Schooling and Delinquency (From Handbook on Crime and Delinquency Prevention, P 179-221, 1987, Elmer H Johnson, ed. - See NCJ-105398)

• NCJ Number: 105405
• Author(s): J D Hawkins; D M Lishner
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 43 pages
• Sale Source: Greenwood Publishing Group
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This paper examines evidence of the relationship between delinquency and student attributes and between delinquency and school characteristics, followed by a review of the impact of a range of school-based prevention programs on student misbehavior and delinquency.

Abstract

Evidence from individual-level and aggregate-level studies shows a correlation between school-related factors and delinquency. Although causality has not been conclusively established, evidence links delinquency and student attributes, including low ability level, conduct disorders in early elementary school, poor academic performance by late elementary grades, learning disabilities, dropping out, association with delinquent peers, and inadequate bonding to conventional persons and norms. Evidence also shows that school characteristics such as large size, impersonal climate, inadequate learning reinforcements, and inconsistent rule enforcement contribute to delinquency. Promising school-based prevention strategies include programs that enhance the school and classroom environment, early education programs that increase educational opportunities for high-risk youth, and alternative education programs that make the educational experience more rewarding. School-based programs, however, have had only marginal effects on seriously disturbed and underachieving youth. 172 notes and 7-item bibliography.