Educators’ Perceptions of Middle Level Education in a State without a Middle Level Teacher Credential

The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) presents a framework of middle level education and defines five essential attributes and 18 characteristics of successful middle schools (Bishop & Harrison, 2021). Young adolescents’ unique cognitive, moral, socio-emotional, and identity development is at the center of this framework. Several empirical studies suggest that middle school teachers with specialized preparation performed better in many key areas than their counterparts with elementary or secondary licensure (Mertens et al., 2005; Ochanji et al., 2016). Despite researchers’ calls for specialized preparation of middle grades teachers. California does not offer a middle level teacher credential. The purpose of this exploratory survey study was to investigate the current state of middle level education in California