By Dr. Tina Marshall-Bradley
The state of South Carolina has identified the need to do a better job of educating middle school students through a focus on the preparation of middle school teachers, support of middle schools across the state, and extra support for middle school students and their families. Faculty members in the School of Education at Claflin University are actively engaged in the process of improving the overall condition of education in the state through their research on practical approaches that can be used by teachers of middle level students.
The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) reviewed reports on the education of adolescents in the last ten years. The reports found that there were significant gaps in eighth-grade student achievement and especially among youth living in rural areas when compared with their counterparts across the United States. Too many students leave the middle grades performing below the basic level in reading, mathematics and science. Inadequate preparation for high school also is evident from the higher failure rates that now occur in grades nine and 10. Data from six states reveal that the percentage of students retained at grade nine is four to six times higher than the average for prior grade levels. These and other data indicate that more attention must be given to this special population of students in South Carolina.
Drs. Courtney Howard and Robert Vanderburg, both Assistant Professors in the School of Education have published articles in the most recent issue of the South Carolina Middle School Association Journal. Under the area of Practical Ideas for the Classroom, Dr. Howard’s article titled “Bulletin Board Dilemmas” provides teachers with assistance in engaging middle level students in science-technology-society (STS) dilemmas via values clarification. Dr. Vanderburg’s article is listed under the section titled, Research that Makes a Difference. His paper titled “Dialogism: Guiding Middle Level Students’ Talk to Academic Discussion” provides methods for using student talk to develop thinking and higher level literacy skills among middle level students enrolled in English courses.
South Carolina faces two distinct and pressing issues in education. One is the need for highly qualified middle level teachers. Claflin University is addressing this need through their middle level education program on campus as well as at Ft. Jackson. The second problem faced by the state is adequately meeting the needs of current middle school students so that they are prepared for high school and beyond. Faculty members in the School of Education are actively engaged in the development of practical approaches that can be used by middle level teachers in the classroom to improve student learning outcomes for middle school students in South Carolina.
The South Carolina Middle School Association Journal can be accessed and the full articles can be read at http://scmsa.org/journal/ .