The effect of the middle school experience upon the pre-adolescent's self-concept development is the focus of this report. Self-concept is defined as an understanding of the self based upon an internal frame of reference. The development of a positive self-concept has been frequently listed as a goal of the middle schools. Five research projects…

Explores how ethnicity, a discrete variable, and the continuous variables of a person's ethnic identity and self-construal contribute to the use of particular coping strategies. Results supported the hypothesis that ethnicity as a discrete variable is not associated with coping, but that ethnic identity and self-construal are. (Contains 48…

Summarizes findings of several major middle schools reports, highlighting the National Middle School Association's publication "This We Believe" (1982), NASSP's "An Agenda for Excellence at the Middle Level" (1985), the California State Department of Education's "Caught in the Middle" (1987), and the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's…

Examines the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use, and its relationship to other risky behaviors in school children in grades 4 through 12 (N=31,861). Among high school males, the prevalence of risk-taking behaviors and feelings of stress and depression were significantly higher among users. Joint users of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco reported…

Investigates the factor structure of five self-concept scales from a hierarchical, multidimensional theoretical model. The scales were administered to 221 students in grades 5 through 8. Each scale yielded strong general factors and six dominant factors that coincide with the proposed theoretical model, which reflects social, affect, competence,…

The ages between 10 and 14 years represent a period of transition between childhood and adolescence when feelings of confusion, anxiety, excitement, and frustration are widely experienced. During this period, early adolescents undergo major developmental changes. Educators working with these young people need accurate knowledge of early…

A middle school physical education program should meet the unique needs of "transescent" students. If the middle school physical education program is to achieve its potential, then curriculum decisions must become student-based rather than activity-based. (CJ)

This monograph describes and illustrates the characteristics of middle grades students in terms of intellectual, physical, emotional, and social growth; discusses the characteristics of effective middle grades teachers; and explores the implications of teacher/learner research data for curriculum and instruction related to early adolescents (ages…

Examines male and female adolescents and their experience of "being in love." Qualitative analyses suggest that early and middle adolescents are actively reasoning about the nature and meaning of romantic feelings and experiences. Discusses results from standpoint of psychosocial-development theory. (Author/JDM)

This document examines war and peace in adolescent literature. Chapter I, the introduction, presents a review of the research on children's attitudes toward war. Adolescent literature, especially historical fiction, is described as an effective instrument for teaching about occurrences such as the Nazi Holocaust and the Vietnam War. The importance…

This report is a study of present practices and task force recommendations for restructuring education for middle-level learners in the State of Indiana. In spring 1989, a survey was distributed to 445 schools statewide that house students of grades 5-9. The responses from the 243 returns indicate that middle-school theory has not been fully…

A study identified the needs expressed by home economics teachers regarding middle-level education to provide a baseline from which to work toward development and implementation of a middle school home economics curriculum in North Dakota. A review of the literature isolated specific characteristics generally accepted as unique to developmentally…

This review examines and summarizes 16 research studies examining the writing self-efficacy beliefs of 6th to 10th grade students. In the majority of the studies, self-efficacy was found to play a primary role in predicting student writing performance. Students with learning disabilities were found to over-estimate their ability to complete…

This review examines recent developments in research on social-cognitive theories of motivation during adolescence and the ways in which such research can be applied to the reform of middle grade schools. Results suggest that effective reform must consider the multiple contexts in which students interact. (SLD)

An increasing number of children face deteriorating family bonds, out-of-wedlock births, lack of shelter, pregnancy, abortion, and drug or alcohol related crimes. When schools fail to address the immediate family and social needs of students, learning for these students becomes difficult and relatively unimportant. This study promotes the…