Unpacking a successful middle school characteristic: Curriculum that is challenging, exploratory, integrative, and diverse

Abstract

The Association for Middle Level Education’s (AMLE) germinal publication, The Successful Middle School (Bishop & Harrison, 2021) provides a roadmap for developmentally and culturally responsive middle level education. The articles in this issue of Middle School Journal (MSJ), all center one of the characteristics that defines a successful middle school: Curriculum is challenging, exploratory, integrative, and diverse. Few people would disagree with the importance of this statement, but what does it really mean for middle schools to exemplify these attributes? Challenging learning opportunities, according to AMLE’s (2019a) position statement on curriculum, instruction, and assessment: