Middle Level Teachers Research Articles

Middle-Level Teacher Certification/Licensure: Current Status and Future Directions

The Successful Middle School: This We Believe calls for specialized middle-level certification/licensure and teacher development. Certification/licensure has an impact on teacher preparation and, likely, the recruitment and retention of middle-level educators. In order to continue to advocate for specialized certification/licensure, research needs to determine the nature of certification/licensure, the origins and impacts of their shifts, and the recruitment and retention of middle-level educators, especially related to their pathway. This literature review is part of the development of a research agenda for the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Middle Level Education Research (MLER) Special Interest Group (SIG). The purpose of this review is to examine the current status of the research related to middle-level certification/licensure and the research questions generated for the MLER SIG research agenda. The literature from the last 23 years was explored to conduct this combination of literature and scoping literature review. Gaps of research were identified, and some questions were unable to be answered through this type of study. From this literature review, it is clear that ongoing and additional research needs to be conducted related to middle-level certification/licensure related to the research questions we initially generated as part of the research agenda.

Middle-Level Teacher Development and Identity: A Review of the Literature

Historically, the field of middle-level education has taken it as a given that teachers of young adolescents should be specially prepared to teach in the middle grades, developing a teacher identity that centers around responding to and advocating for the age group above an identity as a subject area teacher. Defined broadly as teachers’ dynamic conceptualizations of themselves as educators and their related roles, decisions, and actions, teacher professional identity has garnered considerable attention in the research literature as a potential source of leverage in multiple dimensions of schooling, preservice teacher education and in-service teachers’ professional learning, and teachers’ professional lives. Teacher identity at the middle level is ideally grounded in a deep commitment to helping young adolescents realize their power and possibilities. While the literature on teacher identity development is well-established in some educational contexts, studies specifically examining the potentially unique developmental trajectory of teacher identity among middle-level educators remain limited. To address this gap, we conducted a review of the literature to address the question: what does the research say about middle-level teacher development and identity? Our review identified 26 relevant sources on middle-level teacher development and identity, published from 2015 through the first half of 2024, and yielded key ideas within three themes: (a) the development of teacher identity, (b) the intersectionality of teacher identity, and (c) critical consciousness, agency, and teacher identity. This review identifies both progress and gaps in the current literature, recognizes potential future directions for research on middle-level teacher identity, and offers possible implications for preservice and in-service middle-level teacher education.

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment in Middle Level Teacher Development: A Research Synthesis

We used Standards 3 and 4 of the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE) 2022 Revised Middle Level Teacher Preparation Standards and The Successful Middle School: This We Believe characteristics as frameworks and presented a synthesis of the research literature (2015–2024) on the curriculum, instruction, and assessment related to middle-level teacher development. This review was part of a larger exploration of middle-level teacher development. Initially, we located 63 articles through our search terms on the curriculum, instruction, and assessment in teacher development. From there, we contributed to an updated research agenda for middle-level education . Through continued analysis and discussion, we identified trends in each area and across these three areas. We review the literature, highlight trends, and offer recommendations for middle-level educators and researchers.

Middle Level Teacher Development for Advocacy: A Systematic Review of the Literature

In the realm of middle level education, advocacy is an integral aspect of school culture and community. Advocacy helps to foster a school environment characterized by a sense of respect and value for young adolescents and should take up an awareness of the social and cognitive characteristics of young adolescents. Advocacy competency is also a necessary teacher disposition to foster socially just and successful middle school cultures and climates. We conducted a systematic review of the literature guided by the following driving question: What does the research say about middle level teacher development and advocacy? Our review yielded 38 relevant sources and key thematic ideas across four thematic categories. We anticipate this review of the literature will be of interest to and inform middle level educators and researchers around equity- and justice-oriented middle level teacher development.

From Appreciating to Disrupting: Interrogating Equity-Centered Syllabi for Middle Grades Teacher Preparation

The researchers used Gorski’s continuum of five approaches to multicultural education—which extends from conservative to liberal and then critical—to analyze 40 syllabi from required or elective courses for candidates seeking licensure to teach in the middle grades (grades 4–9). While the researchers found evidence of all five approaches within the syllabi, most syllabi fell under the liberal approach, emphasizing the understanding of individual learners and cultural responsiveness as the purpose of equity-based work. Following syllabi coding, the researchers conducted nine semi-structured interviews to member-check and analyze to what extent respondents perceived their syllabi as matching their instruction. In addition, the researchers identified four factors for limiting equity-orientations in the syllabi and in teaching the courses themselves: national and state standards, institutional requirements, sociopolitical context, and individual knowledge. While the researchers identified strengths in equity-oriented middle level teacher preparation syllabi, they also illuminate the need to move the focus in syllabi more consistently from appreciating diversity to disrupting oppressive systems.

Navigating Opportunities for Middle Level Education Research: The MLER SIG Research Agenda

In 2016, the Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group (MLER SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) published The MLER SIG Research Agenda, a white paper identifying critical issues and concerns facing the field of middle level education. Since its release, much has changed. This manuscript is a revised version of The MLER SIG Research Agenda. More than 40 researchers from across the globe collaborated to develop an agenda for future middle level research that illuminates strategies for moving middle level education forward in support of young adolescents within the current state of affairs. The research summarized in this manuscript represents eight focus areas: (a) middle grades curriculum; (b) middle grades pedagogies; (c) middle level certification and licensure; (d) middle level leadership; (e) middle level schools, classrooms, culture, and learning environments; (f) middle level teacher development; (g) social and emotional wellbeing; and (h) young adolescent identity and experiences. Each group summarized the current literature in their area and developed a list of questions to guide future middle level education research. This manuscript is intended to start conversations, generate ideas for research projects, and contribute new knowledge to the field of middle level education.

From Activists to Werewolves: 2023 Rainbow Book List Trends

This manuscript explores the trends of the American Library Association’s (ALA's) Rainbow Book List Top Ten Titles for Young Readers for 2023. It provides an overview of the titles and curricular connections. The authors discuss how the 2023 Rainbow Book List offers a diversity of genres and topics and also delves deeply into portrayals of queer and trans youth and family members. These books allow ample opportunities for elementary and middle-level teachers to incorporate diverse and varied LGBTQIA+ experiences and narratives into instruction and classroom life.

UNCOVERING THE RESILIENCE AND STRESS FACTORS OF EFL TEACHERS: A NARRATIVE STUDY

EFL teachers typically confront an abundance of problems that can lead to stress and have an influence on their resilience. Understanding resilience and stress can help improve well-being and education. This qualitative study tried to figure out the resilience and stress factors faced by EFL teachers across educational levels. The narrative inquiry involved an in-depth semi-structured interview administered to four EFL teachers across primary, middle, and secondary levels. The findings indicate that EFL teachers across educational levels encounter similar stressors, such as heavy workloads, student behavior, and low salary. Surprisingly, there were differences in stress factors and resilience strategies utilized by teachers across educational levels. The primary-level teacher reported more stress when dealing with students’ behavior, whereas middle-level teacher was stressed by students’ behavior and resources, and high school teacher by resource constraints and encouraged student engagement. Regarding resilience strategies, teachers at all levels indicated seeking support from family and friends but also using different coping methods such as meditation, leisure activities, and positive thinking. The findings suggest the importance of understanding the unique stress factors faced by EFL teachers across educational levels and establishing targeted support programs to enhance teacher resilience.

Tweeting Over Time: Twitter/X for Communication, Assessment, and Growth in Middle Level Teacher Education

Tweeting Over Time: Twitter/X for Communication, Assessment, and Growth in Middle Level Teacher Education

Effective Classroom Management in Middle Level Schools: A Qualitative Study of Teacher Perceptions

Disruptive student behavior is a significant challenge in schools and a predictor of student failure. Effective classroom management is a crucial skill that middle level teachers must acquire to foster student engagement and learning. This qualitative study explored the experiences and perceptions of 35 middle level teachers in both general education and special education settings regarding effective classroom management techniques. Eight focus group interviews were conducted with 25 general education teachers and 10 special education teachers at one of five middle schools in Kansas, Missouri, or Utah. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using iterative qualitative content analysis to identify themes and subthemes. Findings revealed that effective classroom management includes teachers’ use of appropriate positive and negative reinforcement, student buy-in to reward systems, positive immediate feedback to students, teachers’ consistent follow-through with consequences, and positive teacher-student relationships. We also report similarities and differences between middle level general education and special education teachers’ perceptions. Limitations and areas for future research are addressed.

Teacher preparation through introducing Hateful Things: Using Jim Crow memorabilia to address issues of social justice

It is important to prepare middle level teacher candidates with the dispositions, content knowledge, and pedagogy needed to implement justice-oriented practices in middle level curriculum. This article explores using Hateful Things, a traveling exhibit curated by the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, to integrate issues of stereotypes, biases, and racism into middle grades curriculum. Specific lessons, strategies and resources for integrating the history of the Jim Crow era, stereotypes, and American racism in middle level English Language Arts curriculum are provided.

Teaching Is Messy: Using Lesson Study to Reimagine Student-Centered Clinical Experiences

Teacher preparation is dependent on a clinical model of instruction where students apprentice with licensed teachers to gain experience in a classroom. It is not always easy to create these opportunities in schools that are local to the university, especially with a large middle-level program. This qualitative study examines how using lesson study in an early clinical experience can create high-quality experiences and develop innovative thinking around lesson design. This research answers the following questions: (1) What events do the preservice teachers identify as memorable in their interactions with students, peers, and teachers during a clinical experience that uses the lesson study model? (2) How does the lesson study model influence preservice teachers’ thinking about teaching? The results from the study suggest that a lesson study model is a viable option for middle-level teacher preparation programs. While it solves some practical issues, such as a lack of quality clinical experiences, it also creates an experience where students feel supported, scaffolded, and engaged.

Culturally sustaining practices for middle level teacher educators

The dual pandemics of social unrest and COVID-19 during the summer of 2020 in the United States has produced a renewed sense of urgency and agency for the interrogation of curriculum in K-12 education and the development of culturally sustaining practices. This urgency has encouraged more teacher preparation programs and middle school leaders to be intentional in developing culturally sustaining teachers. This paper offers two tools for professors to use to develop the skill of decentering whiteness/self in classroom practices. These practices are for teacher educators to integrate holistically and support middle level teachers’ development of their culturally sustaining practices. Decentering whiteness/self is the act of interrogating curriculum and classroom experiences to uncover places where professors can decenter whiteness and incorporate perspectives from historically marginalized populations. There is agency and need for strong experiential learning opportunities to develop culturally responsive middle school teachers.

Leadership Support in a Pandemic: Middle School Teacher Perceptions of Emergency Remote Teaching

The authors examined middle level teachers’ perceptions and experiences of leadership support during the sudden transition to emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this qualitative case study, the research questions were: How did middle school teachers perceive their leaders’ support for teaching online? What were teacher beliefs about student attendance and virtual education? Survey data were collected from teachers at a middle school (Grades 6–8) in rural Virginia, and six respondents participated in one-on-one interviews. The responses yielded six findings illuminating perceptions of support for teaching virtually from principals and other administrators: (a) leaders listened to teachers’ issues, concerns, and suggestions; (b) administration was supportive, helpful, and positive; (c) administrators assisted with parental communication; (d) attendance in online classes was poor; (e) absent students failed to learn; and (f) additional professional development for online teaching was desired. Leadership supports are revealed for assisting with faculty adaptation to and effectiveness with remote instruction. Because case studies have yet to examine educational leadership relative to faculty roles and functions during an emergency, this study contributes vital understandings from the middle level teacher standpoint.

A Literary Shadow Study

A shadow study can be an effective way to consider a student’s experience in school. For teacher candidates, engaging in a shadow study can be a responsive approach supporting growing habits of translating theory into practice and making connections among course concepts, research, theory, and principles. When middle-level teacher candidates were unable to have field experiences in recent semesters due to COVID-19, they instead took part in a literary shadow study of a character in a novel for young adolescents. After taking running notes while reading, they connected aspects of the character (including thoughts, words, and actions) to research and principles about education for young adolescents. This was a collective case study to determine overall themes across two cohorts of teacher candidates’ shadow studies. Each candidate’s literary shadow study was a source of data, analyzed through discourse analysis. The AMLE standards for middle level teacher preparation were start codes; other codes were identified through data analysis. This study builds on the scant research on the shadow study procedure and presents evidence of teacher candidates’ learning about young adolescent development as well as middle level structures, and how they connect these ideas to specific student experiences (in this case, fictional) and their own identities as teachers.

Using Literacy Strategies to Support a Preservice Teacher Candidate in Becoming an Effective Teacher

This qualitative investigation used a case study approach to collect data to answer this question: Did a preservice teacher candidate enrolled in a content literacy course while seeking initial middle-level teacher certification find literacy strategies useful in the instruction of seventh-grade science students? This study reports findings collected from one preservice teacher candidate, along with course peers, seeking initial certification for middle-level instruction. Data collection included an interview, member checking, and observations. Over the fifteen-week period of instruction in an undergraduate content literacy course, data provided evidence that literacy strategies used by a preservice teacher candidate in the instruction of science for middle-level students provided effective acquisition of instructional content.

Middle level teacher recruitment: Challenging deficit narratives

Perceptions of middle level learners vary, and unfortunately, some are deficit-oriented, labeling young adolescents as “hormonal” and “erratic” without a deep understanding of their emotional and physical development or the knowledge and skills that they bring to a classroom. In this paper, we provide empirical evidence for this deficit narrative—including the marginalization of middle level learners—from interviews conducted with teacher candidates in elementary, middle, secondary, and K-12 programs in two different states. Three themes around perceptions of teaching middle grades students are shared: adult needs and interests, resistance to student agency, and challenging the deficit narrative. We posit that developing a broader understanding of young adolescents might inform and inspire teacher candidates to choose to become middle school teachers. Thus, we encourage an asset approach to recruitment of middle level teacher candidates entering teacher preparation programs, and we offer recommendations for middle level recruitment into teacher education programs with an explicitly asset lens.

Preparing middle level teachers through a collaborative documentary novel study

This article describes how preservice teachers (and one inservice teacher) gained content knowledge and pedagogical skills through reading a documentary novel, a genre that combines fictional storytelling with historical primary sources. Preservice teachers read the novel as a required text in a site-based undergraduate course focused on children’s and young adult literature, while an inservice teacher conducted a novel study with her fifth-grade class using the same text. Analysis of course documents, observation notes, and individual and focus group interview transcripts highlighted layers of learning for inservice and preservice teachers and their young adolescent students that supported curriculum and instruction characteristics of successful middle school classrooms. Findings revealed that incorporating a documentary novel study in preservice teacher coursework resulted in increased content knowledge and pedagogical skills necessary for engaging middle level students in learning experiences around integrative and challenging texts. Furthermore, purposeful instruction around a documentary novel featuring highly relatable adolescent characters and a plot that integrated world and everyday life events fostered deep thinking and connections for middle grades students around themes of justice within the context of family, friends, and school and in the shadow of a major political crisis.

The Future of Middle Level Education–Chicana Maestras and Vignettes


 
 
 This interdisciplinary case study research centers anticolonial theories and Chicana feminist epistemology (Bernal, 1998) to interrogate the experiences of Chicana maestras during their clinical teaching semester. The experiences of Chicana maestras is often silenced in educational research, especially in the research of prospective middle grades educators. This work seeks to challenge the often-colonizing practices of teaching and research and seeks to serve as a model of the possibilities for research in middle level teacher education. The findings of this research center on the collective power of Chicanas experiencing teaching and learning as a collective through the creation of vignettes. These vignettes highlight the themes of maestras and comunidad, exploring and solidifying identity, thriving colonialism, clinical chingonas, and sharing of knowledge. Each of these themes, and the collective work that went into this research, demonstrate the importance of Chicanas in middle level education.
 
 

Modeling Flexibility for Middle Level Teacher Candidates during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Faced with school closures in spring of 2020 due to COVID-19, middle level teacher candidates were left with no way to finish their field experience. The challenge continued into the fall with many schools providing only virtual learning and some not allowing visitors on campus. This article describes the steps one university middle level program implemented to create an engaging, meaningful field experience while modeling flexibility for the teacher candidates.