Literature Reviews in Support of the Middle Level Education Research Agenda

Edited by:
Steven B. Mertens, Illinois State University
Micki M. Caskey, Portland State University

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

Published 2018

In 2015-16, the Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group (MLER SIG), an affiliate of the American Educational Research Association, undertook a collaborative project—the development of a new middle grades education research agenda. The purpose of the MLER SIG Research Agenda (Mertens et al., 2016) was to develop a set of questions that would guide the direction of middle grades education research. Ideally, this Research Agenda would serve to prompt discourse and generate research projects that could contribute to the middle grades knowledge base. Members of the MLER SIG identified eight research areas: (a) young adolescent development, (b) cultural responsiveness, (c) special populations, (d) educator development, (e) curriculum, (f) social and emotional learning, (g) digital technologies, and (h) school structures. This volume contains the extensive literature reviews and subsequent research questions for each of the research topics.

CONTENTS
Foreword, J. Howard Johnston. Introduction: Why Do We Need a Middle Level Education Research Agenda? Steven B. Mertens. Developmental Aspects of Young Adolescents, Megan L. Smith, David Strahan, Britt Patterson, Bobette Bouton, and Naomi McGaughey. Cultural Responsiveness in the Middle Grades, Ellis Hurd, Lisa Harrison, Kathleen Brinegar, and Brianna L. Kennedy. Special Populations in Middle Level Classrooms, Tammy J. Graham, Alicia Wenzel, Roberta Linder, and Mary F. Rice. Educator Development, Virginia M. Jagla, Kim K. Winter, Amanda Wall, Dana Bickmore, Heather Rogers Haverback, Kriss Kemp-Graham. The State of Curriculum in the Middle Grades, James F. Nagle, Stephanie M. Lemley, Karen Weller Swanson, Mary Beth Schaefer, Kristina N. Falbe, Steven Netcoh, and Kristie W. Smith. Social and Emotional Learning in the Middle Grades, Katherine Main and Mary Ann O’Neil. Digital Technologies in the Middle Grades, Penny A. Bishop, Francine Falk-Ross, P. Gayle Andrews, Stephanie Cronenberg, Clarice M. Moran, and Christopher S. Weiler. Middle Grades Schools and Structures, Cheryl R. Ellerbrock, Kristina N. Falbe, and Dana Pomykal Franz. Next Steps: Discussion and Recommendations, Micki M. Caskey. The Middle Level Education Research SIG Research Agenda. About the Contributors.