NCJ Number
147797
Date Published
1973
Length
104 pages
Annotation
This study examines attitudes toward society's major socializing institutions on the part of known male gang members attending an innovative high school, It also attempts to determine the extent to which known male gang members who attend the program differ in their attitudes over a period of time from each other and from known male gang members who attend traditional high schools.
Abstract
The following conclusions may be drawn from the data reported in this study. Known male gang members who applied to the special program had significantly more positive attitudes toward the concept of school than did male gang members who did not apply. Known male gang members who were in the program for two or more years had a significantly more negative attitude toward the concept of gangs than did known male gang members who were in the program for 1 year or less or known male gang members who attend traditional school. The findings of this study suggest that attendance in an innovative alternative school does have implications for those interested in altering the impact of gang activity on educational climates and the role that schools can play in changing the behavior of individual gang members. Footnotes, tables, bibliography, appendixes