Directions for New Research: Middle-Level Curriculum

• In Event: Contributions and Connections: Establishing a Comprehensive Agenda for Middle-Level Education Research

Abstract

Purpose
Our purpose was to review the literature on middle level curriculum to identify and analyze extant empirical research and theoretical pieces, identify current themes, and create research questions emanating from established themes and gaps in literature.

Perspectives
Our work is grounded in the foundational work of middle grades education including Bishop and Harrison’s (2021) The Successful Middle School: This We Believe. Our perspective has been to interrogate the current literature on middle grades curriculum, using Bishop and Harrison’s framework, with an emphasis on equity. For instance, we strove to determine what the literature describes in terms of how current school curricula are “challenging, exploratory, integrative, and diverse” (p. 27), and how schools use these curricular areas of emphasis to create opportunities for equity.

Methods & Data Sources
We focused on publications from 2015 through the present in order to extend and expand the work of the previous MLER SIG Research Agenda. Our literature review began with an examination of middle grades focused journals, and then expanded to relevant articles in broader curriculum journals. Search parameters included:
Search terms: Middle grades/middle level; middle school; young adolescents; curriculum; interdisciplinary; integrated.
Peer-reviewed;
Full text available in English;
State, national, and international outlets;
Casting a wide net - not just a focus on empirical/research specific journal articles.
Following the identification of sources and manuscripts that fit our search terms, we created a process-oriented document in which we identified key terms in the abstract and text for each publication. After the identification of these terms, we used a thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) to categorize the terms, create initial themes from the categories, and then further distill the themes into agreed upon final themes and areas for inquiry.

Results
Our literature review, grounded in our group perspective of equity, illuminated several areas for future scholarship – practical, theoretical and empirical. One major finding has been the lack of empirical research supporting the framing of middle grades curricula around the principles of The Successful Middle School (Bishop & Harrison, 2021). The preponderance of manuscripts are either theoretical or practical in nature; few empirical studies were identified, suggesting the need for more qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies. The majority of articles discussed curriculum, either theoretically or practically, in the context of specific content areas (e.g., English language arts, mathematics). We also noted a lack of discussion of interdisciplinary or integrated curricular approaches. Another major opportunity for research relates to the current socio-political context of education, which has evolved since the previous publication of the MLER SIG Research Agenda. This includes interrogating policy surrounding curriculum and its effect on curricular enactment. Our literature review demonstrates the need for middle grades scholars to interrogate the moment in terms of curriculum and equity.

Scholarly Significance
This work contributes to a comprehensive literature review on middle level education. It builds on the 2016 MLER SIG Research Agenda by identifying current themes and gaps and opportunities in middle grades curriculum research to guide future research.

Authors

• Christopher S. Weiler, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

• Steven B. Mertens, Illinois State University

• James F. Nagle, Saint Michael's College

• Stacie Kae Pettit, Georgia College & State University