Research to Guide Practice in Middle Grades Education

Research to Guide Practice in Middle Grades Education, edited by P. Gayle Andrews and published by the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) in 2013, is a collection of essays on various aspects of middle level education. Forty-four authors contributed to this volume; there are 31 chapters, including an overview and an epilogue by Andrews.

The purpose of this book, Andrews (2013) wrote, is “to help pull middle grades education out of the shadows and into the story and ongoing dialogue about what should and could be happening in schools serving young adolescents” by drawing on research (p. 1). Middle grades education, she noted, has been in a “shadow land” while high school and elementary education have enjoyed more attention and resources from federal and state policy and legislation (p. 1). The chapters in this volume are grounded in research but presented in accessible language in order to be useful to a range of stake holders in middle grades education, from policy makers to administrators, teachers, and teachers educators and researchers.