School from the Young Adolescent's Perspective: A Descriptive Report

Abstract

Despite efforts over the past few decades to provide a better educational environment for young adolescents, little is empirically known regarding the students' perceptions of school. The present study was undertaken to directly tap young adolescents' views about school as they progressed from elementary to junior high school. As part of a larger research project, 335 sixth grade students (153 boys and 182 girls) were randomly selected from two successive cohorts and followed longitudinally through the eighth grade. Structured interview data pertaining to the students' views and attitudes about various aspects of school, as well as school reported grades, were collected each year. Several important findings emerged in the areas of: (1) academic concerns and preferences, (2) grades, (3) extra curricular activities, (4) the relative importance of athletics, popularity, and academics, (5) views about the transition into junior high, and (6) trouble-causing activities. Among the most striking findings were: (1) grades declined significantly over the years, (2) academics were generally more important than athletics or popularity (especially for boys), (3) there were few significant sex differences in regard to athletics, and (4) the transition to junior high school went better junior high deserves more empirical and critical attention.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alexander, W. , & Williams, E. (1965). Schools for the middle years. Educational Leadership, 23, 217-223.

Baltes, P. B. (1968). Longitudinal and cross-sectional sequences in the study of age and generation effects. Human Development, 11, 145-171.

Blyth, D. , Simmons, R. , & Bush, D. (1978). The transitions into early adolescence: A longitudinal comparison of youth in two educational contexts. Sociology of Education, 51, 149-162.

Blyth, D. , Simmons, R. , & Carlton-Ford, S. (1983). The adjustment of early adolescents to school transitions. Journal of Early Adolescence, 3, 105-120.

Brooks, K. , & Edwards, F. (1978). The middle school in transition. CPD Memorandum. Center for Professional Development, College of Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

Crockett, L. , Losoff, M. , & Petersen, A. C. (1984). Perceptions of the peer group and friendship in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 4M, 155-181.

Crockett, L. , Schulenberg, J. E. , & Petersen, A. C. (In preparation). No kidding: Self report vs. objectively verifiable data.

Educational Research Service (ERS) (1983). Organization of the middle grades: A summary of research. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service, Inc.

Eichhom, D. (1966). The middle school. New York: Center for Applied Research in Education.

10.

Hartup, W. W. (1978). Perspectives on child and family interaction: Past, present, and future. In R. M. Lerner & G. B. Spanier (Eds.), Child influences on marital and family interaction: A life-span perspective. New York: Academic Press.

11.

Hartup, W. W. (1979). The social worlds of childhood. American Psychologist, 34, 944-950.

12.

Hill, J. (1983). Early adolescence: A research agenda. Journal of Early Adolescence, 3, 1-21.

13.

Kavrell, S. M. , & Petersen, A. C. (In press). Patterns of achievement in early adolescence. In M. L. Maehr , & M. W. Steinkamp (Eds.), Woman and science. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

14.

Lerner, R. M. (1978). Nature, nurture, and dynamic interactionism. Human Development, 21, 1-20.

15.

Lerner, R. M. , & Shea, J. A. (1982). Social behavior in adolescence. In B. B. Wohlman (Ed.), Handbook of developmental psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

16.

Lipsitz, J. (1977). Growing up forgotten: A review of research programs concerning early adolescents. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, D. C. Heath.

17.

Lipsitz, J. (1982, March). Successful schools for young adolescents: A report on a report. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York.

18.

Richardson, R. A. , Galambos, N. L. , Schulenberg, J. E. , & Petersen, A. C. (1984). Young adolescents' perceptions of the family environment. Journal of Early Adolescence, 4, 131-153.

19.

Schaie, K. W. (1965). A general model for the study of developmental problems. Psychological Bulletin, 64, 92-107.

20.

Schulenberg, J. E. , Crockett, L. , Abramowitz, R. A. , & Petersen, A. C. (In preparation). The effects of school transitions on early adolescence functioning.

21.

Toffler, C. F. , & Marani, J. V. (1980). School-based research. In J. Johnson (Ed.), Toward adolescence: The middle school years. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

22.

Thornburg, H. (1983). Can educational systems respond to the needs of early adolescents? Journal of Early Adolescence, 3, 23-36.