Educating Delinquents - A Review of Research

• NCJ Number: 70114
• Journal: Journal of Special Education Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (1977) Pages: 13-27
• Author(s): E E Gagne
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This review of empirical research on the education of delinquents covers delinquents' problems in school achievement, their psychological characteristics, and their physiological problems.

Abstract

The survey reveals that highly structured educational programs are most likely to prove successful and that delinquents have particular problems with verbal communications and reading. Furthermore, the studies indicate that (1) delinquency may be a reaction against school failure; (2) an early manifestation of delinquency is truancy; (3) some persons who possess a very low level of intrinsic physiological arousal may become high stimulation seekers and be more prone to delinquent behavior than low stimulation seekers; (4) delinquents may experience delayed maturation; and (5) 12 times the normal incidence of speech disorders has been found for delinquents of both sexes. (6) Other studies find that most adjudicated delinquents come from the lower social classes; (7) although low intelligence is not seen as a cause of delinquent acts, the mean IQ of delinquents is below average; (8) brighter delinquents have more severe psychiatric disorders, and their offenses are more often of psychological origin; (9) boys nominated by teachers as 'good boys' generally have a favorable self-concept, while those nominated as 'bad boys' have unfavorable self-concepts; and (10) male delinquents are characterized by a desire 'to be somebody'. (11) Delinquents receive less disciplinary control from their parents than do nondelinquents; (12) the juvenile recidivism rate may be lowered by improving the communication patters within the families of delinquents; and (13) behavior modification programs have been much more successful in remediating delinquents' educational problems than in lowering recidivism rates. Other results are also reviewed. Researchers and study dates are identified, and approximately 150 references are provided.