Gender, Risk, And Resilience In The Middle School Context

Understanding the ways in which gender is related to stress and coping during early adolescence can help school social workers responding to common difficulties that arise during the middle school years. The relevance of gender to social work practice in the middle school is explored by examining three domains of importance to young adolescents: academic achievement, puberty and sexuality, and mental health. Although school social workers in middle schools often respond to individual students\u27 needs and difficulties, this article suggests that a systemic perspective on those difficulties that asks serious questions about puberty and gender is vitally important. Enabling students and those who care for them to step back and ask questions pertaining to gender will lead to a better understanding of the systemic forces that foster risk and resilience during the middle school years