CHAPTER 10: Reflections on Shared Middle Level Experiences: A Case Study

This We Believe (National Middle School Association [NMSA], 2003) divides characteristics of middle schools into two parts. One part focuses on aspects of school culture, while the other addresses what successful schools should provide. Several important characteristics of school culture are addressed in this study, including:

This narrative inquiry relied on personal reflections, written by four middle school teachers who taught together in the same middle school for a number of years, to provide the basis for an instrumental case study (Stake, 2003). The intention of this inquiry was to examine which aspects of middle school shared experiences shaped teachers’ attitudes and subsequently influenced career goals. This study sought to answer the question, “What characteristics of the work environment motivate middle school teachers to pursue advanced degrees?”