NCJ Number
225277
Date Published
2008
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Based on a field survey of 3,003 students in secondary schools located in deprived neighborhoods in France, this study examined whether the minority ethnic constituency of youth gangs in France was linked to the ethnic characteristics of the schools in gang neighborhoods.
Abstract
The findings indicate that school policies designed to remove hardcore gang members (approximately 5 percent of the students) from schools in gang-infested neighborhoods in France would do little to change the factors that produce gangs and adversely impact most youth in a school district, whether or not they are gang members. This study concludes that it is in the schools where the socioeconomic backgrounds of students are adverse to their positive development that delinquency is the most frequent and severe; however, there is evidence that the deficiencies and problem behaviors that students bring with them into the school environment is not the whole story regarding their problems in the school environment. The study found that although the schools involved in this study were located in similar socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods, the behaviors and attitudes of students while in school differed. This suggests that the behavior of the school staff and the organization of classes according to academic achievement may influence students’ attitudes and behaviors toward school. When students who underachieve and misbehave are grouped together, it can be expected that they perceive themselves as inferior to and isolated from the students who comply with school norms for achievement and correct behavior. This suggests that schools must find better ways to manage and interact with ethnic minority students so that the deficits they may bring to school are addressed in a positive way. 4 tables, 5 notes, and 22 references