Dialogues in Middle Level Education Research: Insights from the Amle New Directions 2021 Roundtable Discussions

This book echoes and enhances the generative, dialogic, knowledge-building process that took place at the AMLE 2021 conference, reflecting the way in which middle-level researchers work collaboratively and draw ideas and inspiration for their studies from prior research and accounts of practice, as well as their own experiences in the field.

Each of the five sections features a recent study presented at the roundtable session at the 2021 AMLE conference, accompanied by two companion pieces offering different perspectives on the work. In the latter, the authors enrich and extend the original research by incorporating feedback from the conference session discussions, revisiting their findings and conclusions, considering alternative approaches to further research, and proposing new or clarified implications for practice. Addressing themes across theoretical frameworks and diversity of research design, and with topics ranging from music education to teacher agency and the productive struggle, the volume crucially presents and discusses recent innovations in the field with a view to prompting future research questions and deeper inquiry.

As such, it will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of middle level education, educational research, and specifically research methods in education. Those interested in teaching and learning, and adolescent development more broadly will also benefit from this volume.

David C. Virtue is the Taft B. Botner Distinguished Professor of Middle Grades Education at Western Carolina University, USA.