NCJ Number
125548
Date Published
1990
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes the purposes, structure, content, and effectiveness of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Law-Related Education (LRE) program, a law education curriculum for elementary through high school students.
Abstract
In teaching students about law, LRE involves students in a particular case or situation that affects the way they live their lives by impacting students' personal decisions on drugs, driving, respect for property, and respect for life. No single format or lesson plan dominates the LRE approach. LRE strategies may be inserted as a course or as part of existing courses, as a full curriculum for kindergarten through 12th grade, as a special event for all students on a particular day, and as a series of courses offering special opportunities for students interested in public service. LRE programs teach objective facts on civil, criminal, and constitutional themes, but communicate them through the immediacy of group process. Mock trials, role playing, debates, writing of persuasive briefs, police ride-alongs, home security audits, case studies, and legislative assemblies are some of the teaching methods used. Some LRE evaluations indicate the program has produced increased student understanding of the law and an increased willingness to avoid delinquent behavior. Some vignettes on the way LRE is used throughout the Nation are provided. Names and addresses of LRE State coordinators are listed.