Anyone who has recently stepped into a middle yearsâ classroom knows all too well the truth of this portraitâthe lived experience of learners in our schools today. Early adolescents are truly a unique group of learners, like none other a teacher might experienceâa group that will at one moment test a teacherâs mettle and the very next bring so much elation and reward that a teacher might even question how they could ever think of working with another age group. This is the appeal and the true curiosity behind the early adolescent learner and is the heart of what we will present to you in this book.
While many arguments can be found to support either the early years (kindergarten through grade 4) or the high school years (grades 10 through 12) as being of crucial importance in a childâs growth and development, it is the middle years that have often gone unnoticed. Much brain-based research has been devoted to understanding the tremendous changes early adolescents experience; yet, connecting that research to school-based practices for these learners has remained elusive. Decisions about middle level learning environments and programming for these learners are often based on budgets and capital plans as opposed to what will best support them through what can be a very tumultuous time.
Truly understanding the unique developmental needs of early adolescent learners and how the multifaceted developmental changes they undergo during this period impact their experience in school is often overlooked while educators with good intentions engage in âstrategic guessworkâ attempting to create effective and appropriate learning environments and opportunities for adolescent students. We cannot deny the very real stages of physical, emotional and social development and transition occurring for these learners; however, we need not perpetuate myths that associate early adolescence with distress, difficulty or suffering. If school systems attend to how these changes impact teaching and learning, middle level learning environments can achieve their potential in becoming remarkable places of learning, responsive to the unique learning needs of early adolescents.This is not a group of slightly more complex primary students. Nor is it a group of immature high schoolers. These [middle-years learners] are unique. Intellectually, the tools they need for figuring out academics and life are not all in the toolbox yet. This makes decision making, impulsivity control, moral/abstract reasoning, âreadingâ the situation, planning, understanding consequences of words and actions, and other executive functions intermittent at best. They are fiercely independent, yet paradoxically, they crave social connection. They move from concrete to abstract thinking, sounding like adults when talking about some topics, and young children when discussing others. They crave competence, self-definition, creativity, vividness in learning, emotionally control/power over their lives, physical activity, positive social interactions with adults and peers, structure and clear limits, and meaningful participation in school/community. Most of all, they want to belong. (Wormeli 2012, para. 9â14)
With much attention worldwide currently focused on the early years of learning along with supporting students as they work towards high school completion, it is the early adolescent learner, age 10â14, and the middle years of learning that are often overlooked as large education systems endeavour to bolster student achievement. An abundance of current research highlights a concerning decline of student engagement in and connectedness with their learning, beginning at age 10 (Association for Middle Level Education 2010; Balfanz 2009; Centre for Collaborative Education 2003; Manitoba Education 2008; McCreary Centre Society 2009; National Association of Secondary School Principals 2006; OISE 2008; Rumble and Aspland 2009; Steinberg 2014; Willms et al. 2009; Wormeli 2011). Still, a significant imbalance exists in the amount of time, money and human resources education systems have invested in the middle years of learning as compared to learners on either end of the developmental continuum.
According to one study, Young People in Canada: Their Health and Well-Being, early adolescentsâ behaviours and self-perceptions are closely related to their quality of life in school (Klinger et al. 2011). This study found that by Grade 8, only 21 per cent of girls and 16 per cent of boys reported âliking school a lotâ (p. 52). Furthermore, 52 per cent of girls and 54 per cent of boys described their âteachers [as being] interested in them,â and only 72 per cent of girls and 70 per cent of boys believed that âmost of their teachers were friendlyâ (p. 54). Similarly, a study sponsored by the McCreary Centre Society (2009) in British Columbia examined adolescentsâ perceptions of school and feeling connected to school and their learning throughout the adolescent developmental period. This multifaceted study generated troubling findings that characterized early adolescent learners as lacking any meaningful connection to school across all grades. Results showed a sharp drop in student connectedness to their learning from 23 per cent in Grade 7 to 7 per cent in Grade 10, with a slight rise to 12 per cent in Grade 12. Longitudinal research studies from both New Zealand and Australia indicate that it âworksâ for schools to develop a middle years approach. Outcomes are better, student engagement with their learning is greater, teacher satisfaction is higher and resources within and across schools are better utilized (OâSullivan 2005). Haigh (2004) writes, âStudies have overwhelmingly concluded that middle schools do an effective job⊠The notorious Year 7 dip tends not to happenâ (p. 2).
The Canadian Education Associationâs (CEA) What did you do in school today? study has, since 2007, surveyed over 63,000 Canadian adolescents and found that although 69 per cent of students report being âengaged in school,â as measured through indicators such as attendance, homework behaviours, positive relationships with friends and participation in extracurricular activities, only 37 per cent reported being engaged in learning. The concept of being âengaged in learningâ was measured by reported levels of effort, interest and motivation and perceived quality of instruction (Dunleavy et al. 2012).
This research, along with emerging evidence from other parts of the world, combines to underscore the importance of further examination into the experiences of early adolescents in middle level learning environments and the factors that contribute to their engagement in learning. Therefore, the significance of this book can be found in the unique comparative approach we utilize to examine dialogues and practices related to the major paradigm shifts underway in Germany, Finland and Canada designed to target the early adolescent learner, the pedagogical methods employed by teachers for that age group, along with the organization of the learning environments in which their formal education takes place. So far, very few studies have examined this phenomenon within a contemporary international context; further, none can be found that have crossed linguistic borders, where cultural beliefs and values connected to education have a significant impact on the emerging narratives contributing to distinct national systems of education. Without an understanding and appreciation of other cultures and the unique histories, beliefs and contexts intertwined into their national identity, which have consequently impacted their systems of education, we may miss valuable opportunities to learn from each other.During these transitional years, students change significantly--physically, intellectually, morally, psychologically and social-emotionally. The academic growth and personal development experienced during these important years significantly impact their futures. In the middle grades, the stage will be set for success in high school and beyondâŠ[These students] deserve an education that will enhance their healthy growth as lifelong learners, ethical and democratic citizens, and increasingly competent, self-sufficient individuals who are optimistic about the future and prepared to succeed in our ever-changing world. (AMLE 2010, pp. 11â13)
Finland is considered by many to have one of the worldâs top performing education systems (Hancock 2011; Sahlberg 2011). Education reforms in Finland have been described by some as emphasizing teacher and student personal responsibilityâwhere teachers are given the freedom to design the curriculum and students have increased choice in what they study, thereby creating meaningful and authentic learning experiences. The Finnish context will provide a thought-provoking narrative of how this much-admired system supports the unique and ever-changing developmental needs of early adolescents in what is viewed as a highly student-centred system of education.
Germany is currently undergoing significant reforms in the countryâs education system and teacher preparation as long-held beliefs about hierarchies and levelled systems of schooling are challenged as a response to the findings of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and other empirical research studies. Once believed to be a symbol of national strength, the sifting and sorting of children into one of three tiers of school at the age of 10 is now believed by many to be a limiting factor in potential for student growth and opportunities (OECD 2011). In response to what some described as âPISA shock,â Germany has, since the year 2000, seen a steady increase in PISA scores in literacy, mathematics and science. With a decentralized system of education, the 16 German LĂ€nder (states) have primary responsibility for what happens in schools and teacher education programmes. Reforms in teacher preparation programmes are now underway, as educational leaders in the university system work to ensure teacher training programmes reflect the changes in Germanyâs secondary schools. The German context will provide a fascinating look at how the needs of early adolescent learners are being attended to in a school system undergoing rapid transformation.
The education system in Canada varies considerably among the 10 provinces and three territories. When Canadian results are profiled in international measures such as PISA or the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), the nation as a whole continues to score near the top. These results, when further examined by province, reveal there is a large discrepancy in how individual provinces fare on the tests. A small number of provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec) score, in all PISA tests, at the Canadian average and have in some cases surpassed the average Canadian results. The remaining six provinces score below the Canadian average and, in some instances, well below other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. It is interesting to note that some of the most significant work related to leading, teaching and learning in the middle years has come from the province of Manitoba. The province of Ontario, driven by research emerging from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, has also recently been more intentional in the way it has supported and resourced its middle level learning environments (2008). The Canadian context will provide an intriguing examination into what impact the middle years movement has had on selected Canadian school contexts, almost 50 years after it originated just south of the border in the United States.
Throughout this book you will find boxes entitled âResearch to Praxis.â The intent here is for the authors to share their own experiences as educators and researchers in the hope of providing insight and practical wisdom into the complex and rewarding phenomenon of adolescent engagement in their learning. Chapter 2 will provide an overview of the current state of international research on adolescentsâ development and its implications for their learning.
Research to Praxis: Seeing What Is Possible
Throughout the duration of my doctoral program, it was a common occurrence for people to ask me why I had chosen to do my research on the topic of adolescent engagement in their learning. It was almost as though individuals could not comprehend why I would devote the time it entails to engage in doctoral research to this particular issue. Similarly, as a teacher of adolescents, people often offer me their condolences, or praise me as having unlimited amounts of patience for âbeing forcedâ to work adolescent learners each day. I have never seen my work or the students I have chosen to teach as an inconvenience, a burden or even an afterthought. What I find interesting and also saddening is this viewpoint is far too common. I do not fully understand what has perpetuated these myths we have all heard that equate teenagers with trouble. I always consider it a loss that others have not been able to see these learners in the same way that I do, as confident, capable and caring young men and women.
In Chaps. 3, 4 and 5, our country chapters, we will explore how curriculum reform, inclusive philosophies, instructional design and assessment practices, fostering student voice and choice, and creating new ways to engage the student community within each country context are supporting the conditions in which effective middle years learning can unfold. Finally, in Chap. 6, a conceptual framework of ânext practicesâ and emerging evidence from each country will be shared in order to contribute to what is believed to be a necessary ongoing discourse concerning early adolescent learners and the middle years of schooling. The contexts for our comparative work will be shared to end this first chapter in order to situate the importance of this cross-national, cross-linguistic perspective. To provide o...