Middle Schools Should Be Both Learner-Centered and Subject-Centered.

An issue facing many educators is whether middle schools should be learner-centered or subject-centered. While some learner-centered educators advocate that the child must be more important than the subject matter, other educators explain that the current emphasis on test scores and academic standards means that teachers must make subject matter competence and overall academic achievement their foremost priority. In truth, the most effective middle school educators focus both on learners and subject matter. Rather than viewing the issue from an "either-or" perspective, perceptive educators realize the need to emphasize both learner-centered and subject-centered perspectives.

The Subject-Centered Middle School

While exceptions exist, most subject-centered schools for young adolescents patterned themselves after junior high school models. Although some junior high school educators are undoubtedly concerned with young adolescents' development and overall welfare, preparing students for high school by emphasizing subject matter continues to be the overall mindset. In this context, educators give little attention to learners' developmental needs and interests.

Although the number of junior high schools has declined, subject-centered schools continue to exist. Educators in subject-centered schools greatly emphasize subject matter, focus on cognitive development and acquisition of knowledge, underscore the importance of textbooks and curriculum guides as sources of knowledge, concentrate on group welfare, stress large-group instruction and lectures, and focus on main ideas and methods of inquiry.

Taking a subject-centered perspective does not mean that educators lack concern for or commitment to their students. However, most feel their primary obligation (in some cases, the only obligation) is to develop students' subject matter expertise, even if it means ignoring students' developmental needs and interests.

The Learner-Centered Middle School

During the 1950s and 1960s, questions arose whether the junior high school actually served the needs and interests of young adolescents. Debate over these concerns resulted in junior high school reform and the emergence of the middle school and learner-centered perspectives. In order to promote learner-centered perspectives, the middle school took advantage of several education concepts such as exploratory programs, adviser-advisee programs, and positive school climates. While educators were concerned with subject matter and academic achievement, they also addressed young adolescents' physical, psychosocial, and cognitive development.

Today, educators in learner-centered middle schools direct more of their efforts toward the learner rather than the subject, emphasize overall well-being and self-esteem, stimulate and facilitate student involvement, focus on students' individuality, use small groups, try to address young adolescents' personal and social problems, seek students' input on content to be studied and instructional methods, and emphasize independence and self-determination.

Learner-centered educators provide developmentally appropriate educational experiences that emphasize learners' knowledge as well as their physical, psychosocial, and cognitive development. The curriculum, instructional methods and materials, guidance efforts, and overall learning environment demonstrate an understanding of the early adolescence developmental period, specifically young adolescents' needs, interests, and perspectives. Similarly, learner-centered educators recognize and address young adolescents' cultural and gender differences.

The "Either-Or" Dilemma

The adoption of learner-centered or subject-centered perspectives often results in an "either-or" dilemma whereby teachers steadfastly hold to a single perspective. The common wisdom is that the former perspective focuses on the subject at the expense of the learner, while the learner-centered educator emphasizes the learner at the expense of the subject.

Realistically, productive educational efforts require a careful balance of both perspectives. Teachers can hold high expectations for their students' subject matter competence, as they consider individual learners' needs.

Learner-Centered and Subject-Center Perspectives

Middle school educators who emphasize both learner-centered and subject-centered perspectives:

* Provide exploratory programs that reflect learners' developmental interests and needs, while reinforcing content in the middle school curricula

* Ensure that all students have opportunities to participate in heterogeneous learning communities and co-curricular activities

* Ensure a safe and positive learning environment that carries high expectations for both behavior and academic achievement

* Provide an integrated curriculum and instructional methods that consider young adolescents' social and personal concerns

* Support teachers who can just as readily nurture young adolescents as they can insist upon their subject matter competence and academic achievement

* Strive to provide learners with genuine learning activities to apply a variety of cognitive skills (e.g., communicating, computing, and researching), as well as reflective thinking, problem-solving, and social skills

* Provide learning materials that address the dangers of at-risk conditions and behaviors (e.g., eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, and pregnancy), as well as suggestions for resisting the peer pressure to engage in harmful behaviors.

Concluding Comments

Middle school educators often feel that they must choose between the learner-centered or subject-centered perspectives of middle school education. Some feel they should emphasize learner-centered approaches in order to address young adolescents' developmental and personal concerns and interests. Others feel that adopting learner-centered approaches ignores the importance of subject matter. Such contrasting perspectives often limit educators' efforts-adopting both learner-centered and subject-centered perspectives holds the best potential for nurturing young adolescents, while simultaneously ensuring subject matter competence and academic achievement.

The purpose of this column is to stimulate debate of timely issues affecting children, youth, and families. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of Childhood Education or the Association for Childhood Education International.

Permission to reproduce this column intact is not required. Copyright [C] 2000 Association for Childhood Education International.

M. Lee Manning is Professor, Educational Curriculum and Instruction, and Katherine T. Bucher is Associate Professor, Educational Curriculum and Instruction, and Graduate Program Director for Elementary and Middle School Education, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.