Middle school
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Middle school and junior high school cover a period of education that straddles primary education and secondary education and serve as a bridge between them. The terms are used in different ways in different countries.
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North America
In the United States, middle schools generally include grades 6 to 8 (although they can include just 7 and 8) while junior high schools include grades 7 and 8 or 7 through 9. Many junior highs are generally built like high schools, whereas the middle school concept often involves "pods", "blocks", or periods, whereby grade levels are separated and subdivided into different areas, and students change only between five or so classrooms. This is meant as a hybrid, to ease the transition from elementary school to high school for students. Sometimes they are called Intermediate schools, and sometimes intermediate schools go before middle school, and sometimes middle school goes before junior high school. Middle schools have now replaced junior high schools by a ratio of about ten to one in the U.S.
In Canada, education is managed by each province. Middle schools typically span grades six to eight. Junior high school may include grades seven through nine, or eight through 10. In Ontario, some schools, known as senior public schools, focus on just grades seven and eight. Quebec has its own distinct system divided in école primaire (6 years) and école secondaire (5 years, followed by the Quebec-specific institution of CEGEP, and then university).
United Kingdom and Europe
In the United Kingdom, some English Local Education Authorities introduced Middle Schools to cover either Years 4 to 7 (ages 8–12) or Years 5 to 8 (ages 9–13) . However, these arrangements have generally been dropped because the standardisation enforced by the English National Curriculum.
Asia
In Japan, junior high schools are called chū gakkō (中学校, literally, middle school), and cover years seven through nine.
Taiwanese middle schools (3-year) were originally called junior high school, or chuzhong (初級中學, 初中). However, in August 1968, they were renamed to middle schools, or guozhong (國民中學, 國中) when they become free of charge and compulsory. Private middle school nowadays are still called chuzhong. Taiwanese middle schools are attended normally by those older than twelve. Accompanied with the switch from junior high to middle school was the cancelation of entrance examination needed to enter senior high school.
Professional organization
The National Middle School Association (NMSA) was founded in 1973. It now claims over 30,000 members representing principals, teachers, central office personnel, professors, college students, parents, community leaders, and educational consultants across the United States, Canada, and 46 other countries.
Further reading
- Arnold, J. "Needed: A Realistic Perspective of the Early Adolescent Learner." CLEARINGHOUSE 54:4 (1980).
- Beane, J. "Dance to the Music of Time: The Future of Middle Level Education." THE EARLY ADOLESCENT MAGAZINE 2 (September 1987):18–26.
- Beane, J. A MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY. Columbus, Ohio: National Middle School Association, 1990a.
- Beane, J. AFFECT IN THE CURRICULUM: TOWARD DEMOCRACY, DIGNITY, AND DIVERSITY. New York: Teachers College Press, 1990b.
- Cross Keys Middle School. A PLACE OF OUR OWN. Florissant, Missouri: Florissant Public Schools, 1990.
- Jennings, W., and Nathan, J. "Startling/Disturbing Research on School Program Effectiveness." PHI DELTA KAPPAN 59 (1977): 568–572.
See also
External links
- Model Programs for Middle School Teacher Preparation (http://www.ericdigests.org/1992-5/model.htm)
- The Transition to Middle School (http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-2/middle.htm)
- Integrating Literature into Middle School Reading Classrooms (http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9214/middle.htm)
- Middle School Education--The Critical Link in Dropout Prevention (http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9213/middle.htm)
- Integrated Curriculum in the Middle School (http://www.ericdigests.org/1992-1/middle.htm)
- Canada: Provincial Systems of Education (http://www.unb.ca/education/bezeau/eact/eact07.html)