NCJ Number
97854
Date Published
Unknown
Length
4 pages
Annotation
As part of a series highlighting Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) initiatives related to the International Youth Year, this bulletin surveys the basic concepts of law-related education (LRE) and discusses its relationship to delinquency prevention.
Abstract
LRE makes the law accessible by focusing on issues that students experience in real life -- tenant rights, consumer fraud, juvenile law, and conflicts between rights and responsibilities. LRE is too diverse a field to be implemented through a single program model. Some courses emphasize a substantive approach while others focus on practical skills such as reading a contract or spotting consumer fraud. A conceptual approach teaches the basic principles of justice. LRE teaches good citizenship and is a natural enrichment to a history or government course. An evaluation of LRE programs suggests they have the potential to prevent delinquency by reducing students' tendencies to resolve conflicts by violence, by reducing dependence on delinquent peers, and by developing healthy attitudes toward the legal system. The bulletin defines features of a well-designed LRE program and describes the services offered by OJJDP's LRE National Training and Dissemination Program. Overall, OJJDP is assessing the steps necessary to institutionalize LRE in the school curriculum, expanding evaluation of LRE programs, and providing technical assistance to existing programs. Sources of information and six references are supplied.