Schooling And Student Perceptions

SCHOOLING AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS: UNDERSTANDING MEANING AND RELEVANCE OF THE PLACE CALLED SCHOOL IN THE LIVES OF MIDDLE SCHOOL CHILDREN By Andrew T. Garcia Full Text Paper Available by request This research explored the meaning of school for middle school students from their point of view. The study was conducted, in part, to allow the underrepresented voices of adolescents to be documented in an educational study. A focus was on how school is perceived and experienced by middle school students. The existing literature demonstrated a need for investigations of schooling from the point of view of young adolescents since most studies have inferred student perspectives from studies of programs, curriculum and teachers. Interpretivist and phenomenological research methods were used. Focus Groups, a survey, several questionnaires and interviews were used as data collection methods. Analysis was done by coding responses and by listing student responses allowing for a stream of middle school consciousness to emerge for the reader. Findings illustrated a high degree of focus on teachers and their modes and attitudes in school. Students indicated a desire for more activity based learning at school and for more input into the curriculum. Co-researchers overwhelmingly indicated that school was both a place to learn AND a place to socialize. Full Text Paper Available by request