A Different Kind of Kid, A Different Kind of Teacher Education: Middle Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents
A Different Kind of Kid, A Different Kind of Teacher Education: Middle Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents
Moses K . Ochanji 0 1 2 3
Rong-Ji Chen 0 1 2 3
Marlene L. Deringer 0 1 2 3
Janet McDaniel 0 1 2 3
0 California State University San Marcos , USA
1 Otterbein University Ohio , USA
2 Part of the Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons
3 California State University - San Marcos , USA
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A Different Kind of Kid, A Different Kind of Teacher Education: Middle
Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents
Authors
Moses K. Ochanji, Rong-Ji Chen, Erika Daniels, Marlene L. Deringer, Janet McDaniel, Laurie Stowell, and
Christina Cambra-Adamson
This research is available in Middle Grades Review: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/mgreview/vol2/iss1/5
A Different Kind of Kid, A Different Kind of Teacher Education:
Middle Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents
Moses K. Ochanji, California State University, San Marcos
Rong-Ji Chen, California State University, San Marcos
Erika Daniels, California State University, San Marcos
Marlene L. Deringer, Otterbein University Ohio
Janet McDaniel, California State University, San Marcos
Laurie Stowell, California State University, San Marcos
Christina Cambra-Adamson, California State University, San Marcos
Abstract
Good teaching at the middle grades comes out of a deep understanding of the unique cognitive, physical,
social, emotional, and moral needs of young adolescents. Specialized preparation therefore is necessary to
help teacher candidates understand how to operationalize the intersection of young adolescent
development and the effective pedagogy that addresses their needs. This paper focuses on a qualitative
study of experienced middle school teachers who graduated from a middle level preparation program or
an elementary or secondary preparation program in terms of how well prepared they felt and feel to meet
the widely varied needs of young adolescents. Confidence in preparation leads to high self-efficacy, which
is important for perseverance and effectiveness. Graduates of a middle level preparation program
reported higher levels of confidence in their preparation to teach young adolescents.
Introduction
Middle level educators have promoted
specialized preparation of middle grades
teachers for more than a half-century
(Association for Middle Level Education
(AMLE), 2015a;
McEwin & Smith, 2013
; Van Til,
Vars & Lounsbury, 1961). These teachers are
expected to apply developmentally-appropriate
pedagogy and to teach young adolescents based
on their physical, cognitive, emotional, moral,
and social development. The AMLE, formerly
National Middle School Association (NMSA) has
long been a strong advocate for the middle level
philosophy and specialized professional
preparation of middle level teachers
(AMLE,
2010a)
.
As a result of these efforts, most states in the US
have specialized middle level teacher licensure;
45 states and the District of Columbia provide
middle level teacher certification, license, or
endorsement (AMLE, 2015b). However, this
does not mean that higher education institutions
across the country offer specialized middle level
teacher credential programs. Howell, Faulkner,
Cook, Miller, and Thompson (2016) reviewed
the program websites of 1,324 institutions and
analyzed undergraduate middle level teacher
preparation programs. The researchers found
that only 25% of these institutions offered a fully
implemented specialized middle level program.
Another 24% offered a middle grades course or
some elements of a specialized middle level
program, and 51% had no specialized middle
level teacher preparation at all. The researchers
urged institutions to provide and/or enhance
middle level teacher preparation.
Does specialized middle level teacher education
really matter? While many middle level
advocates have come up with strong arguments
(e.g., McEwin, Smith, & Dickinson, 2003)
for
specialized preparation and professional
development, “these arguments have been based
primarily on advocacy and have little empirical
support”
(Conklin, 2012, p. 172)
. Indeed, a
search of the ERIC database for empirical
research on specialized middle level teacher
preparation revealed few articles published after
2000. The methods, major findings, and
limitations of recent studies on specialized
preparation of middle level teachers are
summarized in Table 1.
Comparative case study on Both teachers had a partial Only 2 teachers; only
2 seventh-grade teachers— set of understanding content, in social studies.
one received specialized teaching, and students; they
middle level preparation, fell short of challenging
and the other took the young adolescents.
subject-specific secondary
pathway.
Interviews with 3 (...truncated)