NCJ Number
131657
Journal
Revija za Kriminalistiko in Kriminologijo Volume: 41 Issue: 3 Dated: (July-September 1990) Pages: 206-217
Date Published
1990
Length
12 pages
Annotation
School is discussed as a central part of the social control network with emphasis on the crucial role of the relationship between the student and the teacher.
Abstract
Schools use the same criteria to assess learning and behavior. They also make learning itself constantly subject to supervision. Therefore, controlling behavior appears to be the main activity in school. The school also criminalizes many events and acts either through institutional approaches or through personal interactions in specific situations, most often involving the teacher and the student. The teacher-student relationship is always unequal, with the teacher discovering, reacting, and labeling the student's positive or negative behavior and also imposing sanctions to obtain conformity and adequate academic achievement. The student experiences school as the agent of control and also forms links with peers. The peers are both sources of social control and criminogenicity. Because school is generally a criminogenic place, it should function preventively and try to achieve behaviorial conformity. The level of juvenile delinquency in a school indicates its level of disorganization; to prevent juvenile delinquency, the school needs specialized "controllers" whose role goes beyond that of promoting education and positive youth development. 39 references (Author abstract modified)