CHAPTER 9:

SCHOOLS AND
DELINQUENCY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should
be able to:
1. Discuss the role the educational experience plays in
human development over the life course
2. Be familiar w ith the problems facing the educational
system in the United States
3. Describe the association between school failure and
delinquency
4. Know about the nature and extent of school crime and its
control
5. Be familiar w ith the legal rights of students
TRENDS IN U.S. SCHOOL
SYSTEMS
▪ Nearly 50 million children
are enrolled in public
schools

▪ More than 1.1 million

(2%) children are
home-schooled

▪ Massachusetts passed the first compulsory

school attendance law in 1852, mandating that
all students between the ages of 8 and 14
attend school for a minimum of three months
each year

1.
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOLS

▪ School plays a significant role in

shaping values of youth
▪Today, more than 90% of school-age
children attend school
▪ School has become the primar y instrument of
socialization
▪Because young people spend a longer
time in school, their adolescence is
prolonged
▪ Young people increasingly rely on school friends
and become less interested in adult role models
EDUCATION TRENDS AND
ISSUES
▪ In 2010, the United States spent $11,826 per full-
time-equivalent (FTE) student on elementary and
secondary education, an amount 39 percent
higher than the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of
$8,501. At the postsecondary level, U.S.
expenditures per FTE student were $25,576, almost
twice as high as the OECD average of $13,211.
National Center for Education Statistics, 2014
▪ There has been some improvement in reading,
math, and science achievement during the past
decade, but improvements have been minimal
▪ Many secondary math and science teachers did
not major in the subjects they teach
 EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS

Average mathematics scores of fourth- and eighth-grade

students, by country: 2007
Grade four Grade eight
Country Average score Country Average score
TIMSS scale average 500 TIMSS scale average 500
Hong Kong SAR 607 Chinese Taipei 598
Singapore 599 Korea, Rep. of 597
Chinese Taipei 576 Singapore 593
Japan 568 Hong Kong SAR 572
Kazakhstan 549 Japan 570
Russian Federation 544 Hungary 517
England 541 England 513
Latvia 537 Russian Federation 512
Netherlands 535 United States 508
Lithuania 530 Lithuania 506
United States 529 Czech Republic 504
Germany 525 Slovenia 501
QUESTION

1. This state passed the first law

providing for mandatory school
attendance.

a. Illinois
b. Massachusetts
c. New York
d. Minnesota
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOLS

▪ Primar y determinant of
social/economic status
▪School itself is an engine of social change
and improvement
▪ African American youth
educated in states where a
higher proportion of their
classmates are European
American experience lower
incarceration rates
ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE AND
EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

▪ Economically disadvantaged
children usually enter school
lagging behind their more
advantaged peers
▪They face substantial gaps in reading and
math proficiency, in prosocial behaviors
and behavior problems, and in readiness
to learn
▪ Many disadvantaged children fail to meet grade -level
expectations on core subjects
▪ They face higher rates of
special education placement
and grade repetition
DROPPING OUT

▪ Nearly 1/3 of all high school students

leave the public school system before
graduating, especially minority
students and students with
disabilities
▪ Effects of dropping out mixed
▪Some say significantly increases
delinquency
▪Some find no link
DROPPING OUT

▪ Reasons for dropping out:

▪Educational factors :
▪ Kids who show disinterest in school are more likely to drop
out - failed courses, low grade point average, absences,
falling behind and getting pushed out

▪Social factors:
▪ Left because they did not like school, they wanted to get a
job, could not get along with teachers, had been expelled
or were suspended

▪ Pover ty and family dysfunction

increase chances of dropping out
RACE AND DROPPING OUT

▪ Minority students drop out at a

higher rate than European American
students
▪ According to Dorn, the relatively high dropout rate
among minorities is the legacy of disciplinary
policies enacted when educational administrators
opposed school desegregation
▪ Dorn believes that the dropout problem is a
function of inequality of educational opportunities,
rather than the failure of individual students
▪ Payne and Welch found that administrators and
teachers in urban schools were more likely to
respond to misbehavior in a punitive, as opposed to
a restorative, manner
JUST THE FACTS PLEASE…..

National Center for Education Statistics, 2010

Dropping Out and Crime –
Current Example
➢ According to a 2009 report by California Dropout
Research Project at UC Santa Barbara, dropping out of
school costs the state $1.1 billion each year. The report
also reveals that compared to high school graduates,
dropouts “earn lower wages, pay fewer taxes, are more
likely to commit crimes, are less likely to be employed,
are more likely to be on welfare, and are less healthy. ”
California High School Graduation Rates show that
African American youths have the lowest graduation
rates (59%), with Hispanics only slightly better (60%);
females of all races are the most likely to graduate.
✓What causes such high dropping out rates among high
school students?
✓How do you explain the correlation between dropping out of
school and crime?
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE &
DELINQUENCY
Mar vin Wolfgang’s Philadelphia
cohort study
▪Low school achievement results in
delinquency
➢Chronic underachievers most likely to be
delinquent
➢No high school diploma = increased risk for
delinquency (9% vs. 74%)
➢It’s a stronger predictor of delinquency than race,
ethnicity, or peer influence
▪School failure and delinquency are related
➢Direct cause of delinquency
➢Leads to emotional/psychological problems that
cause antisocial behavior
➢Share a common cause
SCHOOL FAILURE AND
DELINQUENCY
▪ Three independent views on the
association between school
failure and delinquency are:
1. School failure is a direct cause of delinquent
behavior

2. School failure leads to emotional and

psychological problems that are the actual
cause of antisocial behavior

3. School failure and delinquency share a

common cause
CORRELATES OF SCHOOL
FAILURE
▪Personal problems
▪Dysfunctional family
▪Psychological abnormalities
▪Low self control
▪Social class
▪Lower-class children more likely to drop
out
▪Likely reason is lower economic status
often requires students to work part time
to help family; takes away from time
spent on schoolwork
QUESTION

2. In Marvin Wolfgang’s Philadelphia

cohort study, those who were more
likely to become involved in chronic
delinquency:
a. were raised in two-parent households
b. had few disciplinary actions compared to
non-offenders
c. had diagnosed learning disabilities
d. left school without a diploma
QUESTION

3. Only 9 percent of the chronic offenders in

Wolfgang's Philadelphia cohort study
graduated from high school, compared to 74
percent of non-offenders.

a. True
b. False
CORRELATES OF SCHOOL
FAILURE
▪Tracking
▪Involves dividing students into groups
according to ability
▪Keeps certain students from having any
hope of achieving academic success,
thereby causing lack of motivation, which
can lead to delinquent behavior
▪Alienation
▪Youths who don’t like/care about school
are more likely to be delinquent
DELINQUENCY IN SCHOOL

▪ General victimization
➢Significant portion of juvenile crime occurs during
school day and on school grounds
▪ Teacher victimization
➢Students not only ones being
victimized

▪ Bullying
➢Repeated negative acts committed by one or more youth
against another
➢See Focus on Delinquency p. 236
▪ School Shootings
➢Highly publicized events
➢Profile of school shooters developed
➢Many shooters had history of abuse, bullying, and
perceived lack of support (U.S. Secret Service)
QUESTION

4. There are three independent views on

the association between school failure and
delinquency which of the following
statements does not reflect one of these
three views?
a. school failure is unrelated to delinquency
b. school failure is a direct cause of delinquent
behavior
c. school failure leads to emotional and
psychological problems that are the actual cause
of antisocial behavior
d. school failure and delinquency share a
common cause: social and personal problems
QUESTION

4. Academic tracking refers to:

a. school monitoring student performance
to identify students that need help

b. recording where students end up five years

after graduation

c. dividing students into groups according

to ability and achievement level

d. identifying patterns of delinquency and

victimization inside schools
BULLYING

What are the different types of bullying?

BULLYING

▪ Bullying is the use of one’s strength

or status to intimidate, injure or
humiliate another person of lesser
strength or status
▪ Types of bullying include:
➢Physical bullying: Hitting, kicking, spitting, pushing,
or taking personal belongings.
➢Verbal bullying: Taunting, malicious teasing, name
calling, or making threats.
➢Emotional bullying: Spreading rumors, manipulating
social relationships, or engaging in social exclusion,
extortion, or intimidation.
➢Sexual bullying: Harassment and actual abuse.
➢Cyber bullying: the Internet, cell phones or other
devices are used to send or post text or images intended
to hurt or embarrass another person.
PREVALENCE OF BULLYING

▪ 30% of students were involved in bullying

either as a bully (13%), a victim (11%), or
both (6%).

▪ Bullying has increased in prevalence.

▪ About ten percent of students reported being bullied at
school in the last six months
▪ Bullying varies among ethnic/racial group
▪ Battling the Bully
CONSEQUENCES OF
BULLYING
▪ Bullies and their targets are more likely to
engage in violent behavior; i.e., frequent
fighting or weapons possession

▪ There are short- and long-term consequences

for both the perpetrators and the victims of
bullying

▪ Victims of bullying grow up to have more

depression and lower self-esteem than other
adults
CONSEQUENCES OF
BULLYING
▪ Bullying may be a critical risk factor in
the development of future problems
with violence and delinquency

▪ Children who are bullies are more likely

to
➢feel lonely
➢have trouble making friends, and
➢do not get along well with classmates

▪ Sometimes they are insecure,

embarrass easily, and are fearful of
attending school
CONSEQUENCES OF
BULLYING
▪ Bullies usually have multiple
problems :
➢Abuse animals
➢Vandalize property
➢School drop outs
➢Fights
➢Abuse drugs and alcohol
▪ According to Matt DeLisi, many
of the most serious adult
criminals got their start as
bullies at school
QUESTION

5. According to the text, over 50 percent of

students are bullied in school.

a. True
b. False
QUESTION

6. Which of the following statements about

bullying is false?
a. Studies of bullying suggest that there are
short- and long-term consequences for both the
perpetrators and the victims of bullying
b. Studies suggest that chronically victimized
students may, as adults, be at increased risk for
depression, poor self-esteem, and other mental
health problems
c. Studies suggest that bullying may be a critical
risk factor in the development of future
problems with violence and delinquency
d. Studies suggest that victims of bullying in early
grades are less likely to be bullied later
PREVENTION OF BULLYING

▪ School programs may reduce

bullying
▪Dan Olweus reduced school bullying in
schools in Norway through the Olweus
Bullying Prevention Program
➢Involves school-wide, classroom and individual
inter ventions
➢Rules and sanctions are reinforced through
classroom discussion
➢Parent involvement
➢Mental Health inter ventions
Grandma Bullied – Current
Example http://youtu.be/sBhAxofUAZY

➢ In 2012, Karen Klein caught national and international

attention. Ms. Klein, a school bus monitor, w as taunted,
insulted, and threatened of violence in the Rochester, N.Y.,
suburb of Greece. Perhaps most shocking, her tormentors
were a group of four 13-year-old boys. A 10-minute YouTube
video posted show ed the students calling her "fat," "ugly"
and a "troll," and jabbing her w ith their fingers as she w ept.
The children continued to abuse her verbally after she
removed her sunglasses to show she had been crying.
✓Based on your experience, how prevalent is violence on school
buses?
✓Who should be responsible for the safety of students, drivers, and
school monitors on school buses?
✓Do you think a punitive or restorative approach should be taken to
the bullies? Why?
VIOLENCE AT SCHOOL

▪School violence is a worldwide

problem
▪Juveniles are 75 times more
likely to be murdered away from
school than at school
▪Most victims of school killings
are male and are killed with
firearms
▪Most school crime is non-fatal
SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

▪ Highly publicized events

▪ Many shooters had history of abuse,
bullying, and real or perceived lack of
support from peers, parents, and
teachers
▪ Nature and Extent of Shootings:
▪ Most shootings occurred around the start of the
school day, the lunch period, or the end of the
school day
▪ Shooters were also likely to have expressed some
form of suicidal behavior prior to the shooting
SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

▪Who is the School Shooter?

▪ Shooters developed a plan of attack well in
advance
▪ Experience mental anguish
▪ Come from a wide variety of backgrounds
▪ Have a history of feeling extremely depressed or
desperate
▪ The most frequent motivation was revenge
▪ Most shooters had experience with guns and/or
other weapons
 NEWTOWN, CT.
▪ http://youtu.be/epJo_ic_wds
CRIME TYPE….
REDUCING SCHOOL CRIME

▪ School security effor ts

▪ Locked or monitored doors/gates, limited or
controlled access to campus, metal detectors,
security cameras, and limited access to social
networking websites
▪ Employing law enforcement
▪ Some have undercover officers
▪ Some assign School Resource Officers to work on
campus
▪ Improving school climate
▪ Critics argue that security measures reduce morale
▪ The most effective methods of reducing disorder
and crime in schools includes the encouragement of
order and organization and an emphasis on student-
bonding
ROLE OF SCHOOL IN
DELINQUENCY PREVENTION
▪ Advocates called for reforming
the system to make it more
responsive to needs of students
▪ No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 increased
accountability for schools
▪ School-based prevention efforts:
▪ Cognitive
▪ Affective
▪ Behavioral
▪ Environmental
▪ Therapeutic
LEGAL RIGHTS IN SCHOOL

▪Right to Personal Privacy

▪ New Jersey vs. T.L.O. (1984):
▪ School officials can legally search students when
there are reasonable grounds to believe a student
has violated the law

▪Drug Testing
▪ The Supreme Court allows school authorities to
conduct random drug tests on the grounds that they
are less intrusive than a search of a student’s body
▪ The Court extended the right to test for drugs
without probable cause to all students as long as
the drug-testing policies were “reasonable” (Board
of Education of Independent School District No. 92
of Pottawatomie County el al. v. Earls et al.)
LEGAL RIGHTS IN SCHOOL

▪Academic Privacy
▪The Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act (1974)
▪ Restricts disclosure of infor mation from a student ’s education
records without parental consent

▪In 1994, Congress allowed educational

system to disclose education records under
four circumstances:
①State law authorizes the disclosure
②The disclosure is to a juvenile justice agency
③The disclosure relates to the justice system ’s ability to
provide preadjudication ser vices to a student
④State or local officials cer tify in writing that the institution or
individual receiving the infor mation has agreed not to disclose
it to a third par ty other than another juvenile justice system
agency
LEGAL RIGHTS IN SCHOOL

▪ Two main categories of free

speech:
① Passive speech:
▪ Unless it can be shown that the forbidden
conduct will interfere with the discipline
required to operate the school, the prohibition
cannot be sustained (Tinker v. Des Monies
Independent Community School District, 1969)
② Active Speech:
▪ The Court extended the right of school officials
to censor active speech when it ruled the
principal of Hazelwood School District could
censor articles in a student publication
(Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 1988)
LEGAL RIGHTS IN SCHOOL

▪ Off-campus: The Supreme Court

(2002) ruled that school officials can
control student speech at off-campus
events
▪ Speech in Cyberspace:
▪ The Court noted that as long as the online content
created by a student is his or her own, uses his/her
own resources and is not disruptive to the learning
environment, the student cannot be disciplined
▪ School prayer:
▪ Prayers led by “elected” students undermine the
protection of minority viewpoints – school-
sanctioned prayer is therefore severely limited at
public school events (Santa Fe Independent
School District, Petitioner v. Jane Doe, 2000).
However, space for after-school religious groups
must be provided (Good News Club v. Milford
Central School, 2001).
LEGAL RIGHTS IN SCHOOL

▪School Discipline
▪ Corporal punishment allowed in 20 states
▪ Under in loco parentis:
▪ Discipline is one of the parental duties given to
the school system
▪ In the 1977 case Ingraham v. Wright
▪ Court held that neither the 8th nor the 14th
Amendment was violated by a teacher’s use of
corporal punishment to discipline students
▪ According to the American Civil Liberties Union
and Human Rights Watch, almost a quarter of a
million US public school children are subjected
to corporal punishment each school year
▪ Suspensions/expulsions require due process
hearing (Goss v. Lopez, 1976)
QUESTION

7. In the 1984 United States Supreme Court

case New Jersey v. T.L.O. the court ruled
that students were protected against
unreasonable searches and seizures, but
that school personnel are not bound by the
same restrictions as police officers.

a. True
b. False
QUESTION

8. Which of the following Acts

restricts the disclosure of personal
student information without parental
consent?
a. Taft Hartley Act
b. Bartley-Fox Act
c. Gramm-Newman Act
d. Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act
QUESTION

9. What legal doctrine gives the

schools the right to assume some of
the duties of parents, including
discipline?
a. in loco parentis
b. in prayentis mantis
c. educatum primus
d. investiture
SUMMARY

✓Know the role of education in human development

✓Be familiar with issues facing the U.S. educational
system
✓Understands the hazards facing dropouts
✓Describe the school failure/delinquency association
✓List personal/social factors linked to school failure
✓Discuss factors contributing to school delinquency
✓Know nature/extent of school shootings
✓Be familiar with efforts to reduce school crime
✓Understand types of school-based delinquency
efforts
✓Be familiar with legal rights of students