Our Middle Years - Department of Education and Communities ...

ConclusionStudents moving through the Middle Yearstoday are very different from any generationof students we have taught in our schools.It is our collective responsibility to assist ouryoung adolescent learners to manage thecomplex changes and challenges they areexperiencing. Middle Years’ students needto develop a positive sense of self and a deeprespect for others.This Strategy acknowledges the diversebackgrounds of our Middle Years’ students.We need to understand and adapt the ways inwhich we teach, guide, encourage and relate tothese students within the context of our growingknowledge about how they think, developand learn.We must recognise and respond to the facttechnologies are increasingly shaping their livesand defining 21st century learning environments.These students engage with information andcommunication technologies as powerfullearning tools within and outside their classrooms.They have access to immediate connections withthe global community.This Strategy focuses attention in our publicschools on the specific needs of youngadolescent learners and provides a coherent andcoordinated response to those needs.Implementation of this Middle Years Strategywill continue to strengthen the quality of publiceducation in NSW.14