Teachers are often at the forefront of efforts to help students struggling socially at school and their support may be particularly critical during the early adolescent developmental period after youth transition to middle school when social concerns become increasingly salient to students. Given their daily interactions with students, teachers…

Perceptions of the ecology and middle school transition are examined in relation to interpersonal competence patterns (ICPs) of approximately 3,000 sixth graders (46.2% boys) including 415 students with disabilities from 26 metropolitan schools. Teacher ratings of students' academic competence, externalizing and internalizing behavior, popularity,…