Promise and Problems in Two Divergent Pathways: Preparing Social Studies Teachers for the Middle School Level

Middle school education is failing to meet the intellectual needs of young adolescents, yet there is little research that examines how teachers are prepared to work at the middle level. In this article, I discuss findings from a semester-long, qualitative case study that examined how the elementary and secondary teacher education pathways at one institution prepared social studies teachers for the middle school level. The study reveals several key findings which help explain why many middle level social studies teachers may not be fully prepared to meet the needs of their young adolescent students. In order to prepare social studies teachers who can engage and challenge young adolescents' minds, teacher educators in both elementary and secondary programs must devote further attention to the preparation of middle level teachers.