Middle Years of Schooling – EDUC 5269

Literature Review
Student ID: 110200784

1. Define the ‘middle years of schooling’

In Australia, the schooling system has traditionally been distinguished by a primary sector and a
secondary sector (Sullivan 2019). The transition between these two sectors’ can be difficult for many
students. This transitional phase can be referred to as the ‘middle years of schooling’ (Pendergast et
al. 2017). Pendergast (2017), describes middle years education as the ‘schooling undertaken by
students aged from around eleven to fifteen years old and in years 5-9 in schools which can vary
between state’s, territories and internationally’. Chadbourne (2001), shares a similar view on the
time period classified as ‘middle years of schooling.’ He goes on to describe middle school as ‘an
organisational unit, separate from primary and secondary school that provides education for
students in the middle years.’ (Chadbourne 2001). This period of schooling for many students is
quite difficult and presents many challenges which will be discussed within this paper. The
importance of middle years education is often overlooked. It is a time when students feel more
disengaged, bored, alienated and disinterested than at any other time over their schooling journey
(Sullivan 2019). The middle years is a transitional phase where students move from the ‘student-
centred’ learning within the primary system to the ‘teacher/curriculum-centred’ learning within the
secondary system (Sullivan 2019). Through this phase, many students begin to fall behind and
experience a decline in achievement (Sullivan 2019). This paper will discuss current pedagogies and
practices in place to assist students within the ‘middle years of schooling’ and whether the concerns
facing middle years students manifest the need for an educational reform in Australia.

2. Examine the problems related to middle years students’ experiences at school in Australia

As mentioned previously, the middle years of education is a challenging time of life for some
students. The middle years are undertaken by adolescents. The World Health Organisation (2019)
defines adolescents as ‘a person in the process of developing from a child into an adult.’ During this
period of adolescents, the amount of physical, psychosocial, emotional and cognitive changes that
occur are second only to that of the changes experienced in the first two years of life’ (Pendergast et
al. 2017). These changes mixed with the transition from primary to secondary education, creates a
highly stressful time for students. Research shows that Australian students experience higher levels
of pressure from schoolwork than students in most other developed countries (Redmond et al.
2016). This extensive pressure is common during the middle years of schooling and is closely
associated with psychosomatic health complaints (Redmond et al.).

The transition from primary school to secondary school can be seamless for some, yet quite
daunting for others. According to Sullivan (2019) there are numerous concerns for students facing
this transition period. These include but are not limited to:

- A small school to a large school

- An integrated classroom style to a school organised in curriculum areas
- Being one of the oldest students to one of the youngest
- A close relationship with one teacher to a less close relationship with many teachers
- Having much responsibility and leadership to less or no responsibility and leadership
- Being attached to one classroom to moving between classrooms and having to take
responsibility for being in the right place at the right time
- Interacting with a small group of peers to interacting with a large group of peers
 - A teaching and learning environment requiring few organisational skills to one demanding
many
- A classroom environment where one subject may flow into another and where activities can
be completed to one which is more fragmented; and Particular pedagogical approaches and
assessment styles to significantly different ones.” (Sullivan 2019)

The concerns stated above resonate closely with many students entering the transition period. A
study conducted by Lawrence et al. (2016), shows that poor mental health, attention deficit
disorders and sleeping difficulties are on the rise. As mentioned previously, Australian students are
some of the most stressed in the world, and this transition period only increases the stress placed on
these students. Many schools are attempting to minimise the fear and daunting aspects of the
transition period in numerous ways. Things such as site visits, orientation days, teacher meetings
and buddy systems are different ways that schools are attempting to combat this transition issue
(Pendergast 2017). Not only does the transition phase affect student mental health, it also has a
major impact on student behavioural issues. Student suspensions, feelings of disengagement and
school dissatisfaction are at their highest during the middle year’s (Sullivan 2019).

A major concern for students in the middle years system, is the rate of suspension. Suspension is
classified as being forced to be absent from school for a period of 1-5 days (Sullivan 2019). The
Australian DECD suspension (2019) data shows that students aged 13-16 years old currently have a
47.1% likelihood that they will be disciplined with a suspension. This is a dramatic increase from
25.4% for 10-12-year old’s and 5.0% for students over 16 years of age. This rate of suspension is
something which needs to be carefully investigated as many students are missing out on valuable
information presented in classes missed through suspension. The use of suspension as a behavioural
management tool runs counter to many educational philosophies of inclusion and educational
opportunity (Hemphill 2017). Students are suspended for many different things, from violence to
disrupting class. Although suspension is sometimes needed to ensure a safe learning environment, it
is only a short-term solution. Suspension is what is known as a reactive approach to managing
behaviour. Moving forward, it is important for teachers to understand the importance of pro-
actively managing behaviour.

Chan 2015, describes engagement as ‘when a person is cognitively, behaviourally and emotionally
involved in learning activities and maintaining a heightened sense of concentration, interest and
enjoyment during those activities.’ Pendergast et al. (2017) supports the notion that engagement is
not only a key to student learning, but also for managing behaviour. When students are engaged in
the lesson and learning area, they are less likely to misbehave or feel alienated (Pendergast 2017).
For educators, keeping a room full of students engaged, is a highly complex task. Gibbs and Poskitt
(2010) identified eight interrelated factors which influence student engagement. These include:
‘relationships with teachers and peers, relational learning, disposition to be a learner, motivation
and interest, personal agency and cognitive autonomy, self-efficacy, goal orientation and academic
self-regulated learning’ (Gibbs and Poskitt 2010). Different tasks and learning area’s promote
different levels of engagement in different students.

Mcdonald (2013) discus’s the importance of the ‘three phase positive learning framework’. The
model is a useful tool for managing behaviour. The three phases are made up of self-awareness and
management plan, lesson design and low-level responses to behaviour. The first phase is about
establishing class expectations, rules and procedures at the beginning of the year. The second phase
refers to the quality of each lesson and how it is delivered to the students. The third and final phase
refers to managing behaviour in a minimalistic way to prevent class disruption. Mcdonald (2013),
recommends this model for educators to improve their quality of teaching. The development of this
model is aligned with Pendergast (2017) who confer the importance of planning, organisation and
lesson delivery to maximise student engagement and minimise behavioural issue’s (Pendergast
2017). Furthermore, Thomson (2002) developed the concept of the ‘virtual schoolbag.’ The virtual
schoolbag describes the notion that all students bring different ‘familial, cultural and linguistic
resources’ into the classroom. As an educator, it is critical to include these resources where possible.
The acknowledgement and application of these resources will further increase engagement in the
classroom and improve student-teacher relationships (Pendergast 2017). This could be as simple as
allowing students to choose their own cultural background to research or do a small presentation on
a previous holiday.

According to Pendergast (2017), the most significant factor in creating a positive middle years’
experience and improving student achievement, is the quality of teaching they are exposed to.
Pendergast (2017), also reports that there has been a significant decline of quality teaching in middle
years education. A study conducted by Hattie (2003) investigated the effect of quality teaching and
concluded that quality teaching accounts for around ‘30 percent of student achievement’. Every
educator should aim to deliver the highest quality teaching wherever possible. Unfortunately, there
is no blueprint or single standard that will work in every classroom. As mentioned previously, one of
the biggest difficulties facing educators is ensuring that lessons are inclusive and engaging for all
students in a class. The MYSA (2008) study highlights seven practices as highly important for quality
teaching in the ‘middle years’ of schooling. These are:

 higher order thinking strategies

 integrated and disciplinary curricula that are negotiated, relevant and challenging
 heterogeneous and flexible student groupings
 cooperative learning and collaborative teaching
 authentic and reflective assessment with high expectations
 democratic governance and shared leadership
 parental and community involvement in student learning

Pendergast (2017) agree, that to maximise student achievement, educators should implement the
above practices where possible. It is however, known through the Redmond 2016 study that these
practices are currently not being implemented throughout Australian middle years to the standard
that they should be. The study shows that for year eight students, school satisfaction and feelings of
teacher support are at their lowest. High proportions of year eight students also reported that their
parents ‘never or almost never’ communicated with their teachers. These findings indicate the need
for the above seven practices to be implemented in Australian middle years schooling with higher
importance.

The need for reform

The RAND corporation 2019, describes an educational reform as ‘any planned changes in the way a
school system functions, from teaching methodologies to administrative processes. With this
definition in mind, an education reform will involve people within different roles in the education
system. Change will happen through policy makers and officials, however, will need to be
implemented further down by teacher’s, principle’s and the entire school (Hattam & Sullivan 2016).
The findings of this paper have manifested the importance of looking into the benefits of an
educational reform. The findings have highlighted the difficulties currently facing middle years
education, from high levels of stress and anxiety to suspension’s, there is a need for improvement.
Moving forward, middle years education will require a change in learning environment. There should
be a larger emphasis on authentic assessment, where students are able to contextualise their
learning with real world scenario’s (Hattam & Sullivan 2016). Their needs to be a larger emphasis
placed on educational, personal and social development of each individual student (Sullivan 2019).
As mentioned at the beginning of this paper, middle years education is a time of major development
for students. Gonski et al. (2018), believes that for schools to be as successful as possible, they must
adapt to the constantly changing needs of students. If an educational reform was to occur, it is
critical for schools to cater as well as possible, for the different needs and capabilities to maximise
student learning and minimise behavioural issues.

References:

Dinham, S & Rowe, K 2007, Teaching and learning in middle schooling: a review of the literature,
Australian Council for Educational Research, Auckland, New Zealand

Gibbs, R & Poskitt, J 2010, Student engagement in the Middle Years of Schooling (years 7-10): A
literature review, Ministry of Education New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand

Gonski, D et al. 2018, Through growth to achievement; Report of the review to achieve educational
excellence in Australian schools, viewed 9 April 2019, < https://www.appa.asn.au/wp-
content/uploads/2018/04/20180430-Through-Growth-to-Achievement_Text.pdf>

Hattam, R & Sullivan, A 2016, ‘Promoting pedagogies of engagement in secondary schools:

possibilities for pedagogical reform’, Challenging Dominant Views on Student Behaviour at School,
ch. 4, pp. 45-61

Hattie, J 2003, ‘Teachers make a difference: What is the research evidence?, Australian Council of
Educational Research, Auckland, New Zealand.

Hemphill, S et al. 2017, Positive associations between school suspension and student problem
behaviour: Recent Australian findings, Australian Government, viewed 8 April 2019, <
https://minerva-
access.unimelb.edu.au/bitstream/handle/11343/161190/Hemphill_suspension_tandi531.pdf?
sequence=1>

Lawrence, D et al. 2016, ‘Key findings from the second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of
Mental Health and Wellbeing’, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 50, no. 9, pp.
876-886.

Mcdonald, T 2013, Classroom management engaging students in learning, Oxford University Press,
South Melbourne, Victoria.

Middle Years of Schooling Association (MYSA) 2008, MYSA Position Paper: Middle schooling: people,
practices and places, MYSA, Brisbane.

Rand Corporation 2019, Education Reform, Rand Corporation, viewed 7 April 2019, <
https://www.rand.org/topics/education-reform.html>

Redmond, G., Skattebol, J. et al. 2016, Are the kids alright? Young Australians in their middle years:
Final report of the Australian Child Wellbeing Project, Flinders University, University of New South
Wales and Australian Council for Educational Research, viewed 7 April 2019, <
http://australianchildwellbeing.com.au/sites/default/files/uploads/ACWP_Final_Report_2016_Full.p
df>
South Australia Department for Education 2019, Statistics and reports about sites, students and
staff, Government of South Australia, viewed 8 April 2019, <
https://www.education.sa.gov.au/department/about-department/statistics-and-reports-about-
sites-students-and-staff>

Sullivan, R 2019, Middle Years of Schooling: EDUC 5269, lecture recording 1April 2019, University of
South Australia, viewed 4 April 2019, <
https://unisa.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=bec929d9-9b20-4284-8865-
a9ea00b39579>

Sullivan, R 2019, Middle Years of Schooling: EDUC 5269, lecture recording 25 March 2019, University
of South Australia, viewed 4 April 2019, <
https://unisa.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=bec929d9-9b20-4284-8865-
a9ea00b39579>

Sullivan, R 2019, Middle Years of Schooling: EDUC 5269, lecture recording 18 March 2019, University
of South Australia, viewed 4 April 2019, <
https://unisa.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=bec929d9-9b20-4284-8865-
a9ea00b39579>

Sullivan, R 2019, Middle Years of Schooling: EDUC 5269, lecture recording 4 March 2019, University
of South Australia, viewed 4 April 2019, <
https://unisa.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=bec929d9-9b20-4284-8865-
a9ea00b39579>

World Health Organization 2019, Adolescent development, WHO, viewed 8 April 2019, <
https://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/adolescence/development/en/>