NCJ Number
91626
Date Published
1971
Length
213 pages
Annotation
This book describes the experimental learning environment used at the National Training School for Boys (Washington, D.C.) and discusses how the techniques can be applied at public schools and juvenile institutions.
Abstract
The experiment at the National Training School for Boys involved a total, 24-hour living and learning environment. Initial motivation was provided with payments of money for correct answers and other evidence of academic achievement. Gradually, other reinforcements were added, and the immediate payments were deferred until the schedule of payments-reinforcements matched conditions in the outside world. The boys were offered certain privileges such as private bedrooms, study offices, choice diets, various freedoms, and recreational activities, all of which they paid for with money earned through academic achievement. Ninety percent of the participants showed the equivalent of 4 years of academic growth in at least one subject within 6 months. The project involved 41 juvenile offenders whose crimes ranged from auto theft and housebreaking to rape and homicide. Most of the youths had dropped out of the public schools and had been unresponsive to other institutional educational programs. A followup study indicated that after release, the program students had a recidivism rate two-thirds less than the norm, but by the third year, the recidivism rate was near the norm. The appendixes contain the student's handbook, which provides orientation and guidance for students, and data on a comparison of project participants with other students at the National Training School. Twenty-three references and a subject index are provided.