ABSTRACT
The author describes the scope of the knowledge base in middle level education research and explores the role of dialogue in advancing knowledge in the field. The author situates the present volume in the context of a dialogic approach to middle level education research and offers an overview of the five parts of the book: (a) Studying the Schools to Watch Program, (b) Community School Reform, (c) Teacher Agency in Curriculum Processes, (d) Social-Emotional Learning and Character Development in the Middle Grades, and (e) Music Education Research in the Middle Grades.
