NCJ Number
79334
Date Published
Unknown
Length
46 pages
Annotation
Findings and recommendations are presented from an assessment of strategies used under the Student-Initiated-Activities (SIA) model of the School Crime Intervention Component (referred to as Activity II) at each of the 10 Teacher Corps Youth Advocacy projects.
Abstract
The Activity II component derived from an interagency agreement between the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Teacher Corps of the U.S. Office of Education. The SIA concept of youth participation in improving school climate was the major concept driving the 10 projects. Each project was committed to demonstrating how the SIA model could be used to reduce crime and its associated fears in school settings. The cross-project evaluation has been based on systematic analysis of the individual projects' proposals and quarterly reports, as well as site visits. Findings show that SIA's tended to be more strongly emphasized at the lower grade-level project sites than at those operating in senior high schools. Among the projects located in large cities, those that elected to operate primarily outside the school site developed stronger SIA components, largely because the school administration took a more authoritarian stance toward student activity. SIA's directed specifically toward improvement in school climate seemed consistently to avoid issues involving social relations among students. There is a clear trend toward implementation of SIA-oriented curriculum in school credit classes, both in regular subject matter areas and Activity II student training. The principal recommendation is that early emphasis should be placed on student SIA action teams, with a longer range goal of incorporating adults in the SIA action teams. Students should be given a major role in allocation of resources, including project staff time and money earmarked for SIA projects. Introducing SIA's in school settings requires that teachers be trained in the philosophy, language, and purposes of such programs. Tabular data are provided.