Where the action is: Exploring adolescents’ perspectives of middle school social venues

Abstract

Hallways, cafeterias, buses, bathrooms, locker rooms, and other spaces in and around school property serve as venues for positive and negative social processes. Middle school educators can gain important insights into the adolescent world by exploring student perspectives of these spaces vital to middle school social experiences. Often unseen or misunderstood by adults, the social processes in these spaces may facilitate social and emotional growth or may serve to harm students through various forms of victimization. Exploring young adolescents' perspectives of the social processes in these spaces is vital if educators are to address concerns and advocate for policy or procedure changes in these school environments, if warranted.

Making Space: Exploring the “Thirdspace” of Breaktime in Middle School

“…Biag (2014) engages a class of gifted students in an exploration of an urban school environment, and finds that in places such as a particular bathroom or crowded hallway, students feel unsafe and identify a need for more adult supervision. The students in a midwestern, midsize city middle school observed by Wellenreiter (2021) identify similar school venues as places for social interaction, but they identify a need for less supervision and more autonomy coupled with better communication about behavioral expectations. Adolescent students in Canada report that the school yard is a high frequency location for bullying and that adult presence alone is insufficient to counteract these behaviors (Vaillancourt et al, 2010).…”

“…The concept of “space” at middle school has been previously investigated, although studies do not concentrate explicitly on breaktimes. In studying space, researchers have looked to students themselves to identify the school spaces in which interactions occur, and how the spatial location affects their feelings about those encounters (Biag, 2014; Wellenreiter, 2021). How students relate to one another is context driven.…”