Introduction

Responsiveness has been a central concept in the field of middle level education since the inception of the middle school concept more than half a century ago. Middle level educators are urged to be responsive to the developmental needs of young adolescents as well as other sociocultural factors. The author argues that recent research in middle level education provides opportunities to rethink the meaning of responsiveness in the field. Studies highlight the emerging importance of context, perspective, criticality, and action in building new knowledge in the field. The author discusses each of these ideas in relation to research that provides new directions in middle level education.