How Schools Meet the Needs of Young Adolescents: Comparing Perceptions of School Community Groups

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 9:00 am
  In Roundtable Session: Meeting the Needs of Young Adolescents: An Exploration of Perceptions and Practices (Table 7)

Abstract

This study investigates differences in the perceptions of students, parents, and school staff regarding the degree to which their school meets the needs of young adolescents. Data comes from the Successful Middle School Assessment administered by the Association for Middle Level Education. Results indicate that, for the specific characteristics of successful middle schools included in the proposal, student perceptions were significantly lower than those of adult participants. Given the associations between student’s perceptions of school climate and positive outcomes such as higher levels of student engagement (Brackins, 2022; Konold et al., 2017) and self-esteem (Coelho et al., 2020), these results provide opportunities for researchers and practitioners to consider how to better support young adolescents in the middle school context.

Authors

• Sarah E. Pennington, Montana State University

• Rana Taheri, Montana State University

• Elizabeth Green, Montana State University