Science in the middle school revisited: contrasting 1965 with 1990

Describing science as middle school students experience it continues to be a challenge. The science that students experience in the classroom is that which their teachers have selected and organized for them. This selection/ organization process is itself guided by the teacher's knowledge base and the expectations of the schooling context. Presented here is a contrast practiced in the middle school in 1990 with 1965. The findings show that while teachers today may be better prepared in terms of academic courses, they are still not being adequately prepared to work with the emerging adolescent in the middle school.