Addressing the Developmental Needs of Students: Emphasizing a Developmentally Responsive Educational Approach With Young Adolescents

• In Event: 35.081 - Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: 35.081-13 - Adolescent Issues in and out of School

Abstract

Providing a developmentally responsive educational experience has been the cornerstone of the middle school concept since its inception. However, as middle grades schools continue to manage increased assessment demands, many schools are moving away from this and focusing solely on content. Using observations, interviews, and focus groups of more than 50 teachers, this descriptive case study captures the programs and practices designed to meet the developmental needs of young adolescents in an academically effective middle school. Results indicate that an emphasis on the developmental spectrum, teacher dispositions and professional behaviors, organizational structures, and relationships are instrumental in providing learning experiences that meet the physical, social, emotional, and moral needs of students and establishing a safe and supportive learning environment.

Authors

• Shawn A. Faulkner, Northern Kentucky University

• Chris Cook, Appalachian State University

• Penny B. Howell, University of Louisville