Adolescents and the high school system

Abstract

This paper studies the social organization of high schools and questions whether the structures of the social systems that have been created meet the developmental needs of adolescents. The need of the schools to change to meet these needs is enhanced because the breakdown of the social networks of society have made schools the only stable psychosocial developmental area for many pupils. Adolescents are considered in their two early stages, early and middle, and the specific needs of these age groups are related to the social organization of the school. In particular, the size of the school, the change in ages of children from school to school, the structure of groups are considered. Necessary changes, if there is to be improvement in teacher-pupil relationships, are discussed.