TY - JOUR
T1 - Navigating Middle Grades
T2 - Role of Social Contexts in Middle Grade School Climate
AU - Kim, Ha Yeon
AU - Schwartz, Kate
AU - Cappella, Elise
AU - Seidman, Edward
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments This research was conducted with support from Spencer Foundation (#201300077, PI: Elise Cappella, Co-PI: Edward Seidman), the NYU Institute of Human Development and Social Change, and the NYU Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training fellowship. All procedures and restricted data use were approved by the IES Data Security Office (#12040005) and the New York University Committee on Activities Involving Human Subjects.
PY - 2014/9
Y1 - 2014/9
N2 - During early adolescence, most public school students undergo school transitions, and many students experience declines in academic performance and social-emotional well-being. Theories and empirical research have highlighted the importance of supportive school environments in promoting positive youth development during this period of transition. Despite this, little is known about the proximal social and developmental contexts of the range of middle grade public schools US students attend. Using a cross-sectional dataset from the eighth grade wave of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort 1998-1999, the current study examines the middle grade school social context from the perspectives of administrators and teachers in public schools with typical grade configurations (k-8 schools, middle schools, and junior high schools) and how it relates to students' perceptions of school climate. We find that administrators and teachers in k-8 schools perceive a more positive school social context, controlling for school structural and demographic characteristics. This school social context, in turn, is associated with students' perceptions of their schools' social and academic climate. Implications for educational policy and practice are discussed.
AB - During early adolescence, most public school students undergo school transitions, and many students experience declines in academic performance and social-emotional well-being. Theories and empirical research have highlighted the importance of supportive school environments in promoting positive youth development during this period of transition. Despite this, little is known about the proximal social and developmental contexts of the range of middle grade public schools US students attend. Using a cross-sectional dataset from the eighth grade wave of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort 1998-1999, the current study examines the middle grade school social context from the perspectives of administrators and teachers in public schools with typical grade configurations (k-8 schools, middle schools, and junior high schools) and how it relates to students' perceptions of school climate. We find that administrators and teachers in k-8 schools perceive a more positive school social context, controlling for school structural and demographic characteristics. This school social context, in turn, is associated with students' perceptions of their schools' social and academic climate. Implications for educational policy and practice are discussed.
KW - Adolescent development
KW - Educational policy
KW - Middle grade schools
KW - School climate
KW - School reform
KW - School transitions
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U2 - 10.1007/s10464-014-9659-x
DO - 10.1007/s10464-014-9659-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 24830348
AN - SCOPUS:84905401908
SN - 0091-0562
VL - 54
SP - 28
EP - 45
JO - American journal of community psychology
JF - American journal of community psychology
IS - 1-2
ER -