List of Tables

Acknowledgments

List of People

Introduction: Social Class and Adjustment to School in Rural Places

1. A Methodology for Research with Young Students

Part I—The Towns

Introduction
2. Hillside—On the Way to Somewhere Else
3. Lakeview—Journey's End
Conclusion

Part II—The School and its Teachers and Students

Introduction
4. Mountainview Middle School
5. Sixth Grade Hopes, Seventh Grade Discoveries
6. A Transition for Parents and Teachers
7. Classrooms, Teams, and Teaching Styles
8. How Students Shape Less-Structured Environments
Conclusion

Part III—The Emotional, Participatory, and Academic Realms of Students' Lives

Introduction
9. Peer, Home, and School Self-Esteem
10. Extracurricular Participation
11. Ability Grouping
12. Success and Struggle in the Transition to Middle School
13. Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice

Appendix 1. Comparisons of Educational and Economic Factors
Appendix 2. Rubric for Defining Socioeconomic Status Categories
Appendix 3. Recommendations of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development
Appendix 4. Student Questionnaire
Appendix 5. Table of Self-Esteem Means
Appendix 6. Student Participation Survey
Appendix 7. Town and Gender Comparisons of California Achievement Test Scores

Notes

References

Index