Middle School

Middle school, (Intermediate/Junior high school) covers a period of education that straddles primary education and secondary education, serving as a bridge between the two. The terms can be used in different ways in different countries. The concept itself dates back to 1909, with the founding of Indianola Junior High School in Columbus, Ohio.

Asia

In Korea, a middle school is called "Chung Hakkyo 중학교(中學校)" That includes grade 7 through 9. In the 1980s, many middle schoolers in Korea had to wear uniforms.

In Japan, junior high schools are called chū gakkō (中学校, literally, middle school) cover years seven through nine. They are referred to as "junior high schools" in most conversation in English but are referred to by MEXT as "lower secondary schools". (See Secondary education in Japan)

Taiwanese middle schools (3-year) were originally called junior high school, or chuzhong (初級中學, 初中). However, in August 1968, they were renamed to middle schools, or guozhong (國民中學, 國中) when they became free of charge and compulsory. Private middle school nowadays are still called chuzhong. Taiwanese middle schools are attended normally by those older than twelve. Accompanied with the switch from junior high to middle school was the cancelation of entrance examination needed to enter senior high school.

New Zealand

In New Zealand intermediate schools cover years 7 and 8 (formerly known as form 1 and 2) in areas where the local primary schools teach year 1 to year 6 students. Many primary schools however, do teach year 7 and 8. These primary schools may have a relationship with an nearby intermediate school to teach manual training classes such as woodwork.

North America

In the United States, middle schools generally include grades 6 to 8 (although they can include just 7 and 8, and a few start as early as grade 4, although that is rare) while junior high schools include grades 7 and 8 or 7 through 9. Many junior highs are designed similarly to high schools. This is meant as a hybrid, to ease the transition from elementary school to high school for students. Sometimes they are called Intermediate schools. The middle school concept, however, often involves a group of four to six teachers working as a team with the same group of students of the same grade level, with each teacher teaching a different subject. This format facilitates interdisciplinary units, where the entire team teaches on the same general topic in all subjects. Sometimes intermediate schools go before middle school, sometimes middle school goes before junior high school, and a few times middle school goes before intermediate school. The middle school format has now replaced schools using the junior high format by a ratio of about ten to one in the U.S.

In Canada, education is managed by each province. Middle schools typically span grades six to eight. Junior high school may include grades seven through nine, or eight through 10. In Ontario, some schools, known as senior public schools, focus on just grades seven and eight (while others run from six to eight). Quebec has its own distinct system divided in école primaire (6 years) and école secondaire (5 years, followed by the Quebec-specific institution of CEGEP, and then university).

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, some English Local Education Authorities introduced Middle Schools in the 1960s and 1970s. The notion of Middle Schools was mooted by the Plowden Report of 1967 which proposed a change to a three-tier model including First Schools for children aged between 5 and 8, Middle Schools for 8-12 year-olds, and then Upper or High Schools for 12-16 year-olds. Some authorities introduced Middle Schools for ideological reasons, in line with the report, while others did so for more pragmatic reasons relating to the raising of the age of end of compulsory school to 16. Different authorities introduced different age-range schools, although in the main, three models were used:

• 5-8 First Schools, followed by 8-12 Middle Schools, as suggested by Plowden
• 5-9 First Schools, followed by 9-13 Middle Schools
• 5-10 First Schools followed by 10-13 Middle Schools, or Intermediate Schools

Around 2000 Middle Schools were in place in the early 1980s. However, that number began to fall in the later 1980s with the introduction of the National Curriculum. The new curriculum's splits in Key Stages at age 11 encouraged the majority of Local Education Authorities to return to a two-tier system of Primary and Secondary schools.

Some Middle Schools still exist in various areas, including Staffordshire, Suffolk, Isle of Wight and Northumberland, although many of these are under threat of closure.

Professional organizations

The National Middle School Association (NMSA) was founded in 1973. It now claims over 30,000 members representing principals, teachers, central office personnel, professors, college students, parents, community leaders, and educational consultants across the United States, Canada, and 46 other countries. An equivalent organisation operates in the UK under the name of The National Middle Schools' Forum.

Further reading

• Arnold, J. "Needed: A Realistic Perspective of the Early Adolescent Learner." CLEARINGHOUSE 54:4 (1980).
• Beane, J. "Dance to the Music of Time: The Future of Middle Level Education." THE EARLY ADOLESCENT MAGAZINE 2 (September 1987):18–26.
• Beane, J. A MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY. Columbus, Ohio: National Middle School Association, 1990a.
• Beane, J. AFFECT IN THE CURRICULUM: TOWARD DEMOCRACY, DIGNITY, AND DIVERSITY. New York: Teachers College Press, 1990b.
• Cross Keys Middle School. A PLACE OF OUR OWN. Florissant, Missouri: Florissant Public Schools, 1990.
• Jennings, W., and Nathan, J. "Startling/Disturbing Research on School Program Effectiveness." PHI DELTA KAPPAN 59 (1977): 568–572.
• Fenwick, J. (Primary Author) Taking Center Stage: A Commitment to Standards-Based Education for California's Middle Grades Students. Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2001

See also

• Secondary education in the United States
• Education in Canada

External links

• Model Programs for Middle School Teacher Preparation
• The Transition to Middle School
• Integrating Literature into Middle School Reading Classrooms
• Middle School Education--The Critical Link in Dropout Prevention
• Integrated Curriculum in the Middle School
• Canada: Provincial Systems of Education
• National Middle School Association

• National Middle Schools' Forum (UK)
• UK Middle Schools