Page 126 - Sociology and You

96 Unit 2 Culture and Social Structures
Survey Research: How Do Schools and Parents Fail Teens?
Adolescence is often marked with drama and difficulty. Jacquelynne Eccles (1993) investigated the experience of American teenagers enter- ing a midwestern junior high school and discovered that some teenage troubles are more than hormonal—they are cultural as well.
Eccles studied 1,500 early adolescents moving from sixth-grade ele- mentary schools to seventh-grade junior high schools. The junior high schools were located in twelve school districts in middle-class Michigan communities. Students filled out questionnaires at school for two con-
secutive years—the sixth and seventh grades. This procedure permitted Eccles to document changes the teenagers experi-
enced after the first year of their transition.
The findings were not encouraging. The relationships
between students and teachers tended to worsen over the year. At the very time when the young adolescents espe- cially needed supportive relationships outside of their homes, personal and positive relationships with teach- ers were strained by cultural and organizational changes
in junior high school.
There was more grouping based on academic
achievement and more comparing of students with one another. This increased emphasis on student ranking comes just when young adolescents are most insecure about their status relative to their peers. In addition, in the junior high culture, the students experienced less opportunity to participate in class-
room decision making.
As a result, student motivation and self-
confidence declined. Eccles concluded that junior high school culture denies adolescents the emotion- ally supportive environment they need for proper social development.
Junior high students who are in supportive environments are more likely to have higher motivation and self-esteem than students in less supportive schools and families.