ABSTRACT

This book echoes and enhances the generative, dialogic, knowledge-building process that took place at the AMLE 2021 conference, reflecting the way in which middle-level researchers work collaboratively and draw ideas and inspiration for their studies from prior research and accounts of practice, as well as their own experiences in the field.

Each of the five sections features a recent study presented at the roundtable session at the 2021 AMLE conference, accompanied by two companion pieces offering different perspectives on the work. In the latter, the authors enrich and extend the original research by incorporating feedback from the conference session discussions, revisiting their findings and conclusions, considering alternative approaches to further research, and proposing new or clarified implications for practice. Addressing themes across theoretical frameworks and diversity of research design, and with topics ranging from music education to teacher agency and the productive struggle, the volume crucially presents and discusses recent innovations in the field with a view to prompting future research questions and deeper inquiry.

As such, it will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of middle level education, educational research, and specifically research methods in education. Those interested in teaching and learning, and adolescent development more broadly will also benefit from this volume.

part |10 pages

Introduction

part I|40 pages

Studying the Schools to Watch Program

chapter Chapter 2|8 pages

Reflection on Illinois Horizon Schools

Initial Findings from the Illinois Schools to Watch Program

chapter Chapter 3|21 pages

Illinois Horizon Schools

Initial Research Findings from the Illinois Schools to Watch Program

chapter Chapter 4|9 pages

Findings from the Illinois Horizon Schools

Validating the Present, Looking to the Future

part III|45 pages

Teacher Agency in Curriculum Processes

chapter Chapter 8|8 pages

Better Together

Implications for District and School Leadership Instating a Collective Model That Includes Teacher Leaders as Curriculum Designers

chapter Chapter 9|27 pages

Teachers as Curriculum Designers

Inviting Teachers into the Productive Struggle

chapter Chapter 10|8 pages

The What Informs, the How Transforms

Middle Grades Pedagogy Theory to Practice

part IV|44 pages

Social-Emotional Learning and Character Development in the Middle Grades

part V|51 pages

Music Education Research in the Middle Grades

part |9 pages

Conclusion

chapter Chapter 17|7 pages

Sailing the Stormy Seas Together

Diverse Perspectives on Middle Level Education Research