I've never taught middle school, but I'm certain that it's a difficult job. Consider what's at
stake. Middle schools have to help their young students learn as much as possible, so
they'll be prepared to succeed in junior high school, high school, and beyond. At the
same time, the quality of students' relationships with each other must also be considered,
because peer relations promote individual development, health, and well-being. How can
middle school teachers and administrators optimally balance these goals? Are there
approaches to middle school education that work better than others? If so, what are they?
A team of psychologists at the University of Minnesota set out to answer these questions
in a most powerful way. They performed a meta-analysis, a research method that
meaningfully summarizes the results of dozens or even hundreds of prior studies that
have all examined the same is...
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