Middle school literature advocates interdisciplinary team organization as a structure that enhances student learning and teacher satisfaction. In an interdisciplinary team, teachers responsible for different content areas collaboratively plan the instructional program for a shared group of students. Yet, fewer than fifty percent of the nation's middle schools use an interdisciplinary team structure, and research indicates that teams are fragile and temporary. Few studies were found that described interdisciplinary team organization at the team or individual teacher level. The purpose of this case study is to describe the structure, dynamics, and outcomes of interdisciplinary teams of teachers in middle schools. The collection, analysis, and evaluation of data focused on four areas: (a) team structure including goals, roles, and leadership; (b) team dynamics ("teamness"), including collaboration, cohesion, and communication; (C) teacher affective outcomes of satisfaction, efficacy, and stress; and (d) teacher behavioral outcomes of curriculum and instruction and counseling and discipline. The researcher collected data from five sources of evidence including documents, structured interviews, key informant interviews, direct observation, and questionnaires. Two middle schools that were implementing interdisciplinary team organization for the first year were selected for the study. Their differences in demographics, teaming structure, and district/school history allowed for a basis of comparison and contrast. The data were organized and presented in four case studies of interdisciplinary teams and two cross-case analyses, providing a descriptive account of the experiences of teachers involved in an interdisciplinary team structure. The results of the study indicated that: Structural variables affected team planning. The level of teacher collaboration on teams was a developmental process. Teachers derived professional benefits and personal satisfaction from teaming and experienced a reduction of stress. Barriers of time and training impeded team effectiveness in the area of developing and implementing interdisciplinary curriculum. Further research on effective team practices is warranted, particularly on the effects of group process training and the developmental nature of team collaboration. In addition, further research is recommended on the effects of an interdisciplinary team structure on student learning outcomes and on teachers' day-to-day instructional practices in the classroom.

This qualitative study examined organizational change including the necessary steps that a large school district took in planning and implementing a reform effort. This project told a story of one school district's experience. The study covered a five year period from 1990 to 1995 in the 30,000 student Salem-Keizer School District of Salem, Oregon. The examination included a description of school board action in 1989 where a staff recommendation to reform middle schools and move sixth graders to middle schools with a seven-eight grade configuration was denied. The study then continued with an examination of the change process during which sixth graders were moved to middle schools, reforms were implemented, three new schools were opened and five schools were remodeled to accommodate the new programs. This reform, however, was not without problems. Those issues were discussed in the study. The retrospective part of the study reflected upon the project through the analysis of district documents and the results of nine field interviews of middle school principals using a set of seven questions designed to reveal the principals' perceptions of the process. The study then triangulated the results of the interviews by examining information from a focus group comprised of Salem-Keizer curriculum directors and staff development specialists who were asked the same seven questions. The study answered the questions: "Did the district do what the community asked it to do in creating middle schools that afford students a more effective educational program?" and "What are the implications for the district in undertaking a major reform effort?" Themes that emerged from the study included the following: organizational change is highly personalized; change should have a literature and research foundation; stakeholders must participate in the change process; communication must be consistent and must be "two way"; one person must be the individual in charge of the change; a change process requires vigilance, constant reevaluation and refinement; staff development is crucial in a change process; and if a district wants new thinking, then new people must help in organization change. / Graduation date: 1997

In 2008, Bryan ISD decided to establish a magnet program for gifted middle school students. The program followed the school-within-a-school model and was housed in an existing middle school situated in an area of the district where a high percentage of the student population came from low socio-economic homes. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to gain an understanding of the experience a gifted student goes through in choosing to attend a new gifted magnet program housed in a school away from their home campus. It examines how students arrived at their decision by taking an in-depth look at their thoughts and decision-making processes, the outside influences on their decision, and their expectations of the program. A qualitative case study research method guided this study. The subjects were middle school students in grades 6-8, who were selected for participation based on random sampling for maximum variation. Six students were selected for participation, of which, two were from each of the three grade levels, four were male, two were female, one was African-American, two were Hispanic, and three were Caucasian. Participant interview responses were compared to responses from the entrance applications of the other 123 magnet students at INQUIRE. The responses of the two different groups of students mirrored each other. The results of the study indicated three emergent themes: 1) the desire for challenge overruled the comfort of the familiar, 2) the need to be surrounded by other students who love learning, and 3) the focus was on the future and not the present. The findings of this study indicate that gifted students chose to attend the new magnet program for the academic challenge and the opportunity to learn alongside other gifted students. They had high expectations of what this program would be able to provide them as they strove to reach their goals. The participation of their friends in the new program was not a factor in their decision to attend. INQUIRE Academy was designed to offer something unusual in public education – the opportunity to cluster gifted students together, to provide them the opportunity to be intellectually stimulated and challenged by working with peers of the same ability level, to offer multi-age classes, and to offer acceleration based upon student need. For the students in this study, INQUIRE Academy accomplished these goals.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 156 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-138).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-142). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-142). Also available on the Internet.

This study sought to identify characteristics found within technical, cultural and political dimensions of the YES College Prep middle school model that typify the college-going culture of the organization. This qualitative study utilized grounded theory and ethnographic approaches in a three-phase research plan seeking to answer the question: How can the college-going culture of the YES Prep Middle School System be described, and what characteristics of the school model can be useful for building college-going cultures in mainstream schools? Teachers and administrators were the primary units of study, and data was collected in the form of documents, interviews and ethnographic field notes. Data from phases two and three built upon theories developed in phase one. Using Kirst, Venezia and Antonio’s typology of college-going cultures, YES College Prep schools fell under the category of schools with strong college-going cultures. Five dominant themes emerged as all three phases of research were synthesized: (a) student achievement, (b) quality teaching, (c) exposure and opportunities to learn, (d) college-going discourses, and (e) unified mission. Characteristics holding potential relevance for mainstream schools were the unified mission, academic rigor, the extended day and year, the Comprehensive Counseling Model, the Teacher Excellence Program and the people-oriented business model. This study adds to the body of research demarcating middle school as a critical point in the educational continuum. The YES College Prep model provides usefulness for researchers interested in such areas as organizational culture, educational pipeline models, and middle school reform models. / text

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The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences existed in academic achievement, attitude toward school, and self-concept of seventh and eighth grade junior high school students in comparison to seventh and eighth grade middle school students who changed from a junior high school or an elementary school to a middle school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. A further concern of the study was to determine middle school principles of the Jonesboro Middle Schools.The subjects who furnished data for the study were 808 randomly selected seventh and eighth grade students. The students participated as control seventh and eighth grade junior high school students during the first year of the study (197576), or as experimental middle school seventh and eighth grade students during the second year of the study (1976-77). Five groups were formed for each grade. Two groups of each grade participated as the control groups, and the remaining three groups of each grade served as experimental groups.The Gordon How I See Myself Scale and the McElhinney Middle School Questionnaire Pupil Attitude Toward School scale were administered to accommodate a separate-sample-pretest-posttest control group design. Data from the Metropolitan Achievement Test and the SRA Achievement Test were used to fit a nonequivalent control group design. The data pertaining to self-concept and attitude toward school were analyzed by a multivariate analyses of variance technique. Achievement data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance. On-site interviews were conducted to determine the Jonesboro-actual-middle school principles.Six null hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of statistical significance. Hypotheses one and two were stated to compare mean achievement scores of seventh and eighth grade Junior high school students to seventh and eighth grade middle school students. No statistically significant difference was found between the seventh grade junior high and middle school students. A statistically significant difference was found between the eighth grade junior high school and middle school students. The difference favored the junior high school students.Hypotheses three and four were stated to compare self-concept mean scores of seventh and eighth grade junior high school students to seventh and eighth grade middle school students. No statistically significant difference was found between mean scores of either grade.Hypotheses five and six were stated to compare mean scores on attitude toward school between seventh and eighth grade junior high and middle school students. No statistically significant difference was found between mean scores of either grade.The results of the interviews indicated elimination of "inappropriate" social and physical activities, more emphasis on intramural activities, and development of extensive exploratory programs as strengths of the Jonesboro Middle Schools. The lack of provision for continuous progress, team teaching, independent study, planned gradualism and use of multi media material appeared to be weaknesses.Conclusions drawn from the findings were:1. Students who experience a rigid academic schedule of a junior high school may tend to score significantly higher on achievement tests than students who attend less rigid middle schools.2. Students who have experienced the junior high school may tend to form some negative feelings toward school if placed in a middle school, but not to a statistically significant degree.3. The attitude and self-concept of seventh and eighth grade students appeared to be unaffected by the reduction of "inappropriate" social and physical activities.4. Little change in instructional procedures of classroom teachers appeared to be apparent.5. The major change seemed to be the addition of exploratory programs in middle schools.6. During the in-service program too much emphasis may have been placed on exemplary middle school programs at the expense of providing emphasis on the best middle school for Jonesboro.

The transition from elementary to middle school is a significant period of change for adolescents and is remarkable for several reasons, including the opportunity for new experiences and the potential for other developmental changes to occur simultaneously. Existing literature on transition includes both positive and negative outcomes for adolescents in areas of achievement, peer relations, self-esteem, and self concept, with gender differences including more negative outcomes for girls. The possibility of multiple transitions occurring simultaneously (i.e. puberty and academic transition), along with literature suggesting that the elimination of the middle school model and replacing it with a K-8 building configuration would reduce negative student outcomes, provided the rationale for the current study: an examination of early adolescents either making an academic transition following the fourth grade or remaining in a K-8 building, and the potential influence on self concept. In addition, student perceptions of school related issues were surveyed. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant interactions of time and either group status or gender on self concept. The information from the student perception survey suggested students in the Transition group were more likely to report school as being very different before and after transition. Environmental factors, such as having a locker and more choices in the cafeteria, were more important to students than making new friends or facing increased difficulty in academics. The findings of the current study lend support to academic transition occurring at an earlier age and suggest a greater emphasis on environmental aspects of transition and protective factors in facilitating positive outcomes. / Department of Educational Psychology