Sarah M. Kiefer

Creating a Ninth-Grade Community of Care.

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study analyzed how one large high school created a community of care for ninth-grade students. Data were collected during the 2006–2007 school year, including observations, individual interviews, and focus group interviews of 1 female teacher and 9 of her students. Findings suggest the Freshman Focus teachers and program helped to establish three caring relationships (teacher to program, teacher to student, program to student) that promoted a community of care. The development of positive teacher beliefs about students, supportive teacher–student relationships, and the promotion of academic and life skills may help create a caring community in which students are the primary receivers of care.

Do Gender Differences in Help Avoidance Vary by Ethnicity? An Examination of African American and European American Students During Early Adolescence

The present research examined whether the nature of gender differences varies by race for two types of academic engagement in the classroom (help avoidance and voice with the teacher) in a sample of early adolescents (N = 456; 55% female, 60% African American and 40% European American) making the transition to middle school. Growth curve analyses indicated that help avoidance increased over time, voice remained stable, and achievement declined. In line with hypotheses based on cultural variations in the female role, there were no gender differences in help avoidance for African American students, whereas for European American students, girls were lower in help avoidance than were boys. For African American students, there were no gender differences in voice with the teacher, whereas for European American students, girls were higher than were boys. These group differences were present at all 3 waves. For all students, increases in help avoidance negatively predicted changes in achievement, whereas increases in voice positively predicted achievement. Results underscore the importance of examining gender and ethnicity together to understand academic adjustment during early adolescence.

Help Seeking Among Peers: The Role of Goal Structure and Peer Climate

ABSTRACT With a sample of 373 middle school students, the present longitudinal study examined the role of the classroom peer climate in mediating the relation between perceptions of classroom goal structures and academic help seeking among peers. Classroom goal structures were measured in the fall and classroom peer climate and help seeking among peers were assessed in the spring. Structural equation modeling indicated classroom mastery goal structure directly predicted desirable help-seeking behavior among peers (i.e., high adaptive help seeking and low expedient and avoidance of help seeking). A positive classroom peer climate mediated the effects of classroom mastery goal structure on expedient and avoidance of help seeking. A negative classroom peer climate mediated the effects of classroom performance goal structure on avoidance of help seeking. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Effects of Contextual and Personal Factors on Young Adolescents’ Social Goals

This study investigated the proposal that (a) contextual and personal factors affect the endorsement of social goals during early adolescence and (b) contextual factors and social goals may change over time. Self-reports of classroom contextual factors (i.e., promotion of performance goals, social interaction, and mutual respect) and personal factors (i.e., gender) were used to predict social goals (dominance, intimacy, and popularity goals) when students were in fifth grade and again after the transition to middle school when students were in sixth grade (N = 134; 51% boys, 49% girls). In line with hypotheses, classroom contextual factors were uniquely associated with social goals. There were gender differences in the mean levels and the nature of the relations between perceptions of the classroom context and social goals. Perceptions of social interaction decreased and perceptions of peer support increased after the transition to middle school. Students’ endorsement of dominance and popularity goals increased over time.

The Role of Responsive Teacher Practices in Supporting Academic Motivation at the Middle Level.

Abstract The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to investigate the ways teachers support young adolescents’ academic motivation in one large, urban, ethnically diverse middle school. Data included individual interviews of 24 participants (18 students, 5 teachers, and 1 middle school assistant principal). Findings suggested that the following may support student academic motivation: teacher- student relationships, teacher expectations, and instructional practices responsive to students’ basic and developmental needs. Further, the potential for educators to meet students’ needs and support their motivation may be maximized when such expectations and instructional practices are implemented within the context of high-quality teacher-student relationships. Drawing on the perspectives of both students and educators, these findings extend current research on academic motivation at the middle level by capturing the complexity of the phenomenon. An implication for educators is to understand the ways all three practices may help foster an environment responsive to students’ needs and support motivation. Findings inform middle level educational research and practice, especially in urban, ethnically diverse middle schools.

The Interplay Between Adolescent Needs and Secondary School Structures: Fostering Developmentally Responsive Middle and High School Environments Across the Transition

Understanding the developmental responsiveness of secondary school environments may be an important factor in supporting students as they make the transition from one school to the next. Students’ needs may or may not be met depending on the nature of the fit between their basic and developmental needs and secondary school structures at the middle and high school levels (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Eccles & Midgley, 1989; Eccles & Roeser, 2011; Eccles et al., 1993). Continued research on secondary school structures and how middle and high school environments support students’ needs is warranted (Caskey, 2011). Specifically, there is a need for research that investigates students for an extended period of time across school contexts to gain a more detailed understanding of how their needs are met within structured and unstructured aspects of both environments. Listening to the voices of those intimately involved in the middle-to-high-school transition, including students along with their teachers and school administrators, may help to extend the literature on how such environments are responsive to the needs of today’s adolescents. The current qualitative, constructivist, multi-site case study focused on how students’ needs are met within school environments as they make the transition from middle school to high school.

Instrumental and reactive functions and overt and relational forms of aggression Developmental trajectories and prospective associations during middle school

This study examined the development of adolescent self-reported instrumental-overt, instrumental-relational, reactive-overt, and reactive-relational aggression during middle school (N = 384; 12–14 years; 53% boys). Growth modeling indicated average increases in instrumental-relational aggression, and decreases in reactive-overt and reactive-instrumental aggression over time. Further, overt and relational aggression driven by reactive reasons (functions) predicted gains in aggression driven by instrumental reasons, and overt form of aggression predicted increases in relational form of aggression across time.

Teacher and Peer Support for Young Adolescents’ Motivation, Engagement, and School Belonging

Abstract The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to investigate teacher and peer support for young adolescents’ academic motivation, classroom engagement, and school belonging within one large, urban, ethnically diverse middle school. In the initial quantitative phase, associations among aspects of teacher support (autonomy, structure, and involvement), peer support (academic and emotional), and adjustment (motivation, engagement, and belonging) were examined using student surveys (N = 209, 61% females). In the follow-up qualitative phase, participants elaborated on the ways teachers and peers support young adolescents’ adjustment during individual interviews (N = 18 students, 5 teachers, and 1 administrator). Results indicate teacher and peer support are academic and social in nature and have unique implications for supporting motivation, engagement, and belonging in middle school. By utilizing a mixed methods design and adopting a multidimensional perspective of classroom-based support, our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of teacher and peer support on student adjustment. An implication for educators is for them to understand the ways teacher and peer support may help meet young adolescents’ needs and promote their academic motivation, classroom engagement, and school belonging. Findings may inform middle level educational research and practice, especially in urban, ethnically diverse middle level schools.

Extending a Community of Care Beyond the Ninth Grade: A Follow-Up Study

ABSTRACT This qualitative within-site case study (N = 10) is a follow-up study to a 2006–2007 investigation that analyzed how 1 high school created a community of care for its ninth-grade students through the implementation of a ninth-grade transition program—Freshman Focus. All participants were interviewed again 3 years later during students’ senior year to investigate how Freshman Focus might have fostered a long-lasting community of care that extended throughout students’ high school years. Findings suggest teacher–student and program–student relationships served as ways to foster a community of care that promoted a positive school experience for students. While findings indicate that Freshman Focus fostered a community of care that lasted throughout these students’ high school years, it is unclear whether this caring community extended to the broader school community.