The middle school philosophy, popularly referred to as the middle school "concept," purports to guide the development of schools serving early adolescent children. However, it has been criticized for its failure to provide an adequate philosophical and conceptual framework and for its rigid adherence to a distinctive model of practice. / The purpose of the study is to inform the development of a more complete philosophy of middle level schooling by (1) identifying inadequacies of the currently articulated middle school philosophy; (2) identifying and analyzing themes that emerge about the elements associated with quality middle schools from the perspective of teachers, students, principals, parents and community members; and (3) interpreting the analyses to inform the development of effective schools for middle level children. / The first phase of the study consists of a philosophical analysis of the middle school philosophy using William K. Frankena's model for analyzing a normative philosophy of education. The second phase of the study consists of the analysis of data about the perceived attributes of middle level schools identified as effective through the United States Education Department's Elementary and Secondary School Recognition Programs. In the third phase of the study, the relationships among the findings derived from the analyses conducted in phases one and two are analyzed. / The findings lead to three conclusions: (1) the middle school concept does not provide a sound framework for guiding middle level education; (2) the distinguishing qualities of a good middle school identified by respondents associated with middle level schools recognized as effective differ substantially from those promoted by the middle school concept; and (3) a sufficiently well developed philosophical and research base does not currently exist for prescribing anything but the most general requirements for the development of effective middle level schools. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-12, Section: A, page: 3652. / Major Professor: C. J. B. Macmillan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77882 |
| Contributors | Kane, Cheryl Chase., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 258 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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