 44% of students maintained their attendance trajectories from middle to high school (11% stable high, 19% high-decreasing, 10% mid-decreasing, 4% low-decreasing), and shifting attendance trajectories often signaled greater school disengagement (38% shifted to poorer attendance trajectories, 18% experienced improved attendance trajectories). Transition experiences, school structural characteristics, and the divergence between students’ middle and high schools provided insights into which students recovered, becoming more engaged in high school versus those who became more disconnected. Implications for identifying and intervening with disengaged youth are discussed. PMID:24364827

Building Success into Your Montessori Middle School Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sutton, Ann

2007-01-01

Montessori middle schools can be immensely successful and highly beneficial to students. Traditional schools notice differences in students who come from Montessori backgrounds; they find them to be adaptable self-starters who often take on leadership roles. Prestigious high schools seek to recruit Montessori middle school graduates. As more…

Middle School Expressions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, Teddy J.; Clements, Robert D.

1983-01-01

After viewing and discussing slides of Van Gogh's and Munch's paintings and studying the principles of color, middle school students had to execute two drawings, one showing any emotion and the second depicting an expressionistic self-portrait. (RM)

Mental health interventions in schools in low-income and middle-income countries.

PubMed

Fazel, Mina; Patel, Vikram; Thomas, Saji; Tol, Wietse

2014-10-01

Increasing enrolment rates could place schools in a crucial position to support mental health in low-income and middle-income countries. In this Review, we provide evidence for mental health interventions in schools in accordance with a public mental health approach spanning promotion, prevention, and treatment. We identified a systematic review for mental health promotion, and identified further prevention and treatment studies. Present evidence supports schools as places for promotion of positive aspects of mental health using a whole-school approach. Knowledge of effectiveness of prevention and treatment interventions is more widely available for conflict-affected children and adolescents. More evidence is needed to identify the many elements likely to be associated with effective prevention and treatment for children exposed to a range of adversity and types of mental disorders. Dissemination and implementation science is crucial to establish how proven effective interventions could be scaled up and implemented in schools. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Middle School Technology Integration Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Grey; Mantz, Chris

This paper is a report on the development and findings of an on-going study being conducted on 126 middle schools in rural eastern North Carolina. An analysis of the technological readiness of each school is being followed with a program to offer school leaders a technology design and teacher training that will work in their schools. This includes…

Oscar F. Smith Middle School: One Extra Degree

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Principal Leadership, 2012

2012-01-01

This article features Oscar F. Smith Middle School, a challenging school in Chesapeake, Virginia. When Principal Linda Scott exclaims, "Oscar F. Smith Middle School is "hot"!" to visitors, she is not referring to the inside temperature of the bustling school of grades 6-8 located in the historic South Norfolk borough of…

Piedmont City School District: Piedmont Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

EDUCAUSE, 2015

2015-01-01

At Piedmont Middle School, the future for students is changing through relevant, engaging learning opportunities, a school culture filled with hope, and a redesigned teaching and learning environment that utilizes blended learning, project-based learning, and competency-based learning to personalize education. The academic model is anchored by a…

Enhancing the Middle in a New Zealand Secondary School: Integration, Experiential Learning, and Computer Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nolan, C. J. Patrick; McKinnon, David H.

2003-01-01

New Zealand school education through the middle years appears to be in crisis. Sutton (2000) reports that students in the age range from 13-15 years (Years 9 and 10 of schooling) experience the crisis most poignantly. Their teachers increasingly say children in this age range are difficult to motivate, that they present them with their greatest…

School Climate in Middle Schools: A Cultural Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Stephanie H.; Duran, Lauren

2010-01-01

In 2007-08 and 2008-09, 2,500 randomly-selected middle school students completed an annual survey on school climate and character development. In examining differences based upon grade, gender, race/ethnicity, school, and length of program participation, significant differences were found for all but length of program participation. Responses of…

Focus on Curriculum Design for Middle School Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaminski, Lorraine B.; Dornbos, Karen L.

The middle school concept was devised to counteract the tendency of junior high school programs to mimic those of the high school at the expense of addressing the developmental needs of students who are in the process of physical maturation. This book on curriculum design focuses on the importance of the middle school and understanding…

Middle School Buildings for the 21st Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Paul S.

2003-01-01

Discusses "pods,""team areas," and "houses" as middle school physical environments that support the type of learning opportunities young adolescents need. Offers examples of such school designs from Cleveland, Tennessee; British Columbia; and Milledgeville, Georgia. Concludes by suggesting specifications for new middle school buildings. (EV)

Getting the Word Out: Teaching Middle-School Children about Cardiovascular Disease

PubMed Central

Toepperwein, Mary Anne; Pruski, Linda A.; Blalock, Cheryl L.; Lemelle, Olivia R.; Lichtenstein, Michael J.

2008-01-01

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has roots in childhood; since CVD begins early, a clear strong case for early education focused on CVD primary prevention exists. Scientists are not traditionally involved in disseminating health knowledge into public education. Similarly, public school teachers typically do not have access to biomedical research that may increase their students’ health science literacy. One way to bridge the ‘cultural’ gap between researchers and school teachers is to form science education partnerships. In order for such partnerships to be successful, teams of scientists and teachers must ‘translate’ biomedical research into plain language appropriate for students. In this article, we briefly review the need for improving health literacy, especially through school-based programs, and describe work with one model scientist/teacher partnership, the Teacher Enrichment Initiatives. Examples of cardiovascular research ‘translated’ into plain language lessons for middle school students are provided and practical considerations for researchers pursuing a science education partnership are delineated. PMID:19122871

Preparing New Teachers for Contemporary Middle Grades Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Susan

2013-01-01

This article describes the middle grades teacher preparation program at Augusta State University in Georgia. It describes the negotiation between the middle school concept and the standardized testing culture of the local schools as the faculty redesigned the undergraduate middle grades program to adequately address both. Ways in which new…

Violence Prevention in Middle School: A Preliminary Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

KIllam, Wendy K.; Roland, Catherine B.; Weber, Bill

2014-01-01

Violence in schools continues reflecting violence within society. There is a growing need for violence prevention programs within the schools that provide students with the skills needed to cope with interpersonal and relationship is-sues effectively. This study was conducted at a middle school and there were 345 middle school students (6th to 8th…

The Middle School of Tomorrow. Chapter 15, The American Middle School: An Organizational Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Popper, Samuel H.

The future development of the middle school depends on its continued commitment to the social value of a differentiated early adolescent education and on its adoption of innovations aimed at the institutional integration of its values with a changing society. Flexibility of programs and self-concept development of adolescents are key middle school…

Exploring School- and Home-Related Protective Factors for Economically Disadvantaged Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okilwa, Nathern S. A.

2016-01-01

This study explored the experiences of middle school students, particularly focusing on the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students. For low SES middle school students, the known cumulative effects of poverty coupled with school transition and early adolescence development heighten the potential risks for school failure. By…

Uniforms in the Middle School: Student Opinions, Discipline Data, and School Police Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanchez, Jafeth E.; Yoxsimer, Andrew; Hill, George C.

2012-01-01

This study investigated public middle school students' opinions on the benefits of wearing a school uniform. A review of related literature is provided along with results of the opinions obtained from 604 seventh- and eighth-grade middle school students attending a public school in Nevada that had recently initiated a school uniform policy.…

School lunch waste among middle school students: nutrients consumed and costs.

PubMed

Cohen, Juliana F W; Richardson, Scott; Austin, S Bryn; Economos, Christina D; Rimm, Eric B

2013-02-01

The National School Lunch Program has been guided by modest nutrient standards, and the palatability of meals, which drives consumption, receives inadequate attention. School food waste can have important nutritional and cost implications for policymakers, students, and their families. Nutrient losses and economic costs associated with school meal waste were examined. The study also assessed if school foods served were valid proxies for foods consumed by students. Plate waste measurements were collected from middle school students in Boston attending two Chef Initiative schools (n=1609) and two control schools (n=1440) during a 2-year pilot study (2007-2009) in which a professional chef trained cafeteria staff to make healthier school meals. The costs associated with food waste were calculated and the percentage of foods consumed was compared with a gold standard of 85% consumption. Analyses were conducted in 2010-2011. Overall, students consumed less than the required/recommended levels of nutrients. An estimated $432,349 of food (26.1% of the total food budget) was discarded by middle school students annually at lunch in these Boston middle schools. For most meal components, substantially less than 85% was consumed. There is substantial food waste among middle school students in Boston. Overall, students' nutrient consumption levels were below school meal standards, and foods served were not valid proxies for foods consumed. The costs associated with discarded foods are high; if translated nationally for school lunches, roughly $1,238,846,400 annually is wasted. Students might benefit if additional focus were given to the quality and palatability of school meals. Copyright © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Making It Work for Their Children: White Middle-Class Parents and Working-Class Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crozier, Gill; Reay, Diane; James, David

2011-01-01

The white middle-class parents who chose to send their children to urban comprehensives largely rejected engaging in the usual competitiveness for educational success. Nevertheless the parents in our study still found themselves wittingly or otherwise captured by that same discourse. Their children are high achievers and are regarded as a valuable…

The Voces Project: Investigating How Latino/a Immigrant Children Make Sense of Engaging in School and School Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knudson-Martin, John C.

2013-01-01

This study investigates how a group of Mexican immigrant children in the United States made sense of engaging in school and school mathematics. The research focused on a population of Latino/a middle school students who were a distinct minority, building a model that shows how a complex set of cognitive, sociocultural, and institutional factors…

Refractive errors in students from Middle Eastern backgrounds living and undertaking schooling in Australia.

PubMed

Azizoglu, Serap; Junghans, Barbara M; Barutchu, Ayla; Crewther, Sheila G

2011-01-01

  Environmental factors associated with schooling systems in various countries have been implicated in the rising prevalence of myopia, making the comparison of prevalence of refractive errors in migrant populations of interest. This study aims to determine the prevalence of refractive errors in children of Middle Eastern descent, raised and living in urban Australia but actively maintaining strong ties to their ethnic culture, and to compare them with those in the Middle East where myopia prevalence is generally low.   A total of 354 out of a possible 384 late primary/early secondary schoolchildren attending a private school attracting children of Middle Eastern background in Melbourne were assessed for refractive error and visual acuity. A Shin Nippon open-field NVision-K5001 autorefractor was used to carry out non-cycloplegic autorefraction while viewing a distant target. For statistical analyses students were divided into three age groups: 10-11 years (n = 93); 12-13 years (n = 158); and 14-15 years (n = 102).   All children were bilingual and classified as of Middle Eastern (96.3 per cent) or Egyptian (3.7 per cent) origin. Ages ranged from 10 to 15 years, with a mean of 13.17 ± 0.8 (SEM) years. Mean spherical equivalent refraction (SER) for the right eye was +0.09 ± 0.07 D (SEM) with a range from -7.77 D to +5.85 D. The prevalence of myopia, defined as a spherical equivalent refraction 0.50 D or more of myopia, was 14.7 per cent. The prevalence of hyperopia, defined as a spherical equivalent refraction of +0.75 D or greater, was 16.4 per cent, while hyperopia of +1.50 D or greater was 5.4 per cent. A significant difference in SER was seen as a function of age; however, no significant gender difference was seen.   This is the first study to report the prevalence of refractive errors for second-generation Australian schoolchildren coming from a predominantly Lebanese Middle Eastern Arabic background, who endeavour to maintain their ethnic ties. The

Preschool, Primary School, and Middle School Educational Practices in the People's Republic of China Today: A First Hand Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karlson, Alfred Lennart

This paper records observations made on a tour of educational settings in the People's Republic of China. Discussed are the philosophy and aims of current Chinese education, curriculum practices in the preschool, primary and middle school and in teacher training institutions, The Little Red Soldiers programs and the Children's Palaces. Educational…

Middle lobe syndrome in children today.

PubMed

Romagnoli, Vittorio; Priftis, Kostas N; de Benedictis, Fernando M

2014-06-01

Middle lobe syndrome in children is a distinct clinical and radiographic entity that has been well described in the pediatric literature. However, issues regarding its etiology, clinical presentation, and management continue to puzzle the clinical practitioner. Pathophysiologically, there are two forms of middle lobe syndrome, namely obstructive and nonobstructive. Middle lobe syndrome may present as symptomatic or asymptomatic, as persistent or recurrent atelectasis, or as pneumonitis or bronchiectasis of the middle lobe and/or lingula. A lower threshold of performing a chest radiograph is warranted in children with persistent or recurrent nonspecific respiratory symptoms, particularly if there is clinical deterioration, in order to detect middle lobe syndrome and to initiate a further diagnostic and therapeutic workup. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Satisfaction of Middle School Lunch Program Participants and Non-Participants with the School Lunch Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Stephanie; Cunningham-Sabo, Leslie; Auld, Garry

2015-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine middle school students' satisfaction with the school lunch experience, using two validated surveys; the Middle/Junior High School Student Participation Survey and the Middle/Junior High School Student Non-Participation Survey, both developed by the National Food Service Management…

Find Meaning in Middle School Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pagnano, Karen

2006-01-01

The purpose of this article is to provide readers with several suggestions and ideas for promoting meaning and meaningfulness for middle school students in physical education based on their unique developmental characteristics. To help physical educators create movement experiences that are meaningful for middle school students, the author…

Impedance and Otoscopy Screening of Multiply Handicapped Children in School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruns, Janet M.; And Others

1979-01-01

In order to examine the effectiveness of impedance and otoscopic screening in the determination of middle ear abnormalities, 79 physically handicapped, mentally retarded school children (mean age 8 years) were examined. (Author/PHR)

Democratic Leadership in Middle Schools of Chihuahua Mexico: Improving Middle Schools through Democracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delgado, Manuel Lopez

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyse the effects of the implementation of a democratic approach to lead and manage middle schools in Chihuahua, Mexico. This research was based on a Likert questionnaire and semistructured interviews to explore the level of involvement of students, teachers, and parents in schools participating in a programme…

Accelerated Middle Schools. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2008

2008-01-01

Accelerated middle schools are self-contained academic programs designed to help middle school students who are behind grade level catch up with their age peers. If these students begin high school with other students their age, the hope is that they will be more likely to stay in school and graduate. The programs serve students who are one to two…

Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ride, Sally

2008-01-01

Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM), an education activity, allows middle school students to program a digital camera on board the International Space Station to photograph a variety of geographical targets for study in the classroom. Photos are made available on the web for viewing and study by participating schools around the world. Educators use the images for projects involving Earth Science, geography, physics, and social science.

The Impact of Schools on Learning: Inner-City Children in Suburban Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahan, Thomas W.; Mahan, Aline M.

1971-01-01

Hypotheses tested were that the average achievement level of the classroom is a determining factor in achievement of urban minority group children and that social acceptance of the urban minority child by white middle class peers is related to academic achievement. Results using urban and suburban schools supported the hypotheses. (Author/CG)

Delivering Food Safety Education to Middle School Students Using a Web-Based, Interactive, Multimedia, Computer Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynch, Rebecca A.; Steen, M. Dale; Pritchard, Todd J.; Buzzell, Paul R.; Pintauro, Stephen J.

2008-01-01

More than 76 million persons become ill from foodborne pathogens in the United States each year. To reduce these numbers, food safety education efforts need to be targeted at not only adults, but school children as well. The middle school grades are ideal for integrating food safety education into the curriculum while simultaneously contributing…

Engaging Musical Practices: A Sourcebook for Middle School General Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burton, Suzanne L., Ed.

2012-01-01

Middle school general music may be a student's last encounter with school music. A practical book with accessible pedagogical resources on middle school general music is needed for methods courses and music practitioners' use. The book "Engaging Musical Practices: A Sourcebook for Middle School General Music" presents numerous ways to engage…

Gender and Musical Instrument Stereotypes in Middle School Children: Have Trends Changed?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wrape, Elizabeth R.; Dittloff, Alexandra L.; Callahan, Jennifer L.

2016-01-01

Previous studies have established that gender stereotypes are associated with children's choice of musical instrument. Though some have suggested that these gender stereotypes may be trending toward change, other studies have indicated that gender stereotypes are long-standing and still very much at issue. This descriptive study of middle school…

Integrated Curriculum in the Middle School. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beane, James

Recent debates among educators about the middle school curriculum involve three concepts: (1) middle school ought to provide a general education school in which the curriculum focuses on widely shared concerns of early adolescents and the larger world rather than specialization among separate subjects; (2) the curriculum ought to serve the…

Middle School Teachers and Principals Perspectives on Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Majeski, Mark

2013-01-01

In this study, the researcher endeavored to examine Morris County, New Jersey, middle school teacher and principal perspectives on the use of technology in their classrooms and schools. Specifically, this study examined teacher engagement, implementation and limitations related to the use of technology with middle school students. This study used…

The Relation of Verbal and Nonverbal Encoding to Serial Recall Performance in Middle and Lower Class Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lacher, Miriam R.

Effects of lower versus middle class parental occupation, verbal intelligence, and action content of pictured stimuli upon nonverbal serial recall were investigated in white first-graders attending a semi-rural elementary school in southeastern Michigan. Forty lower class and 20 middle class children, (half boys and half girls) were grouped on the…

Student Achievement in High Performing, Suburban Middle Schools and Low Performing, Urban Middle Schools: Plausible Explanations for the Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Kathleen M.; Anfara, Vincent A., Jr.; Roney, Kathleen

2004-01-01

Utilizing a qualitative, multisite case study design and the theoretical framework of Hoy and Hannum (1997), the design and execution of this research investigates plausible explanations for the difference in student achievement between high performing (HPS) suburban middle schools and low performing (LPS) urban middle schools. Aside from the…

The Cultural Contradictions of Middle Schooling for Rural Community Survival.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeYoung, Alan J.; And Others

During 1968-91, middle schools were the only school type to grow in number, increasing by over 400 percent. Middle school advocates focus on early adolescents' need for developmentally appropriate institutions, but show only a weak historical understanding of the emergence and status of middle schools. Critical factors in early support for the…

Developing a school functioning index for middle schools.

PubMed

Birnbaum, Amanda S; Lytle, Leslie A; Perry, Cheryl L; Murray, David; Story, Mary

2003-08-01

Despite widespread recognition of schools' role in the healthy development of youth, surprisingly little research has examined the relationships between schools' overall functioning and the health-related behavior of students. School functioning could become an important predictor of students' health-related behavior and may be amenable to intervention. This paper describes the development and testing of the School Functioning Index (SFI) as a first step in investigating this question. The index was developed for use with middle schools and conceived as a predictor of students' violent behavior, with the potential for extending research applications to additional health and social behaviors. Using social cognitive theory, social ecological theory, and social disorganization theory as guides, three domains were identified to operationalize school functioning and identify candidate SFI items: 1) resources available to the school and students; 2) stability of the school population; and 3) the schools' performance as a socializing agent for students. Data for candidate SFI items were collected from public archives and directly from 16 middle schools participating in a school-based dietary intervention study. Data collection from schools, particularly concerning student aggressive behavior and disciplinary actions, presented challenges. The final SFI comprised nine items and demonstrated good internal consistency and variability. The SFI was modestly correlated in expected directions with violence and other health behaviors. This work supports the feasibility of combining multiple school-level indicators to create a measure of overall school functioning. Further investigation of validity and more acceptable data collection methods are warranted.

Middle School Math. What Works Clearinghouse Topic Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2007

2007-01-01

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviewed interventions to promote middle school students' math knowledge and skills. Because there is some variation in how school districts organize middle school, we considered curricula aimed at students in grades 6 through 9, covering one or more of the following content areas: numbers and operations,…

Traditional and Digital Game Preferences of Children: A CHAID Analysis on Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tatli, Zeynep

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine types of games that middle school students play in their daily lives and analyze the effects of various variables such as gender, available technology, grade in school and parents' education levels on their game preferences. The sample consisted of a total of 464 grade 5-8 students (212 girls and 252…

Weight Status Misperception as Related to Selected Health Risk Behaviors among Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Brian C.; Dalton, William T., III; Williams, Stacey L.; Slawson, Deborah L.; Dunn, Michael S.; Johns-Wommack, Rebecca

2014-01-01

Background: Weight misperception has been documented among children although the impact on health risk behaviors is less understood, particularly among middle school students. The goals of this study were to describe sociodemographic differences in actual and perceived weight, correspondence between actual and perceived weight, and weight-related…

Taiwanese Families' Perspectives on Learning Disabilities: An Exploratory Study in Three Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chu, Szu-Yin; Lo, Yu-Ling Sabrina

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate families' perspectives on learning disabilities (LD) in Taiwan. A researcher-designed survey was sent out to families of children with or without LD from three middle schools. Data from 153 participants were gathered and analysed. The survey consisted of four sections, namely demographic information,…

Perceptions of middle school educators in Hawai'i about school-based gardening and child health.

PubMed

Ahmed, Ameena T; Oshiro, Caryn E; Loharuka, Sheila; Novotny, Rachel

2011-07-01

Childhood obesity prevention is a national priority. School-based gardening has been proposed as an innovative obesity prevention intervention. Little is known about the perceptions of educators about school-based gardening for child health. As the success of a school-based intervention depends on the support of educators, we investigated perceptions of educators about the benefits of gardening programs to child health. Semi-structured interviews of 9 middle school educators at a school with a garden program in rural Hawai'i were conducted. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Perceived benefits of school-based gardening included improving children's diet, engaging children in physical activity, creating a link to local tradition, mitigating hunger, and improving social skills. Poverty was cited as a barrier to adoption of healthy eating habits. Opinions about obesity were contradictory; obesity was considered both a health risk, as well as a cultural standard of beauty and strength. Few respondents framed benefits of gardening in terms of health. In order to be effective at obesity prevention, school-based gardening programs in Hawai'i should be framed as improving diet, addressing hunger, and teaching local tradition. Explicit messages about obesity prevention are likely to alienate the population, as these are in conflict with local standards of beauty. Health researchers and advocates need to further inform educators regarding the potential connections between gardening and health.

[Evolution of food supply (apart from school catering) between 2004/2005 and 2009/2010 in middle- and high-schools of Aquitaine, France].

PubMed

Langevin, C; Carriere, C; Delmas, C; Péchaud, M; Barberger-Gateau, P; Maurice, S; Thibault, H

2013-02-01

The aim of this study was to assess the evolution of food supply (apart from school catering) between school years 2004/2005 and 2009/2010, in middle- and high-schools from the Aquitaine region (southwest France), in order to evaluate the impact of actions conducted within the framework and the program Nutrition, Prevention and Health of children and adolescents in Aquitaine (southwest France). Two surveys were carried out among all middle- and high-schools of the Aquitaine region in 2004/2005 (n=536) and 2009/2010 (n=539) within the framework of a regional multidisciplinary public health program "Nutrition, prevention and health of children and teenagers in Aquitaine". For both 2004/2005 and 2009/2010, data were collected using the same questionnaire and dealt with school characteristics and modalities of food supply (apart from school catering). Response rate was 84.1% in 2004/2005 and 79.6% in 2009/2010. The proportion of schools offering food to pupils (apart from school catering) significantly decreased in 5 years (from 80.1% to 50.1%, P<0.001). Between 2004/2005 and 2009/2010, we observed a stabilization in the proportion of schools offering free food (from 19.7 to 17%, P=0.3), a significant decrease of those selling food (from 62.8 to 37.1, P<0.001), offering vending machines (from 43.5 to 7.2, P<0.001) and a significant increase of those offering water supply (from 8.2 to 44%, P<0.001). The composition of each modality of food supply (apart from school catering) has also been improved: less sweet and fat food, more bread and fruits. This study shows an overall improvement of food supply apart from school catering (food sale, free food and vending machines) in middle- and high-schools from the Aquitaine region (southwest France) between 2004/2005 and 2009/2010. This improvement is related to the proportion of schools offering food (quantitative improvement), as well as to the composition of food supply (qualitative improvement). These results show an

Desks, Dollars, and Deficits: Managing a Middle School during a Recession.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merrill, Adeline B.

1992-01-01

A brief history of East Ridge Middle School in Connecticut illustrates the strong economic and demographic pressures that can work against a middle school. The principal plays a crucial role in preserving both the structure and the programs of an effective middle school. Points out strategies to protect and develop middle schools in tough economic…

Inflammatory bowel disease in children of middle eastern descent.

PubMed

Naidoo, Christina Mai Ying; Leach, Steven T; Day, Andrew S; Lemberg, Daniel A

2014-01-01

Increasing rates of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are now seen in populations where it was once uncommon. The pattern of IBD in children of Middle Eastern descent in Australia has never been reported. This study aimed to investigate the burden of IBD in children of Middle Eastern descent at the Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick (SCHR). The SCHR IBD database was used to identify patients of self-reported Middle Eastern ethnicity diagnosed between 1987 and 2011. Demographic, diagnosis, and management data was collected for all Middle Eastern children and an age and gender matched non-Middle Eastern IBD control group. Twenty-four patients of Middle Eastern descent were identified. Middle Eastern Crohn's disease patients had higher disease activity at diagnosis, higher use of thiopurines, and less restricted colonic disease than controls. Although there were limitations with this dataset, we estimated a higher prevalence of IBD in Middle Eastern children and they had a different disease phenotype and behavior compared to the control group, with less disease restricted to the colon and likely a more active disease course.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Children of Middle Eastern Descent

PubMed Central

Naidoo, Christina Mai Ying; Leach, Steven T.; Day, Andrew S.; Lemberg, Daniel A.

2014-01-01

Increasing rates of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are now seen in populations where it was once uncommon. The pattern of IBD in children of Middle Eastern descent in Australia has never been reported. This study aimed to investigate the burden of IBD in children of Middle Eastern descent at the Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick (SCHR). The SCHR IBD database was used to identify patients of self-reported Middle Eastern ethnicity diagnosed between 1987 and 2011. Demographic, diagnosis, and management data was collected for all Middle Eastern children and an age and gender matched non-Middle Eastern IBD control group. Twenty-four patients of Middle Eastern descent were identified. Middle Eastern Crohn's disease patients had higher disease activity at diagnosis, higher use of thiopurines, and less restricted colonic disease than controls. Although there were limitations with this dataset, we estimated a higher prevalence of IBD in Middle Eastern children and they had a different disease phenotype and behavior compared to the control group, with less disease restricted to the colon and likely a more active disease course. PMID:24987422

Teaching with Picture Books in the Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tiedt, Iris McClellan

Arguing that picture books have much to offer students in the upper grades (including middle school and even high school students), this book discusses using picture books to stimulate students' thinking in a variety of topic areas. Chapter 1, Using Picture Books in the Middle School To Stimulate Thinking, introduces the topic of using picture…

Best Practice in Middle-School Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliveira, Alandeom W.; Wilcox, Kristen C.; Angelis, Janet; Applebee, Arthur N.; Amodeo, Vincent; Snyder, Michele A.

2013-01-01

Using socio-ecological theory, this study explores best practice (educational practices correlated with higher student performance) in middle-school science. Seven schools with consistently higher student performance were compared with three demographically similar, average-performing schools. Best practice included instructional approaches…

Relationship of Teacher Training and School Characteristics to Middle School State Assessment Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Tina J.; Hicklin, Lori K.; French, Karen E.

2017-01-01

Purpose: To examine the relationship between the South Carolina middle school physical education assessment results and the school characteristics. In addition, the relationship between teacher training attendance and student achievement were determined. Method: Student performance on four physical education indicators in 63 middle schools (and…

The Culture of Bullying in Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Unnever, James D.; Cornell, Dewey G.

2003-01-01

Study assessed the nature and extent of student attitudes toward bullying. Data from surveys of over 2,400 students in six middle schools indicated that a culture of bullying was pervasive among middle school students. Students believed that, in most cases, neither classmates nor teachers would intervene to stop bullying. Most students denied that…

Elementary and middle school children's acceptance of lower calorie flavored milk as measured by milk shipment and participation in the National School Lunch Program.

PubMed

Yon, Bethany A; Johnson, Rachel K

2014-03-01

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) new nutrition standards for school meals include sweeping changes setting upper limits on calories served and limit milk offerings to low fat or fat-free and, if flavored, only fat-free. Milk processors are lowering the calories in flavored milks. As changes to milk impact school lunch participation and milk consumption, it is important to know the impact of these modifications. Elementary and middle schools from 17 public school districts that changed from standard flavored milk (160-180 kcal/8 oz) to lower calorie flavored milk (140-150 kcal/8 oz) between 2008 and 2009 were enrolled. Milk shipment and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participation rates were collected for 3 time periods over 12 months (pre-reformulation, at the time of reformulation, and after reformulation). Linear mixed models were used with adjustments for free/reduced meal eligibility. No changes were seen in shipment of flavored milk or all milk, including unflavored. The NSLP participation rates dropped when lower calorie flavored milk was first offered, but recovered over time. While school children appear to accept lower calorie flavored milk, further monitoring is warranted as most of the flavored milks offered were not fat-free as was required by USDA as of fall 2012. © 2014, American School Health Association.

School Start Times for Middle School and High School Students - United States, 2011-12 School Year.

PubMed

Wheaton, Anne G; Ferro, Gabrielle A; Croft, Janet B

2015-08-07

Adolescents who do not get enough sleep are more likely to be overweight; not engage in daily physical activity; suffer from depressive symptoms; engage in unhealthy risk behaviors such as drinking, smoking tobacco, and using illicit drugs; and perform poorly in school. However, insufficient sleep is common among high school students, with less than one third of U.S. high school students sleeping at least 8 hours on school nights. In a policy statement published in 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urged middle and high schools to modify start times as a means to enable students to get adequate sleep and improve their health, safety, academic performance, and quality of life. AAP recommended that "middle and high schools should aim for a starting time of no earlier than 8:30 a.m.". To assess state-specific distributions of public middle and high school start times and establish a pre-recommendation baseline, CDC and the U.S. Department of Education analyzed data from the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Among an estimated 39,700 public middle, high, and combined schools* in the United States, the average start time was 8:03 a.m. Overall, only 17.7% of these public schools started school at 8:30 a.m. or later. The percentage of schools with 8:30 a.m. or later start times varied greatly by state, ranging from 0% in Hawaii, Mississippi, and Wyoming to more than three quarters of schools in Alaska (76.8%) and North Dakota (78.5%). A school system start time policy of 8:30 a.m. or later provides teenage students the opportunity to achieve the 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep recommended by AAP and the 8-10 hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.

Recruiting middle school students into nursing: An integrative review.

PubMed

Williams, Cheryl

2017-10-27

Middle school students interested in nursing need clarification of the nursing role. Students choose nursing as a career because they want to help others, yet they are often unaware of the need to for arduous secondary education preparation to become a nurse. Middle school students, if not properly exposed to the career during their formative years, may choose another career or not have enough time for adequate nursing school preparation. This integrative review examined seven studies from years 2007 to 2016, which utilized various recruitment strategies to increase the awareness of nursing as a career in middle school and address the need for academic rigor. Implications of the review: there is a need for collaboration between nurses and school counselors to design more robust longitudinal studies of middle school interventions for students interested in nursing as a career. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Experiences and Perceptions of Middle School Handbell Participants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rohwer, Debbie

2015-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to describe the process of music learning and the perceptions of members in a school-based middle school handbell setting. The participants were 39 students and one music teacher in a middle school in Texas. The design of the current study was a case study using observation and interview data. The results…

Comprehensive School Reform & Student Achievement in Kentucky Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans-Andris, Melissa; Usui, Wayne M.

2008-01-01

This project examines the effects of Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) models on the achievement of students in Kentucky middle schools. Previous studies exploring the effects of CSR on schools and student achievement have rendered mixed results (Berends, 2000; May & Supovitz, 2006; May, Supovitz, & Perda, 2004; RAND, 2002; Zhang,…

Universal Emotional Health Screening at the Middle School Transition

PubMed Central

Stoep, Ann Vander; McCauley, Elizabeth; Thompson, Kelly A.; Herting, Jerald R.; Kuo, Elena S.; Stewart, David G.; Anderson, Cheryl A.; Kushner, Siri

2011-01-01

This article describes the implementation of the Developmental Pathways Screening Program (DPSP) and an evaluation of program feasibility, acceptability, and yield. Using the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) and externalizing questions from the Youth Self Report (YSR; Achenbach, 2001), universal classroom-based emotional health screening was implemented with students as they began middle school. Of all sixth graders enrolled in four participating Seattle schools, 861 (83%) were screened. Students who screened positive for emotional distress (15% of students screened) received onsite structured clinical evaluations with children's mental health professionals. Seventy-one percent of students who were evaluated were found to be experiencing significant emotional distress, with 59% warranting referral to academic tutoring, school counselor, and/or community mental health services. Successful implementation of in-class screening was facilitated by strong collaboration between DPSP and school staff. Limitations of emotional health screening and the DPSP are discussed, and future steps are outlined. PMID:21430789

Middle School Science Notes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Science Review, 1981

1981-01-01

Describes activities, demonstrations, and materials suitable for middle school science, including investigations on solar energy, surface tension, exploding cottages, worms and light, airplanes, depolarizing simple cells, and the thermal expansion of metals. (JN)

Associations between School Climate, Suicidal Thoughts, and Behaviors and Ethnicity among Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

La Salle, Tamika P.; Wang, Cixin; Parris, Leandra; Brown, Jacqueline A.

2017-01-01

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the relationships between suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), school climate, and student demographics among middle school students. The study was conducted with a sample of 152,191 middle school students across 607 schools within 182 school districts in a southeastern state. Results support…

Executive Functioning Predicts Academic Achievement in Middle School: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samuels, William Ellery; Tournaki, Nelly; Blackman, Sheldon; Zilinski, Christopher

2016-01-01

Executive functioning (EF) is a strong predictor of children's and adolescents' academic performance. Although research indicates that EF can increase during childhood and adolescence, few studies have tracked the effect of EF on academic performance throughout the middle school grades. EF was measured at the end of Grades 6-9 through 21 teachers'…

Middle School Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook-Kallio, Cheryl

1991-01-01

Discusses the use of primary resources in the teaching of middle school social studies. Describes a lesson in which students were given a copy of the Declaration of Independence, written in everyday language, and were asked to discuss and evaluate it. Suggests another activity based on Thomas Jefferson's writings. (SG)

Teaching Middle School Language Arts: Incorporating Twenty-First Century Literacies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Small Roseboro, Anna J.

2010-01-01

"Teaching Middle School Language Arts" is the first book on teaching middle school language arts for multiple intelligences and related twenty-first-century literacies in technologically and ethnically diverse communities. More than 670,000 middle school teachers (grades six through eight) are responsible for educating nearly 13 million students…

Middle School Science Notes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Science Review, 1982

1982-01-01

Presents procedures, demonstrations, activities, and teaching suggestions on topics appropriate for middle school science including a simple electrolysis cell, conversion factors, energy, solubilities of salts, condensers, and a worksheet for studying coppice woodlands. (DC)

Mid South Middle Start: Studies of Three Middle Start Schools in the Mid South Delta

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Lea Williams; Cheney, Nancy

2005-01-01

These three case studies highlight the implementation and impact of Mid South Middle Start by: (1) contributing toward an in-depth understanding of what it means to be a school implementing Middle Start; (2) describing a holistic portrait of the schools' participation in Mid South Middle Start; and (3) assisting the Academy for Educational…

Kuss Middle School: Expanding Time to Accelerate School Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Massachusetts 2020, 2012

2012-01-01

In 2004, Kuss Middle School became the first school declared "Chronically Underperforming" by the state of Massachusetts. But by 2010, Kuss had transformed itself into a model for schools around the country seeking a comprehensive turnaround strategy. Kuss is using increased learning time as the primary catalyst to accelerate learning,…

School Aggression and Dispositional Aggression among Middle School Boys

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballard, Mary E.; Rattley, Kelvin T.; Fleming, Willie C.; Kidder-Ashley, Pamela

2004-01-01

We examined the relationship between dispositional (trait) aggression and administrative reports of school aggression among 100 adolescent male participants from an urban middle school. Aggression was fairly common among the sample; 58 boys had a record of school aggression, and many of those were repeat offenders. Our hypothesis that those higher…

Predictors and consequences of prescription drug misuse during middle school.

PubMed

Tucker, Joan S; Ewing, Brett A; Miles, Jeremy N V; Shih, Regina A; Pedersen, Eric R; D'Amico, Elizabeth J

2015-11-01

Non-medical prescription drug use (NMPDU) is a growing public health problem among adolescents. This is the first study to examine the correlates of early NMPDU initiation during middle school, and how early initiation is associated with four domains of functioning in high school (mental health, social, academic, and delinquency). Students initially in 6th-8th grades from 16 middle schools completed in-school surveys between 2008 and 2011 (Waves 1-5), and a web-based survey in 2013-2014 (Wave 6). We used discrete time survival analysis to assess predictors of initiation from Waves 1 to 5 based on students who provided NMPDU information at any of these waves (n=12,904), and regression analysis to examine high school outcomes associated with initiation based on a sample that was followed into high school, Wave 6 (n=2539). Low resistance self-efficacy, family substance use, low parental respect, and offers of other substances from peers were consistently associated with NMPDU initiation throughout middle school. Further, perceiving that more of one's peers engaged in other substance use was associated with initiation at Wave 1 only. By high school, those students who initiated NMPDU during middle school reported lower social functioning, and more suspensions and fighting, compared to students who did not initiate NMPDU during middle school. NMPDU initiation during middle school is associated with poorer social functioning and greater delinquency in high school. It is important for middle school prevention programs to address NMPDU. Such programs should focus on both family and peer influences, as well as strengthening resistance self-efficacy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

What Role for Middle School Sports?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McEwin, C. Kenneth; Dickinson, Thomas S.

1998-01-01

Safe, developmentally appropriate play is difficult to achieve when middle schools move into the competitive interscholastic arena. Problems associated with middle-level sports programs include students' predisposition to physical injury, psychological unreadiness, high attrition rates, improper coaching, and liability issues. Improving…

Voices of Children and Parents from Elsewhere: A Glance at Integration in Italian Primary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dusi, Paola; Steinbach, Marilyn

2016-01-01

This study involves 35 research participants: 20 immigrant parents (primarily mothers from South America, North Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East) and 15 primary school children, aged 10-11. These children were born outside Italy and primary school was their first encounter with the Italian educational system. We observed their processes…

Math Tracks: What Pace in Math Is Best for the Middle School Child?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, Michelle

2011-01-01

Mathematics is a critical part of academic preparation of the middle school child, or, as Dr. Maria Montessori would refer to them, children in the third plane of development. Montessori educators are sincere in their endeavors not only to prepare young students for further studies of math and the application of math in their world and careers,…

FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-16

Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education and former 2x astronaut, Hardy Middle School Prinipal Patricia Pride, and Tom Buckmaster, President, Honeywell Hometown Solutions introduce "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-16

Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education and former 2x astronaut,Hardy Middle School Prinipal Patricia Pride, and Tom Buckmaster, President, Honeywell Hometown Solutions introduce "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-16

Two teachers at Hardy Middle School square off in foam suits as "FMA Live!" crew members explain Newton's third law of motion during a performance of "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

Early Predictors of Middle School Fraction Knowledge

PubMed Central

Bailey, Drew H.; Siegler, Robert S.; Geary, David C.

2014-01-01

Recent findings that earlier fraction knowledge predicts later mathematics achievement raise the question of what predicts later fraction knowledge. Analyses of longitudinal data indicated that whole number magnitude knowledge in first grade predicted knowledge of fraction magnitudes in middle school, controlling for whole number arithmetic proficiency, domain general cognitive abilities, parental income and education, race, and gender. Similarly, knowledge of whole number arithmetic in first grade predicted knowledge of fraction arithmetic in middle school, controlling for whole number magnitude knowledge in first grade and the other control variables. In contrast, neither type of early whole number knowledge uniquely predicted middle school reading achievement. We discuss the implications of these findings for theories of numerical development and for improving mathematics learning. PMID:24576209

Middle School Transition Stress: Links with Academic Performance, Motivation, and School Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldstein, Sara E.; Boxer, Paul; Rudolph, Erin

2015-01-01

The present study investigates links between early adolescents' subjective experiences of stress associated with the middle school transition and their academic outcomes. Seventh and eighth grade students (N?=?774) were surveyed about their experiences during their transition to middle school. Students answered questions about stress…

Ann Richards Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kell, John H.

2001-01-01

Presents photos and basic information about a Texas middle school whose architecture reflects the hybrid culture of the borderlands and "regionalism" in which it is located. A line drawing of the site plan is included. (GR)

Evaluation of a 2-Year Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Intervention in Middle School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haerens, Leen; Deforche, Benedicte; Maes, Lea; Cardon, Greet; Stevens, Veerle; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse

2006-01-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a middle school physical activity and healthy eating intervention, including an environmental and computer-tailored component, and to investigate the effects of parental involvement. A random sample of 15 schools with seventh and eight graders was randomly assigned to one of three…

Haymon-Morris Middle School: Keeping the Peace in Georgia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Principal Leadership, 2011

2011-01-01

This article features Haymon-Morris Middle School in Winder, Georgia. This highly successful Title I middle school is tucked behind the high school in a rural area 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. The staff is dedicated to creating a culture where it is believed that a calm, serene school setting results in less stress for both students and staff…

[Impact of an intervention improving the food supply (excluding school meals) with educational support in middle and high schools].

PubMed

Carriere, C; Lorrain, S; Langevin, C; Barberger Gateau, P; Maurice, S; Thibault, H

2015-12-01

Within the Nutrition, Prevention, and Health Program for children and teenagers in Aquitaine, an experimental intervention was implemented in 2007-2008 in the middle and high schools in Aquitaine (southwest France). This intervention aimed to improve the eating habits of adolescents, combining actions to improve the food supply sold during recreational times (remove/limit fat and sugar products sold and promote the sale of fruits and bread) and health education actions to make adolescents aware of the concept of nutritional balance and steer their choice towards recommended products. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the impact of the intervention on the eating behavior of adolescents and the food supply sold during recreational times in middle and high schools in Aquitaine. A survey was conducted before and after the implementation of the intervention in seven middle and high schools that have implemented actions (intervention group) and eight middle and high schools that have not implemented actions (control group). In these schools, 1602 adolescents answered the survey before and 1050 after the intervention (samples were independent because of the anonymity of responses). The impact of the intervention on the dietary behavior of teenagers was modeled using logistic regression adjusted on potential confounding variables (sex, age, and educational status). In multivariate analyses, the intervention was associated with more frequent daily intake of breakfast (OR=2.63; 95% CI [1.89; 3.66]) and lower intake of morning snacks (OR=0.66; 95% CI [0.48; 0.90]), higher consumption of starchy foods (OR=1.77; 95% CI [1.30; 2.42]), bread at breakfast, morning snacks, and a light afternoon meal (OR=1.43; 95% CI [1.07; 1.90]), and the food supply sold at recreational times (OR=1.34 95% CI [1.01; 1.78]). These results show that the "Improving food supply in middle and high schools associated with educational support actions" project led to the sales of recommended foods

Middle School Principals' Perceptions and Preferences When Hiring Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mee, Molly; Haverback, Heather Rogers

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate middle school principals' knowledge of the state's new middle level teacher certification, their hiring preferences for newly certified teachers, and their perceptions of middle certified teacher' competencies in teaching various subject areas to middle school students. Survey data indicated that the…

Middle School, One-to-One

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Eric G.

2009-01-01

Westside Middle School, located in Omaha, Nebraska, serves 950 seventh- and eighth-grade students. Over the last few years, the school's teachers and administrators have evaluated its technology status and needs. As part of this process, the staff members engaged in many activities, including developing a building-level technology plan, organizing…

Activity Preferences of Middle School Physical Education Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenwood, Michael; Stillwell, Jim; Byars, Allyn

2001-01-01

Investigated the physical education activity preferences of middle school students who completed a checklist featuring a variety of activities. Overall, middle school boys and girls both differed and agreed on their interests for specific activities. Most students liked basketball, bicycling, roller skating, soccer, swimming, and volleyball but…

Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Kevin J.; D'Angelo, Christina M.

2013-01-01

This report shares a study that explored the perceptions pre-service teachers have of middle school students. Participants were asked to complete the "Adjective Checklist" ("ACL") by endorsing the words they considered most characteristic of a typical middle school student. Items most frequently endorsed indicated a…

The Section 504 Process in Middle School: Perspectives of Parents, Teachers and Section 504 Coordinators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiasson, Kari; Olson, Myrna R.

2007-01-01

This phenomenological study investigated the perceptions of three teachers, four parents, and three Section 504 coordinators regarding the development and implementation of the Section 504 process for children in middle schools who have attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, or central auditory processing disorder.…

Change Is Hard: Easing into the Middle Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Marshall A.; Breslin, Mary Claire; Evans, William

2007-01-01

Although the transition from elementary school to middle school can be an exciting time for students, it can also be vexing and traumatic. Often, when parents drop off their children at middle school on the first day of school, the scene is reminiscent of the first day of school for kindergarteners and their parents. At Albert Leonard Middle…

Perceptions of Middle School Educators in Hawai‘i about School-based Gardening and Child Health

PubMed Central

Oshiro, Caryn E; Loharuka, Sheila; Novotny, Rachel

2011-01-01

Background Childhood obesity prevention is a national priority. School-based gardening has been proposed as an innovative obesity prevention intervention. Little is known about the perceptions of educators about school-based gardening for child health. As the success of a school-based intervention depends on the support of educators, we investigated perceptions of educators about the benefits of gardening programs to child health. Methods Semi-structured interviews of 9 middle school educators at a school with a garden program in rural Hawai‘i were conducted. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results Perceived benefits of school-based gardening included improving children's diet, engaging children in physical activity, creating a link to local tradition, mitigating hunger, and improving social skills. Poverty was cited as a barrier to adoption of healthy eating habits. Opinions about obesity were contradictory; obesity was considered both a health risk, as well as a cultural standard of beauty and strength. Few respondents framed benefits of gardening in terms of health. Conclusions In order to be effective at obesity prevention, school-based gardening programs in Hawai‘i should be framed as improving diet, addressing hunger, and teaching local tradition. Explicit messages about obesity prevention are likely to alienate the population, as these are in conflict with local standards of beauty. Health researchers and advocates need to further inform educators regarding the potential connections between gardening and health. PMID:21886287

Adult and Middle School Girls' Perceptions of Risk-Taking Behavior: Implications for School Practitioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solomon, Brett Johnson; Garibaldi, Mark

2013-01-01

There is an overwhelming disconnect between young adolescent girls and adults, in relationship to perceptions of middle schoolgirl risk taking. This mixed-methods study investigates the differences between adult practitioners and middle school girls' perceptions of risk taking, understanding of consequences, and needs among middle school girls.…

Relations between Popularity and Prosocial Behavior in Middle School and High School Chinese Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lu, Ting; Li, Ling; Niu, Li; Jin, Shenghua; French, Doran C.

2018-01-01

The concurrent and longitudinal associations between popularity, likeability, and prosocial behavior were evaluated in this three-year study of middle school and high school Chinese adolescents. The initial sample included 766 middle school (mean age = 13.3 years) and 668 high school participants (mean age = 16.6 years); there were 880 (399 girls)…

Is pre-K classroom quality associated with kindergarten and middle-school academic skills?

PubMed

Anderson, Sara; Phillips, Deborah

2017-06-01

We employed data from a longitudinal investigation of over 1,000 children who participated in Tulsa's universal school-based pre-K program in 2005, and path modeling techniques, to examine the contribution of pre-K classroom quality to both kindergarten- and middle-school academic skills. We also examined gender and income-related differences in quality-outcome associations. Both Instructional and Emotional Support in pre-K classrooms, but not Classroom Management, assessed with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), were associated with kindergarten academic skills and, modestly indirectly associated through these immediate impacts, to middle-school test scores. Linear associations were found for Instructional Support whereas nonlinear patterns of association were evident for Emotional Support. Gender and income differences characterized Instructional Support-outcome associations. Results are discussed in terms of implications for improving pre-K quality as one avenue for supporting the ongoing development of academic skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Greeley's Maplewood Middle School Stellar in Solar Car Race

Science.gov Websites

- Students from Greeley's Maplewood Middle School built the fastest model solar car and won the Junior Solar Monarch K-8 School in Louisville won top honors for design. Forty-one teams from across Colorado entered School's car 13 "Crème de la Crème," fourth place; and Golden's Bell Middle School, fifth place

Clinical Trial of Second Step Middle School Program: Impact on Bullying, Cyberbullying, Homophobic Teasing, and Sexual Harassment Perpetration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Espelage, Dorothy L.; Low, Sabina; Van Ryzin, Mark J.; Polanin, Joshua R.

2015-01-01

Social-emotional learning programs are increasingly being implemented in U.S. schools to address a wide range of problematic behaviors (e.g., bullying, delinquency) and to promote academic success. The current study examined the direct and indirect impact of the Second Step Middle School Program (Committee for Children, 2008) on bullying,…

The Purpose-Driven Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chesley, Gary M.; Hartman, Diane

2010-01-01

During the 2008-2009 school year, faculty members at New Fairfield (CT) Middle School examined relevance and student engagement in relation to student achievement. Subtle clues indicated that students were not fully engaged in their learning: many students did not relate their classroom experiences to their personal reality or to their vision of…

Adaptive functioning and depressive symptoms in school-aged children.

PubMed

Chang, Hsiu-Ju; Zauszniewski, Jaclene A; Heinzer, Marjorie M; Musil, Carol M; Tsai, Wen-Che

2007-12-01

This paper is a report of a secondary data analysis to the hypothesis that a child's resourcefulness moderates the relationships between the primary female caregiver's variables (depressive symptoms and learned resourcefulness) and the child's outcomes (depressive symptoms and adaptive functioning). School-aged children between 10 and 12 years of age are at an important stage of development characterized by dramatic biological and psychosocial challenges. Maladaptive functioning and depressive symptoms increase markedly in this stage. To prevent long-term effects of depressive symptoms and impaired adaptive functioning, identifying moderators of the relationship between stress and these mental health indicators is critical. A secondary analysis was conducted in 2004 using the data obtained in 2000 from a community-based sample of 122 school students aged 10-12 years and their primary female caregivers in four suburban public schools in Northeastern Ohio. Instruments included the Self-Control Schedule, Beck Depression Inventory, the Children's version of the Self-Control Schedule, the Children's Community Living Skills Scale, and the Children's Depression Inventory. Children's resourcefulness significantly moderated the relationship between their female caregiver's depressive symptoms and their own adaptive functioning (P<0.01). Children's resourcefulness had a statistically significant impact on depressive symptoms and adaptive functioning (P<0.001). The key to reducing depressive symptoms and enhancing adaptive functioning among middle school children is to build their resourcefulness skills, especially in children whose female caregivers are depressed. This is an important role for school nurses.

Being Muslim and American: Turkish-American Children Negotiating Their Religious Identities in School Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isik-Ercan, Zeynep

2015-01-01

Religious diversity in schools is a growing interest among educational researchers. This qualitative case study examines how 15 Turkish-Muslim children in elementary and middle school negotiated their religious identities as they responded to various experiences in American schools and in their communities. Unlike some earlier studies that…

Understanding Middle Leaders: A Closer Look at Middle Leadership in Primary Schools in Singapore

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heng, Mary Anne; Marsh, Colin J.

2009-01-01

What is the nature of middle leadership in primary schools? What are middle leaders' understanding and experiences in leading learning and teaching? Set against the policy context of decentralised centralism in Singapore and an emerging worldwide trend of decentralisation as a means to encourage school-based development and innovation, this study…

Parental education and physical activity in pre-school children.

PubMed

Vale, S; Ricardo, N; Soares-Miranda, L; Santos, R; Moreira, C; Mota, J

2014-05-01

The purpose of this study was to objectively assess pre-school children's total physical activity (TPA) patterns and compliance with guidelines and to examine differences relative to parental education. The sample consisted on 509 healthy pre-school children, aged 3-6 years recruited from kindergartens located in the metropolitan area of Porto, Portugal. The PA was assessed for 7 consecutive days by accelerometry. For TPA, we followed the guidelines of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) (children who spent at least >120  min per day in active play). For TPA, we calculated the proportion of children who spent at least >120  min per day in active play and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), we calculated the proportion of children who spent at least >60  min per day in active play. Parental education was analysed according to the Portuguese education system. Children with parents in the highest education level were less active than children from low and middle education level (P ≤ 0.001) in all patterns of PA (week and weekend). Regarding TPA during the week we found that the majority of children from low and middle parental education meet the NASPE guidelines. On the other hand, more than half the children from high parental education did not meet these recommendations (P ≤ 0.001) and MVPA recommendations (P ≤ 0.05). In both recommendations, children from low parental education were twice more likely to meet the recommendations compared with children belonging to high parental education. Parent education was negatively associated with children's daily physical activity patterns and compliance with guidelines. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Retired African American female urban middle school science teachers' beliefs and practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitney, Frances M.

The purpose of this paper is to give a voice to a dedicated group of professionals who unselfishly labored twenty-five plus years educating the children of America's poorest taxpaying citizens. These retired African American female urban middle school science teachers (RAAFUMSST) explain the experiences that gave them the fortitude to stay in the urban school system until their retirement. The goal is to give you a glimpse into the distractions, challenges, and victories the teachers encountered as they strove to teach science in an overcrowded, underserviced, and depressed urban school district of a major city. Most times sacrificing self for service, the participants of this study held fast to their beliefs that all of America's children, regardless of their parents' socioeconomic status, deserve a quality education. It is through individual interviews that the five retired science teachers of this project share their reflections on the events and circumstances that altered their labor of love. Critical Race Theory (CRT) serves as the theoretical frame for this study.

Australian Middle Eastern parents' perceptions and practices of children's weight-related behaviours: Talking with Parents' Study.

PubMed

Hardy, Louise L; Hector, Debra; Saleh, Shay; King, Lesley

2016-09-01

The home environment is associated with obesity-related behaviours among children, and research in Australia has shown that some of these behaviours are more prevalent among children from particular cultural backgrounds including Middle Eastern. This study presents findings from face-to-face, semi-structured interviews conducted in April 2013 with a convenience sample of Middle Eastern parents of primary school-age children at an Islamic private school in Sydney, Australia. The interviews explored parental perceptions and practices regarding state government health messages addressing children's eating, physical activity and screen time. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the content of these generic public health messages is relevant and acceptable to Middle Eastern parents of young children, and to identify any enablers and barriers to adopting these healthy practices at home. Thematic analysis identified predominant themes. In total, 21 interviews were conducted (reference children: 12 boys/9 girls, aged 5-12 years). The content of current health messages regarding children's weight-related behaviours was familiar to respondents, and accepted as relevant for guiding their parenting practices. Parents perceived that they typically encouraged healthy behaviours, although they also reported making regular exemptions, in response to various circumstances. Overall, the perceptions and reported practices of the parents were consistent with other studies with Australian parents. There were no apparent culturally specific barriers or enablers to children's weight-related behaviours. There is however scope for health promoters to provide more precise information on health recommendations, health risks and benefits, and to provide more specific ideas for ways in which parents can act on these health messages within the home and family environment, to encourage and support healthy behaviours in their children. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Fat and sugar levels are high in snacks purchased from student stores in middle schools.

PubMed

Wildey, M B; Pampalone, S Z; Pelletier, R L; Zive, M M; Elder, J P; Sallis, J F

2000-03-01

Children consume about one third of their daily energy at school, mostly from cafeteria food and bag lunches. Students also shop at student-run stores that generate revenue for extracurricular activities; yet the nutritional value of snacks sold at student stores has not been documented to our knowledge. Cross-sectional study of foods sold at student stores in middle schools. Twenty-four San Diego County (Calif) public middle schools, grades 6 through 8 (age 11 to 13), from 9 school districts. The schools represent a diversity of ethnic groups and socioeconomic levels. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlations, analysis of variance. Snacks averaged 8.7 g fat and 23.0 g sugar. Overall, 88.5% of store inventory was high in fat and/or high in sugar. Sugar candy accounted for one third of store sales. Chocolate candy was highest in fat content: 15.7 g. Fourteen of the 24 schools had stores that sold food and were run by student organizations. Stores were open daily for about 90 minutes; half sold food during lunch. Adolescents need opportunities to supplement main meals; however, student stores in middle schools sell primarily high-fat, high-sugar snacks. Key intervention possibilities include limiting sales of chocolate candy and substituting low-fat varieties of cakes, cookies, chips, and crackers. Competition with cafeterias for sales at lunchtime should be addressed.

Prioritizing Elementary School Writing Instruction: Cultivating Middle School Readiness for Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciullo, Stephen; Mason, Linda

2017-01-01

Helping elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) prepare for the rigor of middle school writing is an instructional priority. Fortunately, several standards-based skills in upper elementary school and middle school overlap. Teachers in upper elementary grades, specifically fourth and fifth grades, have the opportunity to provide…

[Water-pipe tobacco smoking among school children in Israel: frequencies, habits, and attitudes].

PubMed

Varsano, Shabtai; Ganz, Irit; Eldor, Naomi; Garenkin, Mila

2003-11-01

Tobacco smoking via a water-pipe (Nargile) is a new phenomena among school children in Israel in recent years. Water-pipe tobacco has the potential for nicotine addiction, for other smoking-related damages and for drug abuse. Our primary goal was to characterize the frequencies of water-pipe smoking among school children in Israel, its distribution according to age, gender, habits and attitudes. The secondary goal was to compare its use to cigarette smoking among these school children. A self-reported questionnaire was distributed among 388 school children (ages 12-18 years old) in grades A, and C, of middle schools and grade B of high schools in a central region of Israel. The questionnaires were answered unanimously and the process was conducted in classes by the school teacher and by nursing school students. Among all school children in this study, 41% smoke a water-pipe at various frequencies. Of all the children, 22% smoke at least every weekend. Water-pipe smoking was 3 times more frequent than cigarette smoking and was almost equally distributed among both genders, but girls were heavier smokers than boys, of either water pipe or cigarette smoking. Six percent of water-pipe smokers add psychoactive drugs or alcohol to the tobacco. The main reasons for water-pipe smoking were the pleasure achieved and the intimacy that it adds to the youngsters' meetings. Ninety percent of all the school children believe that water-pipe smoking is not healthy, but at least 50% believes it is less harmful than cigarettes. According to school children that smoke water-pipes at least every weekend, 40% of their parents are current or ex-smokers of water-pipes, in contrast with 10% of parents to non-smoking children and about a quarter of the children who smoke also do so together with their parents. Tobacco smoking via water-pipes is a very common phenomena among middle and high school children in Israel. Girls are heavier smokers and adding drugs or alcohol to water

Doing History: Investigating with Children in Elementary and Middle Schools. 3rd Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levstik, Linda S.; Barton, Keith C.

2005-01-01

This book offers a unique perspective on history instruction in the elementary and middle grades. Through case studies of teachers and students in diverse classrooms and from diverse backgrounds, the text shows children engaging in authentic historical investigations, often in the context of an integrated social studies curriculum. The authors…

Interdisciplinary Middle School Teams as Professional Learning Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, George Ellis, Jr.

2016-01-01

Problem: Interdisciplinary teaming has been noted as a critical element of the middle school model associated with higher student achievement. Yet, research on middle school teams' use of common planning time suggests that the majority of meeting time is spent discussing student behavior/issues, discussing student learning problems/issues, and…

Work and Family Life: Middle School Content Competencies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio State Dept. of Education, Columbus. Div. of Career-Technical and Adult Education.

This document, which lists the middle school content competencies for the Work and Family Studies curriculum within Family and Consumer Sciences in Ohio, is intended to help middle school students develop self-responsibility and competence dealing with the practical problems of early adolescence. (Career awareness and career choice options are…

Middle School Girls: Perceptions and Experiences with Robotics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hyun, Tricia

2014-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the impact a robotics curriculum might have on the experiences and perceptions of middle school girls in two California classrooms. The research found that middle school girls in two different California classrooms felt that their experiences with robotics were personalized experiences…

In the Middle: Do We Share the Vision? Do Principals and Teachers Agree about the Middle School Concept?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watts, Cherry; Seed, Allen H.; Franceschini, Louis A., III

2013-01-01

In 2009, the Tennessee Professors of Middle Level Education (TPOMLE) examined how Tennessee schools implemented the middle school concept. Of concern was the impact that emphasis on accountability and achievement had on the middle school concept which emphasizes the development of the whole child. A survey was developed based on the tenets of…

Middle School Responses to Cyberbullying: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zidack, Astri Marie

2013-01-01

This action research study engaged a small public middle school in the northwest United States in a collaborative process to address cyberbullying issues that often lead to academic and behavior problems in schools (Hinduja, 2010; Olweus, 2010). The specific purpose of this action research study was to address the middle school's cyberbullying…

Family and Consumer Sciences Delivers Middle School Multicultural Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clauss, Barbara A.

2006-01-01

In this article, the author talks about valuing individual and group differences and knowing how to interact effectively with a variety of people in school through multicultural education in a middle school family and consumer sciences setting. Here, she answers the questions: (1) Why multicultural education? (2) Why middle school? and (3) Why…

Youth Risk Behavior Survey of Middle School Students Attending Bureau Funded Schools, 1997.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaughnessy, Lana; Everett, Sherry; Ranslow, Steve

This report presents findings from a spring 1997 survey of all middle-school students (grades 6-8) enrolled in schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The Centers for Disease Control Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was completed by 6,990 students in 115 of the 122 BIA-funded middle schools; the overall response rate was 74 percent.…

School-related adjustment in children and adolescents with CHD.

PubMed

Im, Yu-Mi; Lee, Sunhee; Yun, Tae-Jin; Choi, Jae Young

2017-09-01

Advancements in medical and surgical treatment have increased the life expectancy of patients with CHD. Many patients with CHD, however, struggle with the medical, psychosocial, and behavioural challenges as they transition from childhood to adulthood. Specifically, the environmental and lifestyle challenges in school are very important factors that affect children and adolescents with CHD. This study aimed to evaluate school-related adjustments depending on school level and disclosure of disease in children and adolescents with CHD. This was a descriptive and exploratory study with 205 children and adolescents, aged 7-18 years, who were recruited from two congenital heart clinics from 5 January to 27 February, 2015. Data were analysed using the Student's t-test, analysis of variance, and a univariate general linear model. School-related adjustment scores were significantly different according to school level and disclosure of disease (p<0.001) when age, religion, experience being bullied, and parents' educational levels were assigned as covariates. The school-related adjustment score of patients who did not disclose their disease dropped significantly in high school. This indicated that it is important for healthcare providers to plan developmentally appropriate educational transition programmes for middle-school students with CHD in order for students to prepare themselves before entering high school.

Chronic fatigue syndrome in Chinese middle-school students.

PubMed

Shi, Jieyao; Shen, Jie; Xie, Jian; Zhi, Jianming; Xu, Yong

2018-01-01

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and its associated factors in middle-school students in Suzhou, China. From September 2010 to January 2011, across-sectional study was conducted in junior- and senior middle-school students aged 10 to 18 years using a battery of confidential questionnaires. Our results indicate that 18,139 completed the questionnaires effectively, of whom 163 (0.9%) met the definition of CFS, with senior high-school students and male students predominating. The prevalence of CFS in the middle-school students increased steadily with age. The main symptoms of CFS in these students included being afraid of going to school, despondency, and irritability in addition to those specified in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Our study shows that CFS is prevalent among Chinese teenagers, and requiring proper intervention and treatment.

Learning Leadership Skills in Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowman, Richard F.

2013-01-01

For middle school students, the essence of 21st-century leadership development is being "in influence" versus being "in control." A core student leadership skill involves listening intently to others, framing others' concerns, and advancing the other person's interests. Creating contexts in which middle school…

Validity of a Sun Safety Diary Using UV Monitors in Middle School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yaroch, Amy L.; Reynolds, Kim D.; Buller, David B.; Maloy, Julie A.; Geno, Cristy R.

2006-01-01

This article describes a validity study conducted among middle school students comparing self-reported sun safety behaviors from a diary with readings from ultraviolet (UV) monitors worn on different body sites. The UV monitors are stickers with panels that turn increasingly darker shades of blue in the presence of increasing amounts of UV light.…

Middle School Science Notes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Science Review, 1983

1983-01-01

Demonstrations, experiments, and classroom activities/materials for middle school science are presented. These include: additive color mixing demonstration; electricity activity and worksheet; atmospheric pressure "magic" demonstration; homemade microbalance; energy from soap bubbles; and a model used to demonstrate muscle pairs and how…

Exploratory Programing in Georgia's Middle Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warren, Louis L.; Allen, Michael G.

This study surveyed the nature and extent of exploratory programming in intermediate schools. A 22-item questionnaire was sent to all 285 of the state's middle and junior high schools. Of the 163 respondents, 160 indicated that they had some form of exploratory programming. The latter number included: (1) 155 schools with traditional exploratory…

Associations between Parental Limits, School Vending Machine Purchases, and Soft Drink Consumption among Kentucky Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nickelson, Jen; Roseman, Mary G.; Forthofer, Melinda S.

2010-01-01

Objective: To examine associations between parental limits on soft drinks and purchasing soft drinks from school vending machines and consuming soft drinks among middle school students. Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the middle school Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Setting: Eight public middle schools in central Kentucky.…

Computer Utilization in Middle Tennessee High Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lucas, Sam

In order to determine the capacity of high schools to profit from the pre-high school computer experiences of its students, a study was conducted to measure computer utilization in selected high schools of Middle Tennessee. Questionnaires distributed to 50 principals in 28 school systems covered the following areas: school enrollment; number and…

Alternative Education Programmes and Middle School Dropout in Honduras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Jeffery H.; Aguilar, Claudia R.; Alas, Mario; Castellanos, Renán Rápalo; Castro, Levi; Enamorado, Ramón; Fonseca, Esther

2014-01-01

Honduras has made steady progress in expanding post-primary school coverage in recent years, but many rural communities still do not provide a middle (lower secondary) school. As a result, Honduras has implemented a number of middle school alternative programmes designed to meet the needs of at-risk populations throughout the country. This article…

Data-Based Decision-Making Teams in Middle School: Observations and Implications from the Middle School Intervention Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crone, Deanne A.; Carlson, Sarah E.; Haack, Marcia K.; Kennedy, Patrick C.; Baker, Scott K.; Fien, Hank

2016-01-01

The use of data-based decision making (DBDM) in schools to drive educational improvement and success has been strongly promoted by educational experts and policymakers, yet very little is documented about the actual DBDM practices used in schools. This study examines DBDM practices in 25 middle schools through 80 standardized observations of data…

The Middle School Transition in Private Schools: Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atkinson, Eileen Irby

2010-01-01

Students transitioning into the middle school often experience difficulty adjusting to their new environment. During this transition, declines in academic motivation, academic achievement, and connectedness have been noted. Most research on this transition has taken place in public school settings. This research investigated the impact of the…

Creating Hybrid Spaces for Engaging School Science among Urban Middle School Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barton, Angela Calabrese; Tan, Edna; Rivet, Ann

2008-01-01

The middle grades are a crucial time for girls in making decisions about how or if they want to follow science trajectories. In this article, the authors report on how urban middle school girls enact meaningful strategies of engagement in science class in their efforts to merge their social worlds with the worlds of school science and on the…

Parenting Style and Only Children's School Achievement in China.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xie, Qing; And Others

This report describes a study which examined the relation of Chinese parenting style to only-children's academic achievement. Subjects, 186 middle-class parents of fifth and sixth graders (10-13 years old) from one Beijing elementary school, completed a Chinese translation of the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ). Four approximately equal…

Multiple-Micronutrient Fortified Non-Dairy Beverage Interventions Reduce the Risk of Anemia and Iron Deficiency in School-Aged Children in Low-Middle Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (i–iv)

PubMed Central

Aaron, Grant J.; Dror, Daphna K.; Yang, Zhenyu

2015-01-01

Multiple-micronutrient (MMN) fortification of beverages may be an effective option to deliver micronutrients to vulnerable populations. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the nutritional impacts of MMN fortified beverages in the context of low-middle income countries. A systematic search of published literature yielded 1022 citations, of which 10 randomized controlled trials (nine in school-aged children and one in pregnant women) met inclusion criteria. Results of school-aged children were included in the meta-analysis. Compared to iso-caloric controls, children who received MMN fortified beverages for 8 weeks to 6 months showed significant improvements in hemoglobin (+2.76 g/L, 95% CI [1.19, 4.33], p = 0.004; 8 studies) and serum ferritin (+15.42 pmol/L, [5.73, 25.12], p = 0.007; 8 studies); and reduced risk of anemia (RR 0.58 [0.29, 0.88], p = 0.005; 6 studies), iron deficiency (RR 0.34 [0.21, 0.55], p = 0.002; 7 studies), and iron deficiency anemia (RR 0.17 [0.06, 0.53], p = 0.02; 3 studies). MMN fortified beverage interventions could have major programmatic implications for reducing the burden of anemia and iron deficiency in school-aged children in low-middle income countries. Additional research is needed to investigate effects on other biochemical outcomes and population subgroups. PMID:26007336

Multiple-Micronutrient Fortified Non-Dairy Beverage Interventions Reduce the Risk of Anemia and Iron Deficiency in School-Aged Children in Low-Middle Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (i-iv).

PubMed

Aaron, Grant J; Dror, Daphna K; Yang, Zhenyu

2015-05-21

Multiple-micronutrient (MMN) fortification of beverages may be an effective option to deliver micronutrients to vulnerable populations. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the nutritional impacts of MMN fortified beverages in the context of low-middle income countries. A systematic search of published literature yielded 1022 citations, of which 10 randomized controlled trials (nine in school-aged children and one in pregnant women) met inclusion criteria. Results of school-aged children were included in the meta-analysis. Compared to iso-caloric controls, children who received MMN fortified beverages for 8 weeks to 6 months showed significant improvements in hemoglobin (+2.76 g/L, 95% CI [1.19, 4.33], p = 0.004; 8 studies) and serum ferritin (+15.42 pmol/L, [5.73, 25.12], p = 0.007; 8 studies); and reduced risk of anemia (RR 0.58 [0.29, 0.88], p = 0.005; 6 studies), iron deficiency (RR 0.34 [0.21, 0.55], p = 0.002; 7 studies), and iron deficiency anemia (RR 0.17 [0.06, 0.53], p = 0.02; 3 studies). MMN fortified beverage interventions could have major programmatic implications for reducing the burden of anemia and iron deficiency in school-aged children in low-middle income countries. Additional research is needed to investigate effects on other biochemical outcomes and population subgroups.

Greeley's Maplewood Middle School Stellar in Solar Car Race

Science.gov Websites

; Sinclair Middle School's car 21, "The Flyer," second place; Eagle Valley Middle School's car 5 , competitors designed and built vehicles no larger than 12 inches wide, 24 inches long and 12 inches high. The

Assessing Climate Misconceptions of Middle School Learners and Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahagian, D. L.; Anastasio, D. J.; Bodzin, A.; Cirucci, L.; Bressler, D.; Dempsey, C.; Peffer, T.

2012-12-01

Middle School students and their teachers are among the many populations in the U.S. with misconceptions regarding the science or even reality of climate change. Teaching climate change science in schools is of paramount importance since all school-age children will eventually assume responsibility for the management and policy-making decisions of our planet. The recently published Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012) emphasizes the importance of students understanding global climate change and its impacts on society. A preliminary assessment of over a thousand urban middles school students found the following from pretests prior to a climate literacy curriculum: - Do not understand that climate occurs on a time scale of decades (most think it is weeks or months) -Do not know the main atmospheric contributors to global warming -Do not understand the role of greenhouse gases as major contributors to increasing Earth's surface temperature -Do not understand the role of water vapor to trap heat and add to the greenhouse effect -Cannot identify some of the human activities that increase the amount of CO2 -Cannot identify sources of carbon emissions produced by US citizens -Cannot describe human activities that are causing the long-term increase of carbon -dioxide levels over the last 100 years -Cannot describe carbon reduction strategies that are feasible for lowering the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere To address the lack of a well-designed middle school science climate change curriculum that can be used to help teachers promote the teaching and learning of important climate change concepts, we developed a 20-day Environmental Literacy and Inquiry (ELI): Climate Change curriculum in partnership with a local school district. Comprehension increased significantly from pre- to post-test after enactment of the ELI curriculum in the classrooms. This work is part of an ongoing systemic curriculum reform initiative to promote (1

Changes in Physical Activity in the School, Afterschool, and Evening Periods During the Transition From Elementary to Middle School.

PubMed

Lau, Erica Y; Dowda, Marsha; McIver, Kerry L; Pate, Russell R

2017-07-01

We examined longitudinal changes in children's physical activity during the school day, afterschool, and evening across fifth, sixth, and seventh grades. The analytical sample included children who had valid accelerometer data in fifth grade and at least one other time-point, and provided complete sociodemographic information (N = 768, 751, and 612 for the 3 time-periods studied). Accelerometer-derived total physical activity (TPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were expressed in minutes per hour for the school day (∼7:45 am to 3:30 pm), afterschool (∼2:25 to 6:00 pm), and evening (6:00 to 10:00 pm) periods. We used growth curve analyses to examine changes in TPA and MVPA. School day TPA and MVPA declined significantly; we observed a greater decrease from fifth to sixth grades than from sixth to seventh grades. Afterschool TPA declined significantly, but MVPA increased significantly among girls and remained stable for boys. Evening TPA decreased significantly and MVPA declined significantly in girls and remained stable among boys. To inform the development of effective intervention strategies, research should focus on examining factors associated with the decline in physical activity during the transition from elementary to middle school, particularly during the hours when children are in school. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Influences of High-Stakes Testing on Middle School Mission and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Musoleno, Ronald R.; White, George P.

2010-01-01

This study explored the effects of high-stakes testing and accountability on the fundamental practices associated with middle school philosophy. Participants were middle school educators, including administrators and teachers, from Pennsylvania middle schools. An online survey was used to collect data for this study. The survey addressed the…

School administrators' perceptions of factors that influence children's active travel to school.

PubMed

Price, Anna E; Pluto, Delores M; Ogoussan, Olga; Banda, Jorge A

2011-12-01

Increasing children's active travel to school may be 1 strategy for addressing the growing prevalence of obesity among school age children. Using the School Travel Survey, we examined South Carolina school district leaders' perceptions of factors that influence elementary and middle school students walking to school. Frequency distributions and chi-square tests were used to analyze the survey responses; open-ended questions were reviewed qualitatively for recurring topics and themes. School and district leaders (N = 314) most often reported street crossing safety (54.0%) and number of sidewalks (54.0%) as priority factors that should be addressed to increase students' active travel to school, followed by distance to school (46.0%), traffic volume (42.4%), parental attitudes (27.0%), traffic speed (26.7%), neighborhood condition (24.4%), and student attitudes (10.0%). Several respondents expressed concerns about liability issues related to students' active travel to school while others reported that schools are not responsible for students' safety once students leave school grounds. Independent of their comments about liability, respondents were concerned about the safety of students while walking to school. Those promoting active travel to school may benefit from addressing those factors perceived as most important by school and district leaders, including street crossing safety, number of sidewalks, and by educating school and district leaders about liability and safety issues related to students walking to school. © 2011, American School Health Association.

Passive smoking, salivary cotinine concentrations, and middle ear effusion in 7 year old children.

PubMed

Strachan, D P; Jarvis, M J; Feyerabend, C

1989-06-10

To assess the contribution of passive exposure to tobacco smoke to the development of middle ear underpressure and effusion. Cross sectional observational study. One third of the primary schools in Edinburgh. 892 Children aged 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 were examined, and satisfactory tympanograms were obtained in 872. Results of assay of salivary cotinine concentrations were available for 770 children, and satisfactory tympanograms were available for 736 of these. Correlation of the prevalence of middle ear underpressure and effusion with concentrations of the marker of nicotine, cotinine, in the saliva of the children. Middle ear pressure and compliance were measured in both ears by impedance tympanometry. Salivary cotinine concentrations were assayed by gas-liquid chromatography. Cotinine concentrations increased with the number of smokers in the household. Girls had higher concentrations than boys, and children living in rented housing had higher concentrations than those living in housing owned by their parents. There was a trend towards more abnormal tympanometric findings with increasing cotinine concentration, the odds ratio for a doubling of the cotinine concentration being 1.14 (95% confidence interval 1.03 to 1.27). After adjustment for the sex of the child and housing tenure the odds ratio for a doubling of the cotinine concentration was 1.13 (1.00 to 1.28). The results of this study are consistent with those of case-control studies of children attending for an operation to relieve middle ear effusion. They indicate that the disease should be added to the list of recognised hazards associated with passive smoking. About one third of the cases of middle ear effusion in this study were statistically attributable to exposure to tobacco smoke.

Thinking Processes in Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsuoka, Caryn

2012-01-01

As part of the author's doctoral program at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, she conducted a study to determine whether and how former sixth-grade students at Waikiki School were using the thinking processes and strategies they were taught in elementary school when they were in middle school. In order to find this out, she interviewed eight…

Systems Thinking among School Middle Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaked, Haim; Schechter, Chen

2017-01-01

Systems thinking is a holistic approach that puts the study of wholes before that of parts. This study explores systems thinking among school middle leaders--teachers who have management responsibility for a team of teachers or for an aspect of the school's work. Interviews were held with 93 school coordinators, among them year heads, heads of…

Delaware Middle Schools Beating the Odds. Technical Report Number T2010.4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grusenmeyer, Linda; Fifield, Steve; Murphy, Aideen; Nian, Qinghua; Qian, Xiaoyu

2010-01-01

The investigation identified Delaware public and charter middle schools across the state which outperformed other Delaware middle schools with similar student demographic profiles. Teachers and administrators at six of these "Beating the Odds" schools and at six comparison middle schools were surveyed regarding their schools…

Grades of undernutrition and socioeconomic status influence cognitive development in school children of Kolkata.

PubMed

Ghosh, Satabdi; Chowdhury, Sutanu Dutta; Chandra, Ananga Mohan; Ghosh, Tusharkanti

2015-02-01

Cognitive development of children is influenced by different environmental factors like nutritional and socio-economic status. The objectives of the present study were to determine the influence of grades of undernutrition and socio-economic status (SES) on the cognitive development of school children of Kolkata. Five hundred sixty six (566) school children having 5-12 years of age were selected from different schools of Kolkata. The cognitive development was measured by the scores of Raven's colored progressive matrices (RCPM). The chronic and acute nutritional statuses were measured from height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-age (WAZ) Z scores respectively with reference to the values of WHO. SES was determined by updated Kuppuswamy scale. The prevalences of undernutrition in the observed children were 57.95% (according to HAZ) and 52.82% (according to WAZ). The age dependent growth curve of RCPM scores of the observed children remains in between the 10th and 25th centile of British children. The children belonging to superior and intellectual deficit IQ classes were 21.55 and 36.40%, respectively of the total subjects. Most of the subjects belong to lower middle (39.93%) and upper middle (36.40%) class of SES. RCPM scores of school children were gradually decreased with the grades of undernutrition and SES. RCPM scores were significantly correlated with HAZ, WAZ, SES, age, and sex (P < 0.001) and strongly associated with HAZ, SES, age, and sex (P < 0.001, P < 0.05). Present study indicates that cognitive development of school children of Kolkata is influenced by the grade of undernutrition and SES. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Follow-up of an elementary school intervention for asthma management: do gains last into middle school?

PubMed

Greenberg, Cindy; Luna, Pamela; Simmons, Gretchen; Huhman, Marian; Merkle, Sarah; Robin, Leah; Keener, Dana

2010-06-01

Albuquerque Public Schools (APS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted an evaluation to examine whether students who were exposed to the APS asthma program in elementary school retained benefits into middle school. APS middle school students who participated in the APS asthma program in elementary school, including the Open Airways for Schools (OAS) education curriculum, responded to a follow-up questionnaire (N = 121) and participated in student focus groups (N = 40). Asthma management self-efficacy scores from the follow-up questionnaire were compared to scores obtained before and after the OAS education component. Additional items assessed students' asthma symptoms, management skills, avoidance of asthma triggers, and school impact. Although asthma management self-efficacy scores declined in middle school among students exposed to the asthma program in elementary school, they remained significantly higher than scores obtained during elementary school prior to the OAS intervention. The results indicate that although students benefited from the asthma program delivered in elementary school, they need booster sessions and continued school support in middle school.

An Advocate for Every Student at Millard Central Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balkus, Beth

2006-01-01

Central Middle School, part of the Millard Public School District, is a grade six through eight urban school located in Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha has a metropolitan and surrounding suburban population of approximately one million. Along with approximately 800 students in traditional middle school teams, CMS also offers a Montessori mini-magnet and…

Transforming High-Poverty Urban Middle Schools into Strong Learning Institutions: Lessons from the First Five Years of the Talent Development Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balfanz, Robert; Mac Iver, Doug

2000-01-01

Two developers of the Talent Development Middle School model discuss 10 lessons from implementing, refining, and evaluating this model in 5 high-poverty middle schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and describe obstacles encountered and breakthroughs experienced in developing the knowledge base, materials, and infrastructure of the model. (SLD)

Trauma and Early Adolescent Development: Case Examples from a Trauma-Informed Public Health Middle School Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frydman, Jason Scott; Mayor, Christine

2017-01-01

Middle-school-age children are faced with a variety of developmental tasks, including the beginning phases of individuation from the family, building peer groups, social and emotional transitions, and cognitive shifts associated with the maturation process. This article summarizes how traumatic events impair and complicate these developmental…

Looking Forward to High School and College: Middle Grade Indicators of Readiness in Chicago Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allensworth, Elaine M.; Gwynne, Julia A.; Moore, Paul; de la Torre, Marisa

2014-01-01

There is a very large population of students who struggle with the transition from the middle grades to high school, raising concerns that high school failures are partially a function of poor middle grade preparation. As a result, middle grade practitioners are grappling with questions about what skills students need to succeed in high school,…

Replacement vs. Renovation: The Reincarnation of Hubble Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogurek, Douglas J.

2010-01-01

At the original Hubble Middle School, neither the views (a congested Roosevelt Road and glimpses of downtown Wheaton) nor the century-old facility that offered them was very inspiring. Built at the start of the 20th century, the 250,000-square-foot building was converted from Wheaton Central High School to Hubble Middle School in the early 1980s.…

Middle School Science Notes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Science Review, 1980

1980-01-01

Describes equipment, experiments, and activities useful in middle school science instruction, including demonstrating how strong paper can be, the inclined plane illusion, a simplified diet calculation, a magnetic levitator, science with soap bubbles, a model motor and dynamo, and a pocketed sorter for safety glasses. (SK)

Tribal vs. Public Schools: Perceived Discrimination and School Adjustment among Indigenous Children from Early to Mid-Adolescence.

PubMed

Crawford, Devan M; Cheadle, Jacob E; Whitbeck, Les B

2010-04-01

The purpose of this study is to assess the differential effects of perceived discrimination by type of school on positive school adjustment among Indigenous children during late elementary and early middle school years. The analysis utilizes a sample of 654 Indigenous children from four reservations in the Northern Midwest and four Canadian First Nation reserves. Multiple group linear growth modeling within a structural equation framework is employed to investigate the moderating effects of school type on the relationship between discrimination and positive school adjustment. Results show that students in all school types score relatively high on positive school adjustment at time one (ages 10-12). However, in contrast to students in tribal schools for whom positive school adjustment remains stable, those attending public schools and those moving between school types show a decline in school adjustment over time. Furthermore, the negative effects of discrimination on positive school adjustment are greater for those attending public schools and those moving between schools. Possible reasons for this finding and potential explanations for why tribal schools may provide protection from the negative effects of discrimination are discussed.

Development of a Multidisciplinary Middle School Mathematics Infusion Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russo, Maria; Hecht, Deborah; Burghardt, M. David; Hacker, Michael; Saxman, Laura

2011-01-01

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project "Mathematics, Science, and Technology Partnership" (MSTP) developed a multidisciplinary instructional model for connecting mathematics to science, technology and engineering content areas at the middle school level. Specifically, the model infused mathematics into middle school curriculum…

Assessing the Mental Health Impact of the 2011 Great Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Radiation Disaster on Elementary and Middle School Children in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan.

PubMed

Lieber, Mark

2017-01-01

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred off of Japan's Pacific coast, which was followed by huge tsunamis that destroyed many coastal cities in the area. Due to the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, malfunctions occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi (Fukushima I) nuclear power plant, resulting in the release of radioactive material in the region. While recent studies have investigated the effects of these events on the mental health of adults in the region, no studies have yet been performed investigating similar effects among children. This study aims to fill that gap by: 1) assessing the mental health of elementary and middle school children living within the Fukushima prefecture of Japan, and 2) identifying risk and protective factors that are associated with the children's mental health scores. These factors were quantified using an original demographics survey, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the latter two of which have been previously validated in a Japanese setting. The surveys were distributed to approximately 3,650 elementary and middle school students during the months of February and March, 2012. The data suggests that those children who had been relocated to the city of Koriyama had significantly higher SDQ scores than those children who were native to Koriyama (p < .05) as well as a control group that lived outside of the Fukushima prefecture (p < .01). Using a multivariate regression, we also found that younger age and parental trauma were significantly correlated with higher SDQ scores (p < .001), while gender, displacement from one's home, and exposure to violence were not. These results suggest that, among children affected by natural disasters, younger children and those with parents suffering from trauma-related distress are particularly vulnerable to the onset of pediatric mental disturbances.

Exploring Parental Involvement Strategies Utilized by Middle School Interdisciplinary Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robbins, Chris; Searby, Linda

2013-01-01

Adolescents present a unique collection of characteristics and challenges which middle school interdisciplinary teams were designed to address. This article describes a research study which explored parental involvement strategies employed by interdisciplinary teaching teams from three very different middle schools: an affluent suburban school, a…

Perceptions of School Experiences during the First Semester of Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buehler, Cheryl; Fletcher, Anne C.; Johnston, Carol; Weymouth, Bridget B.

2015-01-01

Symbolic interaction and stage-environment fit theories were used to examine associations between several aspects of the perceived school environment and youths' school-related experiences during the first semester of middle school in a sample of 390 youth living in a southeastern U.S. county. Perceived school environment included learning…

Living in the city: school friendships, diversity and the middle classes.

PubMed

Vincent, Carol; Neal, Sarah; Iqbal, Humera

2018-06-01

Much of the literature on the urban middle classes describes processes of both affiliation (often to the localities) and disaffiliation (often from some of the non-middle-class residents). In this paper, we consider this situation from a different position, drawing on research exploring whether and how children and adults living in diverse localities develop friendships with those different to themselves in terms of social class and ethnicity. This paper focuses on the interviews with the ethnically diverse, but predominantly white British, middle-class parent participants, considering their attitudes towards social and cultural difference. We emphasize the importance of highlighting inequalities that arise from social class and its intersection with ethnicity in analyses of complex urban populations. The paper's contribution is, first, to examine processes of clustering amongst the white British middle-class parents, particularly in relation to social class. Second, we contrast this process, and its moments of reflection and unease, with the more deliberate and purposeful efforts of one middle-class, Bangladeshi-origin mother who engages in active labour to facilitate relationships across social and ethnic difference. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Middle Level Education in Rural Communities: Implications for School Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Douglas D.

2005-01-01

Middle level teachers and administrators working in small or rural schools often face unique obstacles in implementing recommended middle level practices. From sharing staff and schedules with other school sites, to inappropriate instructional techniques, to a general lack of understanding of the middle level philosophy, these obstacles can be a…

Helping Middle School Girls at Risk for School Failure Recover Their Confidence and Achieve School Success: An Experimental Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mann, Michael J.

2013-01-01

Middle school girls who are at risk have experienced a disproportionate number of intense and disruptive traumatic life events. Such events can adversely affect healthy development and often contribute to higher levels of school failure and problem behavior. Few programs focus on helping at-risk middle school girls achieve school success through…

RTI in Middle School Classrooms: Proven Tools and Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esteves, Kelli J.; Whitten, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

"RTI in Middle School Classrooms" provides practical, research-based instructional techniques and interventions--geared especially to middle school teachers and administrators--that target and address specific needs of individual students. Response to intervention allows educators to assess and meet the needs of struggling students…

Association of being bullied in school with suicide ideation and planning among rural middle school adolescents.

PubMed

Bhatta, Madhav P; Shakya, Sunita; Jefferis, Eric

2014-11-01

This study examined the association of ever being bullied in school with suicide ideation (ever thinking about killing oneself) and ever seriously making a plan to kill oneself (suicide planning) among rural middle school adolescents. Using the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey instrument, 2 cross-sectional surveys were conducted among middle school adolescents (N = 1082) in a rural Appalachian county in Ohio in 2009 and 2012. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed the relationship of ever being bullied in school with suicide ideation and planning. Overall, a total of 468 participants (43.1%) reported ever being bullied in school, and 22.3% and 13.2% of the adolescents surveyed reported suicide ideation and planning, respectively. In the multivariable analyses, ever being bullied in school was significantly associated with both suicide ideation (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7-3.5) and planning (OR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.6-3.8). The results show a strong association between being bullied in school and suicide ideation and planning among rural middle school adolescents. Prevention of bullying in school as early as in middle school should be a strategy for reducing suicide ideation and planning among adolescents. © 2014, American School Health Association.

Student Perceptions of the Transition from Elementary to Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akos, Patrick

2002-01-01

This study sought to learn more about student perceptions during the transition from elementary to middle school. In response to students' concerns, it is suggested that school counselors implement preventive or proactive programming to assist students with the elementary to middle school transition. (Contains 22 references.) (GCP)

A Special Report on Middle Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollifield, John H.

1988-01-01

The first Center for Research on Elementary and Middle Schools (CREM) report describes the structures and practices currently used at all school levels for staffing, grouping, and scheduling. The report assesses the effects of departmentalization, tracking, ability grouping, and grade spans on student learning and development. (MLH)

Unfinished but Not yet Exhausted: A Review of Australian Middle Schooling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prosser, Brenton

2008-01-01

The state of Middle Schooling in many Western countries has been described as under threat, at a crossroads and like a wasteland. Within Australia, it has also been claimed that the past generation focus on Middle Schooling is unfinished and exhausted. But a Middle Schooling movement continues in Australia that provides examples of a way out of a…

Operationalization of a Frame of Reference for Studying Organizational Culture in Middle Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniel, Larry G.

A frame of reference for studying culture in middle schools was developed. Items for the Middle School Description Survey (MSDS), which was designed to test elements of the ideal middle school culture, were created based on middle school advocacy literature. The items were conceptually categorized according to E. H. Schein's (1985) cultural…

Developing an Integrative Play Therapy Group Model for Middle School Male Students to Address Bullying Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Jakarla

2016-01-01

This research examines the systematic process of developing an integrative play therapy group model for middle school male students, ages 11-15 who participate in bullying behaviors. Play therapy approaches and evidence-based practices are documented as effective measures for addressing bullying behaviors with children and adolescents. This group…

Perceptions about interpersonal relationships and school environment among middle school students with asthma.

PubMed

Rhee, Hyekyun; McQuillan, Brenda; Chen, Ding-Geng; Atis, Shannska

2017-11-01

To examine interpersonal relationships involving peers and teachers and perceptions about school environment among middle school students with asthma in comparison to their healthy counterparts. The study also assesses asthma prevalence in a large sample of middle school students representing different geographic locations. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1059 middle school students in grades 6-8 enrolled in schools in a northeastern region of the United States. Students reported their chronic health conditions including asthma and completed questionnaires measuring perceptions about their relationships with peers and teachers as well as school environment. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were used to compare students with asthma and their healthy counterparts in the study variables. Asthma was reported by 16.5% of the sample (n = 169). The rate was higher among minority students (23%) than their white counterparts (15%). Greater proportion of urban students (28%) reported asthma than rural (18%) and suburban (14%) students. Students with asthma reported significantly poorer relationships with peers (B = -1.74, p <.001) and teachers (B = -1.41, p =.009), and their perceptions about overall school environment (B = -1.30, p =.009) were also lower than their healthy counterparts. Race showed no significant effects on school factors. Overall asthma prevalence was substantially higher than the national average of adolescent asthma, particularly those residing in the urban area. Poor perceptions of interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers among students with asthma may indicate compromised quality of life. Suboptimal interpersonal relationships and school environment need to be identified and adequately addressed, given their implications for asthma management at the school setting among middle school students.

Exploring U.S. Westward Expansion in the Elementary and Middle School Curriculum through Tall Tales

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Almerico, Gina M.; Martin, Nicole; Masuck, William; Strickland, Cynthia; Thomas, Jessica

2012-01-01

Teaching social studies in the elementary and middle school curriculum is enhanced by incorporating quality children's and adolescent literature and strategies that bring the human element into play. American tall tales are a genre unique to the history of our nation and provide a glimpse into the way early settlers of the west envisioned heroism…

Injecting Computational Thinking into Computing Activities for Middle School Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Heidi Cornelia

2013-01-01

Advances in technology have caused high schools to update their computer science curricula; however there has been little analogous attention to technology-related education in middle schools. With respect to computer-related knowledge and skills, middle school students are at a critical phase in life, exploring individualized education options…

Cyberbullying: What Middle School Students Want You to Know

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burnham, J. J.; Wright, V. H.

2012-01-01

Cyberbullying is a growing concern because youth are technologically savvy. Much is to be learned about this pervasive phenomenon, especially during the middle school years when cyberbullying often peaks. This focus group study examined cyberbullying attitudes, beliefs, and opinions among middle school students in Alabama and describes…

Teacher Perspectives on Career-Relevant Curriculum in Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akos, Patrick; Charles, Pajarita; Orthner, Dennis; Cooley, Valerie

2011-01-01

Relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory all describe the curriculum desirable in middle school (National Middle School Association, 2010). Career-relevant curriculum is one prominent strategy used since the 1970s to achieve these goals. Systematic, integrated, and contemporary efforts at career education often engage core teachers who…

Life Satisfaction and Violent Behaviors among Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valois, Robert F.; Paxton, Raheem J.; Zullig, Keith J.; Huebner, E. Scott

2006-01-01

We explored relationships between violent behaviors and perceived life satisfaction among 2,138 middle school students in a southern state using the CDC Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (MSYRBS) and the Brief Multidimensional Student Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). Logistic regression analyses and multivariate models constructed…

Food-related practices and beliefs of rural US elementary and middle school teachers.

PubMed

Findholt, Nancy E; Izumi, Betty T; Shannon, Jackilen; Nguyen, Thuan

2016-01-01

Childhood obesity disproportionately affects rural populations; therefore, promoting healthy eating among rural children is essential. Teachers are important role models for children and can influence children's eating behaviors through their own behaviors and beliefs about food. This study examined the food-related practices and beliefs of rural elementary and middle school teachers. Data were used from the SNACZ study, a school- and community-based trial conducted in rural Oregon. Kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers (n=87), teaching students usually aged 5-14 years, from eight rural school districts completed a baseline survey in November 2012 concerning their classroom food practices, eating behaviors at school, beliefs about the school food environment, and nutrition knowledge. Frequencies of responses to each item were calculated. Nearly all teachers (97.6%) agreed that a healthy school food environment is important, but fewer agreed that teachers' behaviors and the foods available at school influence students' eating behaviors (71.0% and 67.0%, respectively). Nearly 86% of teachers used candy as a reward for students, while 78.2% consumed unhealthy snacks and 42.5% consumed sweetened beverages in the classroom. The results suggest that most rural teachers recognize that having a healthy school food environment is important, but are less aware of factors within the school that influence students' eating behaviors - including their own eating behaviors and classroom food practices - and, perhaps for this reason, many rural teachers engage in classroom practices and behaviors that do not promote healthy eating. Teacher training and expanded school policies that focus on teacher behavior may be needed to ensure a healthier rural school food environment.

Social Studies in the Middle School: A Report of the Task Force on Social Studies in the Middle School. Position Statement & Guidelines.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Council for the Social Studies, Washington, DC.

This task force report is designed to focus attention on the young adolescent learner and provide direction for developing appropriate and meaningful social studies instruction for the middle school. Schools at the middle level characteristically focus on the unique developmental needs of young adolescents. A number of these needs are listed, in…

Parental aspirations for their children's educational attainment: relations to ethnicity, parental education, children's academic performance, and parental perceptions of school climate.

PubMed

Spera, Christopher; Wentzel, Kathryn R; Matto, Holly C

2009-09-01

This study examined parental aspirations for their children's educational attainment in relation to ethnicity (African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic), parental education, children's academic performance, and parental perceptions of the quality and climate of their children's school with a sample of 13,577 middle and high school parents. All parents had relatively high educational aspirations for their children, and within each ethnic subgroup, parental education and children's academic performance were significantly and positively related to parental aspirations. However, moderating effects were found such that Caucasian parents with lower levels of education had significantly lower educational aspirations for their children than did parents of other ethnicities with similar low levels of education. Although the strength of the relationship between parental perceptions of school-related factors and parental aspirations for their children's educational attainment was not strong, it was most predictive of non-Caucasian parental aspirations for their children.

Middle School Student Attitudes about School Drinking Fountains and Water Intake

PubMed Central

Patel, Anisha I.; Bogart, Laura M.; Klein, David J.; Cowgill, Burt; Uyeda, Kimberly E.; Hawes-Dawson, Jennifer; Schuster, Mark A.

2014-01-01

Objective Describe middle school student attitudes about school drinking fountains, investigate whether such attitudes are associated with intentions to drink water at school, and determine how intentions relate to overall water intake. Methods Students (n=3,211) in 9 California middle schools completed surveys between 2009–2011. We used multivariate linear regression, adjusting for school sociodemographic characteristics, to examine how attitudes about fountains (5-point scale; higher scores indicating more positive attitudes) were associated with intentions to drink water at school and how intentions to drink water at school were related to overall water intake. Results Mean age of students was 12.3 (SD=0.7) years; 75% were Latino, 89% low-income, and 39% foreign-born. Fifty-two percent reported lower than recommended overall water intake (<3 glasses/day), and 30% reported that they were unlikely or extremely unlikely to drink water at school. Fifty-nine percent reported that school fountains were unclean, 48% that fountain water does not taste good, 33% that fountains could make them sick, 31% that it was not okay to drink from fountains, and 24% that fountain water is contaminated. In adjusted analyses, attitudes about school drinking fountains were related to intentions to drink water at school (B=0.41; p-value <0.001); intentions to drink water at school were also associated with overall water intake (B=0.20; p-value <0.001). Conclusions and Relevance Students have negative attitudes about school fountains. To increase overall water intake, it may be important to promote and improve drinking water sources not only at school, but also at home and in other community environments. What’s New Although most schools provide water via fountains, little is known about student attitudes about fountains. In this study, middle school students had negative attitudes about fountains; such attitudes were associated with lower intentions to drink water at school. PMID

Girls in Foster Care: Risk and Promotive Factors for School Adjustment Across the Transition to Middle School.

PubMed

Pears, Katherine C; Kim, Hyoun K; Leve, Leslie D

2012-01-01

Girls in foster care may face difficulties across the transition to middle school. Latent growth curve modeling was employed to examine trajectories and predictors of academic competence and aggression from and against peers for 75 girls in foster care from the end of elementary school to the 2(nd) year of middle school. Across the transition to middle school, academic competence increased. Poor self-regulation was associated with decreased academic competence, and higher caregiver support was associated with increased academic competence. Frequency of aggression from peers decreased across the transition, with perceived school competence predicting smaller decreases. Aggression against peers dropped initially and then increased to pretransition levels by the end of the 2(nd) year of middle school. Lower caregiver support was associated with higher rates of aggression against peers at the end of the 1(st) year of middle school. The results are discussed in terms of implications for interventions for girls in foster care.

Girls in Foster Care: Risk and Promotive Factors for School Adjustment Across the Transition to Middle School

PubMed Central

Pears, Katherine C.; Kim, Hyoun K.; Leve, Leslie D.

2011-01-01

Girls in foster care may face difficulties across the transition to middle school. Latent growth curve modeling was employed to examine trajectories and predictors of academic competence and aggression from and against peers for 75 girls in foster care from the end of elementary school to the 2nd year of middle school. Across the transition to middle school, academic competence increased. Poor self-regulation was associated with decreased academic competence, and higher caregiver support was associated with increased academic competence. Frequency of aggression from peers decreased across the transition, with perceived school competence predicting smaller decreases. Aggression against peers dropped initially and then increased to pretransition levels by the end of the 2nd year of middle school. Lower caregiver support was associated with higher rates of aggression against peers at the end of the 1st year of middle school. The results are discussed in terms of implications for interventions for girls in foster care. PMID:22389543

School Attachment Theory and Restitution Processes: Promoting Positive Behaviors in Middle Years Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penner, Christine; Wallin, Dawn

2012-01-01

This paper presents the findings of a case study that examined school attachment and restitution strategies used in a middle years school to determine if the program had provided a viable means of promoting and sustaining positive behaviors among middle years students. Data were gathered by interviewing five teachers who had Restitution I training…

The Fate of Teaching Constitutional Principles to Middle School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolf, Alvin

1990-01-01

Advocates teaching constitutional history and principles to middle school students in accordance with the 1988 California History-Social Science Framework. Reports findings of a survey of 118 California middle school and high school teachers that revealed a need for improved teacher knowledge about the U.S. Constitution. Recommends steps to ensure…

Gender differences in food preferences of school-aged children and adolescents.

PubMed

Caine-Bish, Natalie L; Scheule, Barbara

2009-11-01

Schools have the opportunity, through the National School Lunch Program and Local School Wellness Policies, to have a significant impact on healthy eating behaviors. An understanding of children's and adolescents' food preferences in relation to gender and age will facilitate the successful creation of both healthy and financially viable school menus. The purpose of this study was to identify food preferences with respect to gender of school-age children and adolescents in an Ohio school district. A survey was administered to 1818 3rd- to 12th-grade students in 1 rural northeast Ohio school district. Students filled out an anonymous questionnaire about their preferences for 80 different foods using a 5-point rating scale. The student data were grouped according to school level attended: elementary (3rd-6th), middle (7th-8th), and high school (9th-12th). An exploratory factor analysis identified entrée and side dish factors. Cronbach's alpha was used to measure each factor's internal reliability. Differences in mean scores by gender and grade for each of the entrée and side dish factors by gender and grade were identified using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Boys preferred the meat, fish, and poultry foods over girls; girls preferred fruits and vegetables over boys (p < .05). Furthermore, gender differences in preferences were also demonstrated with respect to school level. Food preferences differed between genders and these gender differences varied among elementary, middle, and high school students. Gender differences should be considered when providing food choices to boys and girls at all ages.

Children at risk: the association between perceived weight status and suicidal thoughts and attempts in middle school youth.

PubMed

Whetstone, Lauren M; Morrissey, Susan L; Cummings, Doyle M

2007-02-01

Suicide is one of the most common causes of death among young people. A report from the US Surgeon General called for strategies to prevent suicide, including increasing public awareness of suicide and risks factors, and enhancing research to understand risk and protective factors. Weight perception has been linked to depression and poor self-esteem in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived weight status and suicidal thoughts and actions by gender in middle school youth. All public middle school students in 4 eastern North Carolina counties presented, and with parental permission (n = 5174), completed the Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Middle School Questionnaire. The 3 dependent variables were self-reported thinking, planning, and attempting suicide. Bivariate analyses describe suicidal thoughts and actions; multiple logistic regression models examined the relationship between weight description and suicidal thoughts and actions controlling for age, race, household composition, grades on report cards, and parents' education. Significantly more females than males reported thinking (26% vs 19%), planning (12% vs 9%), and attempting (11% vs 8%) suicide. For females, those who perceived themselves as overweight were significantly more likely to report suicidal thoughts and actions; while for males, perceptions of overweight and underweight were significantly associated with suicidal thoughts and actions. Controlling for personal and family characteristics, perceived weight status was significantly associated with suicidal thoughts and actions in middle school boys and girls.

Progress Monitoring in Middle School Mathematics: Options and Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foegen, Anne

2008-01-01

This study investigated the technical features of six potential progress-monitoring measures in mathematics appropriate for use at the middle school level, including two commercially available measures for sixth-grade mathematics, two measures used in previous middle school studies, and two new measures of numeracy concepts. Five hundred…

A tuberculin skin test survey among Ghanaian school children.

PubMed

Addo, Kennedy Kwasi; van den Hof, Susan; Mensah, Gloria Ivy; Hesse, Adukwei; Bonsu, Christian; Koram, Kwadwo Ansah; Afutu, Felix Kwami; Bonsu, Frank Adae

2010-01-26

Ghana has not conducted a national tuberculin survey or tuberculosis prevalence survey since the establishment of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme. The primary objective of this study was therefore to determine the prevalence of tuberculin skin sensitivity in Ghanaian school children aged 6-10 years in 8 out of 10 regions of Ghana between 2004 and 2006. Tuberculin survey was conducted in 179 primary schools from 21 districts in 8 regions. Schools were purposively selected so as to reflect the proportion of affluent private and free tuition public schools as well as the proportion of small and large schools. Of the 24,778 children registered for the survey, 23,600 (95.2%) were tested of which 21,861 (92.6%) were available for reading. The age distribution showed an increase in numbers of children towards older age: 11% of the children were 6 years and 25%, 10 years. Females were 52.5% and males 47.5%. The proportion of girls was higher in all age groups (range 51.4% to 54.0%, p < 0.001). BCG scar was visible in 89.3% of the children. The percentage of children with a BCG scar differed by district and by age. The percentage of children with a BCG scar decreased with increasing age in all districts, reflecting increasing BCG vaccination coverage in Ghana in the last ten years. The risk of tuberculosis infection was low in the northern savannah zones compared to the southern coastal zones. Using a cut-off of 15 mm, the prevalence of infection ranged from 0.0% to 5.4% and the Annual Risks of Tuberculosis Infection 0.0% to 0.6%. There was an increase in the proportion of infected children after the age of 7 years. Children attending low and middle-class schools had a higher risk of infection than children attending upper-class schools. Tuberculosis infection is still a public health problem in Ghana and to monitor the trend, the survey needs to be repeated at 5 years interval.

Assessing the Mental Health Impact of the 2011 Great Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Radiation Disaster on Elementary and Middle School Children in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Background On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred off of Japan’s Pacific coast, which was followed by huge tsunamis that destroyed many coastal cities in the area. Due to the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, malfunctions occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi (Fukushima I) nuclear power plant, resulting in the release of radioactive material in the region. While recent studies have investigated the effects of these events on the mental health of adults in the region, no studies have yet been performed investigating similar effects among children. Methods and Findings This study aims to fill that gap by: 1) assessing the mental health of elementary and middle school children living within the Fukushima prefecture of Japan, and 2) identifying risk and protective factors that are associated with the children’s mental health scores. These factors were quantified using an original demographics survey, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Impact of Event Scale–Revised (IES-R), the latter two of which have been previously validated in a Japanese setting. The surveys were distributed to approximately 3,650 elementary and middle school students during the months of February and March, 2012. The data suggests that those children who had been relocated to the city of Koriyama had significantly higher SDQ scores than those children who were native to Koriyama (p < .05) as well as a control group that lived outside of the Fukushima prefecture (p < .01). Using a multivariate regression, we also found that younger age and parental trauma were significantly correlated with higher SDQ scores (p < .001), while gender, displacement from one’s home, and exposure to violence were not. Conclusions These results suggest that, among children affected by natural disasters, younger children and those with parents suffering from trauma-related distress are particularly vulnerable to the onset of pediatric mental disturbances. PMID:28099497

Bullying and Symptoms of Depression in Chilean Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleming, Lila C.; Jacobsen, Kathryn H.

2009-01-01

Background: The goal of this study was to assess the association between bullying and symptoms of depression among middle school students in Chile. Methods: Secondary data analysis of Chile's 2004 Global School-Based Health Survey. Results: A total of 8131 middle school students participated in the study. Forty-seven percent of students reported…

Aggressive Behavior in Response to Violence Exposure: Is It Adaptive for Middle-School Children?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salzinger, Suzanne; Rosario, Margaret; Feldman, Richard S.; Ng-Mak, Daisy S.

2008-01-01

The role of aggression in adaptation to family and community violence was examined in a sample of 667 inner-city schoolchildren studied annually over three years in middle school. Regression analyses indicated that the association between Year 1 exposure to family and community violence and Year 2 aggression was mediated by aggression occurring…

Food Safety Knowledge and Beliefs of Middle School Children: Implications for Food Safety Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrd-Bredbenner, Carol; Abbot, Jaclyn Maurer; Quick, Virginia

2010-01-01

To create effective educational interventions that address the food safety informational needs of youth, a greater understanding of their knowledge and skills is needed. The purposes of this study were to explore, via focus groups, the food-handling responsibilities of middle school youth and obstacles they face in practicing safe food handling…

Nourishing a partnership to improve middle school lunch options: a community-based participatory research project.

PubMed

Reich, Stephanie M; Kay, Joseph S; Lin, Grace C

2015-01-01

Community-based participatory research is predicated on building partnerships that tackle important issues to the community and effectively improve these issues. Community-based participatory research can also be an empowering experience, especially for children. This article describes a university-community partnership in which students at a low-income middle school worked to improve the quality of the cafeteria food provided to the 986 students eligible for free and reduced price lunches. The project led to menu changes, improved communication between youth, school administrators, and district staff, and enabled youth to enact school improvements that were beneficial for their health.

Urban Middle School Students' Perceptions of Bullying, Cyberbullying, and School Safety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varjas, Kris; Henrich, Christopher C.; Meyers, Joel

2009-01-01

This study examined 427 urban middle school students' perceptions of bullying, cyberbullying, and school safety utilizing the Student Survey of Bullying Behavior-Revised 2 (Varjas, Meyers, & Hunt, 2006). A unique finding is that cyberbullying may represent a unique modality of victimization and bullying compared with other school-based…

Testing enhances subsequent learning in older but not in younger elementary school children.

PubMed

Aslan, Alp; Bäuml, Karl-Heinz T

2016-11-01

In adults, testing can enhance subsequent learning by reducing interference from the tested information. Here, we examined this forward effect of testing in children. Younger and older elementary school children and adult controls studied four lists of items in anticipation of a final cumulative recall test. Following presentation of each of the first three lists, participants were immediately tested on the respective list, or the list was re-presented for additional study. Results revealed that, compared to additional study, immediate testing of Lists 1-3 enhanced memory for the subsequently studied List 4 in adults and older elementary school children, but not in younger elementary school children. The findings indicate that the forward effect of testing is a relatively late-maturing phenomenon that develops over middle childhood and is still inefficient in the early elementary school years. Together with the results of other recent studies, these findings point to a more general problem in young children in combating interference. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Predicting Middle School Students' Use of Web 2.0 Technologies out of School Using Home and School Technological Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Joan E.; Read, Michelle F.; Jones, Sara; Mahometa, Michael

2015-01-01

This study used multiple regression to identify predictors of middle school students' Web 2.0 activities out of school, a construct composed of 15 technology activities. Three middle schools participated, where sixth- and seventh-grade students completed a questionnaire. Independent predictor variables included three demographic and five computer…

Orientation to Middle School: A Guidance Play.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Childress, Natalie Wilson

1982-01-01

Presents a play that gives elementary school students a lighthearted but informative overview of middle school life. The play presents information about curriculum, lockers, physical education, materials, and classwork. Notes student reactions to the presentation. (RC)

Biological Sciences Curriculum Study Newsletter 34, The Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, George M.

Reported are guidelines which are the outgrowth of six conferences on the teaching of life science in the middle school. The membership of each conference was by invitation consisting of experienced middle school science teachers, biologists from universities, the BSCS staff, and observers. The guidelines were developed to provide direction in…

The Peril of Ignoring Middle School Student Speech Rights

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hassenpflug, Ann

2016-01-01

Analysis of two recent federal court cases in which principals violated student speech rights offers guidance to middle school administrators as they attempt to address student expression. Characteristics of a successful school from the Association for Middle Level Education provide a framework for analyzing these cases in order to prevent…

Disciplinary Literacy in the Middle School: Exploring Pedagogical Tensions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graham, Abbey C. K.; Kerkhoff, Shea N.; Spires, Hiller A.

2017-01-01

The present study examined middle school teachers' perceptions of literacy demands in their disciplines and specific literacy strategies they used to teach their disciplines. The eight participants in this multiple case study included 2 middle school teachers from each of 4 disciplines (i.e., English/language arts, science, social studies, and…

The Short-term Effects of a Cyberbullying Prevention Intervention for Parents of Middle School Students.

PubMed

Roberto, Anthony J; Eden, Jen; Deiss, Douglas M; Savage, Matthew W; Ramos-Salazar, Leslie

2017-09-09

This study experimentally evaluated the short-term effects of the Arizona Attorney General's cybersafety promotion presentation, a key component of which is cyberbullying prevention. Fifty-one parents of children attending a middle school in the southwestern United States participated in the study. Results reveal parents who viewed the presentation believed their children to be more susceptible to cyberbullying, and indicated that they were more likely to talk to their children about saving evidence, not retaliating, and telling an adult compared to parents who had not viewed the presentation. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

The Short-term Effects of a Cyberbullying Prevention Intervention for Parents of Middle School Students

PubMed Central

Roberto, Anthony J.; Eden, Jen; Deiss, Douglas M.; Savage, Matthew W.; Ramos-Salazar, Leslie

2017-01-01

This study experimentally evaluated the short-term effects of the Arizona Attorney General’s cybersafety promotion presentation, a key component of which is cyberbullying prevention. Fifty-one parents of children attending a middle school in the southwestern United States participated in the study. Results reveal parents who viewed the presentation believed their children to be more susceptible to cyberbullying, and indicated that they were more likely to talk to their children about saving evidence, not retaliating, and telling an adult compared to parents who had not viewed the presentation. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. PMID:28891936

Final Environmental Assessment: Replace Hanscom AFB Middle School

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-01

term impacts on wastewater facilities are anticipated during the demolition/construction of the Middle School. Portable toilets may be available for...7.14. CUMULATIVE IMPACTS 7-18 SECTION 8. MEASURES TO REDUCE POTENTIAL FOR IMPACT 8-1 SECTION 9. CONSULTATION LETTERS, EMAILS, AND PUBLIC NOTICE 9-1...U.S. Air Force April 2012 1 FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT Name of Action: Replace Hanscom AFB Middle School Hanscom Air Force Base

The Effects of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support on Middle School Climate and Student Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caldarella, Paul; Shatzer, Ryan H.; Gray, Kristy M.; Young, K. Richard; Young, Ellie L.

2011-01-01

This study investigated the effects of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) on middle school climate and student outcomes. Data consisted of more than 300 teacher responses and 10,000 student responses in two middle schools in the western United States. This study used a quasi-experimental (non-equivalent two-group, pretest-posttest)…

Images of Polar Bears and Penguins, Storms, Deforestation and More - Middle School Students Perceptions of Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopal, S.; Melaas, E. K.; Malmrose, M.; Mullokandov, A.

2014-12-01

Global change studies aim to foster a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of global change on planet Earth. The study of global change presents a rich domain of inquiry, exploration, and discovery at all grade levels. The main objective of this exploratory study was to assess middle school students' perceptions of global change as part of their participation in the NSF GK12 program called GLACIER (Global Change Initiative - Education and Research) during the academic year 2012-13. The middle schools are located in the Metro Boston area. As part of the program, participating students were asked to draw pictures of their perceptions and ideas on global change. The drawings of 150 children, ages 11 to 13, were qualitatively analyzed. The analysis focused on (a) the type of concepts children chose to convey, (b) the specific context of the global change described (polar bears in floating glaciers), (c) students direct representation of anthropocentric impacts (such as pollution or deforestation), and (d) the match between students concepts and the recent IPCC reports. About 20% of the students focused on the iconic imagery of the melting glaciers and impact on animals such as penguins and polar bears, more than 25% focused on natural disasters (such as storms, sea level changes) while 30% focused on urban problems. These concepts are matched with the recent IPCC report. These results are notable and suggest students in middle schools understand the varied dimensions of global change and the role of human activities in bringing about change. Students' perspectives may help in developing a suitable curriculum using existing science standards to discuss this significant topic in middle school classrooms. In addition, students' drawings illustrate their perception of the coupled human and natural systems.

Children's Understanding of Lies in Elementary School Years.

PubMed

Hayashi, Hajimu

2017-01-01

The author examined whether children's understanding of lies exhibits developmental trends in the elementary school years. Four story contexts were presented to 51 first-grade students, 44 fourth-grade students, and 58 adults. These stories represented combinations of a protagonist's intention (truthful or deceptive) and the truth of the protagonist's message (true or false). The results showed that adults judged whether these messages were lies by considering the protagonist's intentions. By contrast, approximately 30% of first-grade students and some fourth-grade students did not consider intentions in making judgments, although they appropriately predicted the outcomes of the messages. These results suggest that children in the early elementary school years have a conception of lies different from that of adults, and their conception of lies becomes more sophisticated after middle childhood.

Externalizing and Internalizing Behavior Problems, Peer Affiliations, and Bullying Involvement across the Transition to Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farmer, Thomas W.; Irvin, Matthew J.; Motoca, Luci M.; Leung, Man-Chi; Hutchins, Bryan C.; Brooks, Debbie S.; Hall, Cristin M.

2015-01-01

Continuity and change in children's involvement in bullying was examined across the transition to middle school in relation to externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in fifth grade and peer affiliations in fifth and sixth grades. The sample consisted of 533 students (223 boys, 310 girls) with 72% European American, 25% African American,…

Association of socioeconomic stratification with plasmatic markers of lipoperoxidation and antioxidants in Venezuelan school-age children.

PubMed

Ruiz-Fernández, Nelina; Bosch, Virgilio; Giacopini, Maria Isabel

2016-12-30

To establish association between socioeconomic status and plasmatic markers of lipoperoxidation and antioxidants in Venezuelan school-age children from the middle-class and in critical poverty. Cross-sectional study with a sample of 114 school-age children (aged 7-9). The socioeconomic status, dietary intake of macro and micro-nutrients, weight, height, lipid profile, indicators of lipid peroxidation and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants were determined. The daily average intake of energy, carbohydrates and vitamin A, and the percentage of energy obtained from carbohydrates was significantly higher in middle-class children compared to critical poverty children ( p <0.05). The circulating oxidized low density lipoprotein ( p <0.001) and the susceptibility of low density lipoproteins and very low density lipoproteins to oxidation in vitro ( p <0.05) were significantly higher in middle-class children, while the critical poverty children showed significantly lower levels of Vitamin C and E in plasma ( p <0.05). Non-enzymatic antioxidant levels were frequently deficient in both strata. The concentrations of circulating oxidized low density lipoprotein (OR: 1.09, CI 95% : 1.016-1.179; p = 0.017) and Vitamin C (OR: 3.21, CI 95% : 1.104-9.938; p = 0.032) were associated to the socioeconomic status independently of gender, family history of premature coronary artery disease, triglicerides, Vitamin C and E dietary intake and count of white blood cells. The socioeconomic status was associated to circulating oxidized low density lipoprotein and Vitamin C in Venezuelan school-age children, The results suggested the need to improve the dietary intake of antioxidants in both studied socioeconomic groups.

Middle School Student Records as Dropout Indicators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gregg, William Sherman

2010-01-01

Dropping out of school is associated with a wide array of negative outcomes and the extraordinarily high United States dropout rate has brought the issue to the forefront of American education. This study investigated normally collected middle school data from a suburban Colorado school district to determine the predictive value toward students…

[Frequency of use of school cafeterias in middle and high schools in 3 French districts].

PubMed

Michaud, C; Feur, E; Gerbouin-Rérolle, P; Leynaud-Rouaud, C; Chateil, S; Gourdon, M

2000-09-01

Reports from the French Ministry of Education warn of a decrease in the use of school food services, especially in sensitive urban areas. They also suggest that this decline has led to cases of malnutrition. This article describes the characteristics of the current supply of school meals and measures the evolution of demand observed between 1992 and 1996 in relation to the economic situation of students' families. The study was carried out in 3 departments in France: Doubs, Herault, and Val de Marne. The administrators of all public and private middle and high schools in the 3 departments received a questionnaire asking them to describe the services offered in their cafeterias and to provide the corresponding statistical and accounting data. External food services near the schools were also taken into account. Seventy-nine percent of schools responded to the survey. Concerning the services offered, 91% of schools have their own cafeterias, of which 81% are managed by the schools. Concerning the evolution of utilisation, a significant decrease in the number of meals served in seen in middle schools. On the other hand, high schools have observed stable utilisation. The positive changes in utilisation are linked, in middle schools, to characteristics of the schools' internal food services (self-service, choice of main courses, modulation of seats). In high schools, positive changes in the utilisation of school services are linked to the lack of external food services near the schools. As middle schools and high schools control the logistics and management of food services offered to students, they are potentially in a position to influence a policy on this issue. The evolution in utilisation is very different among departments and between middle and high schools. While economic precariousness has a negative structural effect on utilisation, it doesn't seem to be a major factor in the evolution of the decrease observed over the past few years.

Body Power! School-Based Weight Management for Middle School Adolescents. Leader's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dennee, Phyllis M.; And Others

This leader's manual contains the materials required to present a school-based weight management curriculum that may be offered both in school and outside the school setting for middle-school adolescents. The first section contains instructor information regarding the following topics: need for the program; program objectives; timeline and…

Middle School Deaf Students' Problem-Solving Behaviors and Strategy Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, ChongMin

2010-01-01

The purpose of this research is to describe and understand the ways in which deaf middle school students understood and solved compare word problems, and to examine their overall strategy use in learning mathematics. The participants in the study were deaf middle school students, attending a residential state school for the deaf. Most of them used…

Development of the Spatial Ability Test for Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yildiz, Sevda Göktepe; Özdemir, Ahmet Sükrü

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a test to determine spatial ability of middle school students. The participants were 704 middle school students (6th, 7th and 8th grade) who were studying at different schools from Istanbul. Item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis were used to analyse the data.…

Investigating Indian Elementary and Middle School Students' Images of Designers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ara, Farhat; Natarajan, Chitra

2013-01-01

This paper presents an investigation into Indian elementary and middle school students' images of designers. A "Draw a designer at work" test was used with 511 students from Classes 5 to 9 from a school located in Mumbai. Findings from the study indicate that Indian elementary and middle school students, who had no experience in design…

Leadership in Middle Level Education. Volume I: A National Survey of Middle Level Leaders and Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valentine, Jerry W.; And Others

The National Association of Secondary School Principals periodically studies practices and characteristics of secondary schools to help inform educators and shape policy. Such studies of middle-level education were conducted in 1966 and 1981. As middle-level education moved into the 1990s, many new questions about education and leadership needed…

Differences in Middle School Science Achievement by School District Size

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mann, Matthew James; Maxwell, Gerri M.; Holland, Glenda

2013-01-01

This study examined differences in Texas middle school student achievement in science by school district enrollment size. Quantitative research utilized analysis of variance to determine whether significant differences existed between student achievement on the 2010 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills 8th grade science results and four school…

Coping with Verbal and Social Bullying in Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donoghue, Christopher; Almeida, Angela; Brandwein, David; Rocha, Gabriela; Callahan, Ian

2014-01-01

Becoming a victim of verbal and social bullying in middle school can lead to illness, psychological stress, and maladjustment. The coping strategies that students utilize when they are bullied may influence the likelihood and severity of these negative effects. In this study, we examined the predictions made by students in two middle schools about…

An Examination of Middle School Counselors' Comfort with Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roddy, Patricia Christina

2013-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the differences in comfort with technology in middle school counselors in South Carolina. The researcher's goal was to determine the effects of years of experience, technology training, gender, and age on middle school counselors' comfort with technology. After a review of literature, it has been…

Moving Middle Schooling Reform from Policy to Practice: Issues for Queensland Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryer, Fiona; Main, Katherine

2005-01-01

Three well-established issues for educational reform to insert middle schooling into the traditional primary-secondary tiers are (a) lack of preservice training of specialist middle school teachers, (b) the absence of clear positive educational outcomes linked to the promotion of middle schooling policy as a philosophy of teaching, and (c) the ad…

Box Cello Middle School Science Clubs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vandegrift, Guy

1998-10-01

The Box Cello is a middle school science club which is attempting to (1) understand the cello and (2) design a low-cost starter instrument. We can support and justify this research by adding a third goal: (3) to help supply local science classes with equipment. My policy of spending one entire day each week away from the university, out in a local school is essential to this project. This schedule also permits me to conduct lessons on optics and music in the schools. And, it permits circulation of tools and equipment. A simple calculation demonstrates the great economy achieved by combining science clubs with academic year school visits. Consider the cost of letting 10,000 students in 10 middle schools each learn about and play with a pair of "upside-down" glasses for one hour. A visit to each school for three consecutive weeks would easily permit such a circulation if only 30 pairs were constructed. Assume rhetorically, that the construction of 30 pairs of glasses were to consume the entire estimated annual budget of $100,000. The cost per student would be only ten dollars! The visits, guest lectures, and equipment loans permit informal networking (including lunch) with math, science and music teachers in 10 schools. For more information, visit the http://www.utep.edu/boxcello/

Improving Social Competence in a Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levinsohn, Mary; Klyap, John M.

This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a social competence promotion program conducted in the sixth grade of a middle school. The need to increase social competence within the school arose from the results of enumerative and stakeholder data collected at the school. This paper outlines the steps of the needs assessment, program…

A-Okay: A Middle School Advisory Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Bonnie

This guide presents an advisory program for middle schools. The program is designed for groups of 10 to 15 students meeting twice a week; the advisors should be adults from within the school (teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, etc.). The program has four goals: (1) to promote students' sense of belonging within the school; (2) to…

Impact of an Immunization Education Program on Middle School Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glik, Deborah; Macpherson, Fiona; Todd, Wendy; Stone, Kathleen; Ang, Alfonso; Jones, Marcy Connell

2004-01-01

Objectives : To raise middle school student awareness, attitudes, and proactive behaviors about immunization, and to increase immunization rates among middle school students through implementation of a comprehensive integrated immunization promotion curriculum ( Immunization Plus! ) Methods: Evaluation used a quasi-experimental non-equivalent…

A Program Review of a Middle School Gay-Straight Alliance Club

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quasha, Scott; McCabe, Paul C.; Ortiz, Samuel O.

2014-01-01

This program review examined a middle school Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club within a northeastern suburban school situated in a large metropolitan area. The GSA was the first in the region to start exclusively in a standalone middle school. The review was accomplished through a staff survey comparing school climates for lesbian, gay, bisexual,…

Effects of peer-mediated implementation of visual scripts in middle school.

PubMed

Ganz, Jennifer B; Heath, Amy K; Lund, Emily M; Camargo, Siglia P H; Rispoli, Mandy J; Boles, Margot; Plaisance, Lauren

2012-05-01

Although research has investigated the impact of peer-mediated interventions and visual scripts on social and communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorders, no studies to date have investigated peer-mediated implementation of scripts. This study investigated the effects of peer-implemented scripts on a middle school student with autism, intellectual impairments, and speech-language impairment via a multiple baseline single-case research design across behaviors. The target student demonstrated improvements in three communicative behaviors when implemented by a trained peer; however, behaviors did not generalize to use with an untrained typically developing peer.

Deferred but Not Deterred: A Middle School Manifesto

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lounsbury, John H.

2009-01-01

In this article, the author provides a historical perspective on the middle level movement, examines its past successes and failures, and envisions future improvements. The middle school movement has been a prime target for those forces that do not share the belief middle level advocates hold about the importance of a democratic, student-centered…

The Middle School Curriculum: Engineering Anyone?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samuels, Kyle; Seymour, Richard

2015-01-01

Engineering programs have long thrived in U.S. universities. More recently, engineering content has been introduced in America's high schools, yet less so in elementary and middle schools across the nation. To meet the demand for engineers in the U.S., educators must play a more active role in inspiring young students to this career option.…

Laptops Unleashed A Middle School Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livingston, Pamela

2004-01-01

The day starts. Students arrive in their parents' cars, climb out, and carry or wheel backpacks in a morning scene similar to most independent day schools in the country. But there's a difference--the older students are carrying metal briefcases. The briefcases, bright silver and durable-looking, carry the clear marks of middle school ownership as…

Social Groups in the Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lockledge, Ann

In a study investigating whether middle school students can identify their own social groups, over 200 sixth- and seventh-graders were asked to name the kinds of groups to which they thought students in their school belonged, and to explain or define the groups. Data indicated that the students seemed to have no trouble in agreeing on certain…

Food and Nutrients Intake in the School Lunch Program among School Children in Shanghai, China

PubMed Central

Huang, Zhenru; Gao, Runying; Bawuerjiang, Nadila; Zhang, Yali; Huang, Xiaoxu; Cai, Meiqin

2017-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate the intake of food and nutrients among primary, middle, and high schools students in Shanghai, and provide recommendations for possible amendments in new school lunch standards of Shanghai. Twenty schools were included in the school lunch menu survey. Of those, seven schools enrolled 5389 students and conducted physical measurement of plate waste and a questionnaire survey. The amount of food and nutrients was compared according to the new China National Dietary Guideline for School Children (2016) and Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes (2013). The provision of livestock and poultry meat in menus was almost 5–8 times the recommended amount. The amount of seafood was less than the recommended amount, and mostly came from half-processed food. The average percentage of energy from fat was more than 30% in students of all grades. The greatest amount of food wasted was vegetables with 53%, 42%, and 31%, respectively, among primary, middle and high school students. Intake of Vitamin A, Vitamin B2, calcium, and iron was about 50% of the recommended proportion. Only 24.0% students were satisfied with the taste of school lunches. Higher proportions of livestock and poultry meat and low intake of vegetables have become integral problems in school lunch programs. Additionally, more attention needs to be paid to the serving size in primary schools with five age groups. PMID:28590431

The Relationships among School Types, Teacher Efficacy Beliefs, and Academic Climate: Perspective from Asian Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chong, Wan Har; Klassen, Robert M.; Huan, Vivien S.; Wong, Isabella; Kates, Allison Diane

2010-01-01

The authors explored how prior student achievement, through school types, predicted teacher self- and collective efficacy and perceived academic climate of 222 middle school teachers in Singapore. Teachers assigned to high-track and regular middle schools differed in their perception of self- and collective efficacy to promote organizational…

Media Production at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsunaga, Kevin

2005-01-01

In this article, the author describes how he got his start in video production as a high school senior in 1987 and his work 11 years after as a technology coordinator at Lehua Elementary School in Pearl City, Hawaii. Two years later he changed positions and became the technology coordinator at a brand new middle school on Kauai--Chiefess…