Life on the Margins: How Academically At-Risk Early Adolescents View Themselves and School

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to explore how academically at-risk seventh graders expressed views of themselves and of school. Previous investigations have provided a profile of marginal high school students as feeling disconnected from the academic world of school. This investigation compared journal entries and interview responses from ten students who had been retained in the seventh grade with ten students with similar academic histories who had been more successful in seventh grade. Results suggested that the two groups expressed similar views of peer and parental relationships. Students who were retained expressed much lower expectations for success than students in the -comparison group. Retained students' perceptions of their academic futures seemed disconnected from present performance and current assignments. These findings encourage middle grades educators to examine their perceptions of students, incorporate more peer interactions into academic activities, and extend efforts to help students reflect upon the relevance of educational activities.