An International Look at Educating Young Adolescents

Edited by:
Steven B. Mertens, Illinois State University
Vincent A. Anfara Jr., University of Tennessee
Kathleen Roney, University of North Carolina Wilmington

A volume in the series: The Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education. Editor(s): Steven B. Mertens, Illinois State University. Micki M. Caskey, Portland State University.

Published 2009

(Sponsored by the Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group and the National Middle School Association)

Studies like the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) have compared the performance of U.S. middle grade students (i.e., eighth graders) to those in other countries. In relation to middle grade schools, 20 countries outperformed the United States in mathematics and nine countries scored above the U.S. in science. The intent of this volume of The Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education, An International Look at Educating Young Adolescents, is to broaden our understanding of middle grade schooling by critically examining the education of young adolescents (ages 10-15, typically grades 6-8) through an international lens. In addition to looking at how schooling and students are organized for teaching and learning, this handbook will focus on the successes and failures that are evident in a wide variety of nations, present the indictments and praises that have been offered by supporters and critics alike, and review the research that has been generated about educating young adolescents in an effort to cross national boundaries. Ultimately, this volume of the handbook series will explore what international perspectives teach us about the effective education of young adolescents.

CONTENTS
Foreword. Introduction—Comparative and International Education and Middle Level Education Research: A World of Possibilities, David C. Virute. Young Adolescent Education in Turkey, Serkan Özel, Z. Ebrar Yetkiner, Robert M. Capraro, and Ali Rza Küçük. Educating Young Adolescents in Lebanon, Huda Ayyash-Abdo, Rima Bahous, and Mona Nabhani. The United Arab Emirates: Educating Young Adolescents, Toni Sills-Briegel, Sharon Lynne Bryant, and Wafa Abdul-Rahman Al Hashimi. Playing Catch-Up: Leveling Education for Young Adolescent Students in India, Supriya Baily. The Awakening of Young Adolescent Education in the People’s Republic of China, Lisa Hervey, Hiller A. Spires, and Junzheng Zhang. Education Fever and Exam Hell: The Current Educational Systems and Issues in South Korea, Bogum Yoon. Middle Schooling in New Zealand, Tony Dowden, Penny Bishop, and C. J. Patrick Nolan. Educating Young Adolescents in Australia, Martin Dowson. Rwanda’s Audacity: A Story of Hope at the Middle Level, Kathleen F. Malu. An International Look at Educating Young Adolescents in South Africa, Paul Webb. Educating the Russian Young Adolescent: Adopting the “Best from the West” While Maintaining the “Strengths of the Past”, Inna Gorlova and David Anderson. Middle-School Education in Germany, Sigrid Blömeke, Johannes König, and Anja Felbrich. Educating Young Adolescents in the Republic of Ireland: Toward a “New Young Ireland”, Aaron Thornburg and Hiller A. Spires. Educating Young Adolescents in Brazil, Evely Boruchovitch, José Aloyseo Bzuneck, and Marília Saldanha da Fonseca. Concluding Thoughts—Tying it All Together With a Comparative Look at the Education of Young Adolescents, Vincent A. Anfara, Jr., Steven B. Mertens, and Kathleen Roney. About the Contributors.