This systematic review analyzes the research literature on student voice and agency in the middle grades, focusing on middle-level schools, culture, and learning environments. The idea of student voice and agency was taken up as collaborative decision-making and/or student feedback on issues related to school and pedagogy. After a comprehensive search for peer-reviewed research (2015–2024), an article review framework was developed to determine how, where, and why student voices and agency were engaged in the middle grades. Three themes characterized the research literature: (1) passive student voice and agency: researcher-driven studies to gain understanding; (2) active student voice and agency: partnering with students to improve their learning experiences; and (3) activating the inner voice and agency: helping students to reflect on their own learning. The research on student voice and agency provided information that directly and indirectly benefited students. The literature related to passive student voice and agency tended to be indirect, while active student voice and agency and activating students’ inner voice and agency tended to provide tangible and observable student benefits. While the studies were responsive to different aspects of young adolescent development and included foci on students’ social/emotional development and identity, other areas were lacking—including culturally responsive teaching, international perspectives, and sense of self/peer perceptions.

This scoping literature review explores parent interactions with teachers and school environments at the middle level, particularly how parents and teachers perceive middle school environments and parent–teacher relationships, the strategies that schools use to foster parent–teacher collaboration, and the impacts of these interactions on students. The research team identified 14 peer-reviewed studies from 2015 to 2024 that focused on parent interactions with teachers and school environments at the middle level, including parent and teacher perceptions of school environments and parent–teacher relationships and collaborations. The findings revealed a common disconnect between how parents and teachers view school environments, but also showed that intentional, structured communication can help to bridge these gaps. The review also highlights that research on strategies to enhance parent–teacher partnerships is limited and context-specific. Based on this review of the literature, more research is needed on how home–school relationships benefit diverse middle school communities and how collaboration can support student success, particularly during the critical middle school years.