NCJ Number
205512
Date Published
2004
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This publication reports on a series of studies focusing on the role of education in promoting individual life chances and preventing offending behavior in young people in the United Kingdom.
Abstract
The four studies whose results comprise the volume of this publication include: (1) the Crime Reduction in Secondary Schools (CRISS) Programme, which was an evaluation of a large-scale school-based program designed to identify measures to effectively reduce actual and potential youth offending; (2) the Alternative Education Initiatives (AEI's), which involved an assessment of sex case study AEI's to gauge their success is re-engaging youth in education; (3) the Children Missing From Education study, which explored the problem of school truancy and the relationships between school absences and criminal involvement; and (4) the Behavior Management for Looked After Children in Residential Care, which involved an examination of the behavior management approaches in three local authority residential care homes. Practical lessons are extracted from each study for review by the practitioner community as examples of the range of research on how education can reduce youth involvement in criminal behavior. Following the executive summary and introduction, in which three broad groups of school-based programs are identified (social development models, programs to reduce aggressive behavior, and programs to reduce bullying), the third section goes on to identify lessons learned from the research studies examined here: the CRISS program, the evaluation of sex AEI's, the research into truancy, and the research concerning the behavior management of youth in residential care. Textboxes identify the CRISS interventions by national classification and the attendance management and monitoring systems of the CRISS project. Approaches of Home-School Liaison Officers are examined, as are the operations of internal referral units. Key success factors are enumerated for each of the interventions or approaches described. The final section presents conclusions and key learning points, which underscore the importance of establishing relationships between schools and young people and the role of parents in engaging their children in education and steering them away from crime. An appendix offers references and a reading list. Appendix, textboxes