School Team Approach - Phase I Evaluation

• NCJ Number: 88689
• Author(s): D Daniels; V Neto; C Yamasaki; J Grant
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 145 pages
• Grant Number(s): 77-NI-99-0012; 78-JN-AX-0016
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Social Action Research Ctr
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This Phase I evaluation (1 year) of the school team approach to preventing and countering school crime considers student and teacher pre- and post-test perceptions of school crime, whether intervention was implemented as intended, and whether the teams behaved as expected by the intervention model.

Abstract

The program intends to develop, through regional training and technical assistance, school teams composed of representatives of various disciplines and orientations bearing upon the education enterprise and crime in the schools which will develop crime prevention and education programs tailored to the special needs of their schools. Nationwide, the program is being implemented by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Education Program of the U.S. Office of Education. The program's structural elements are (1) a central staff in Washington to provide overall leadership in planning and maintenance, (2) a nationwide network of top consultants on alcohol and drug problems and on education who can be deployed as needed, (3) a central data base to compile and distribute information on the entire system, (4) five regional training centers, and (5) school/community teams trained and supported with technical assistance by the training centers. Data on student, teacher, and principal views of crime in the schools were obtained shortly after the teams returned from training (pre-test) in the spring of 1977 and again in the spring of 1978 (post-test). The teams were responsible for the collection of the data. Eighty teams were evaluated. Data show that in schools with more effective teams, students report greater school safety on the post-test than on the pre-test. The effect is stronger for reports of decreased victimization than for reports of improved climate. Team effectiveness is unrelated to change for teachers. Attention is given to the effectiveness of the different programs developed by the teams in favorably impacting particular settings. Tabular data and 43 references are provided.