Journal Article

School Delinquency and School Commitment

Jenkins, Patricia H.

1995

Overview

This article examines the influence of personal background characteristics, family involvement, and ability grouping on school commitment, which, in turn, affects the extent of students' participation in school crime, school misconduct, and school nonattendance. Observational and survey data from a sample of 754 middle school students in Grades 7 and 8 support the hypothesis that decreasing levels of school commitment are linked to increasing rates of school crime, school misconduct, and school nonattendance. Personal background, family involvement, and ability grouping help to explain the level of school commitment. Higher school commitment is associated with being female, White, in the eighth grade, and in high-ability mathematics classes. Youths with more educated mothers and youths whose parents are highly involved in their schooling are also more educationally committed. School commitment mediates much of the effects of personal background, family involvement, and ability grouping on the school delinquency measures. These findings can serve as a basis for early school-based delinquency prevention efforts.

• Publisher: American Sociological Association,Payne Educational Sociology Foundation, etc
• Subject: Ability / Ability Grouping / Attendance / Behavior Problems / Crime / Crime in schools / Criminal justice / Delinquency / Delinquency Causes / Delinquency Prevention / Educational Change / Educational Environment / Educational Ideologies / Educational Objectives / Factors / Families & family life / Family (Sociological Unit) / Family Influence / Family school relationship / Grade 7 / Grade 8 / Grouping (Instructional Purposes) / High School Students / High schools / Intermediate Grades / Job Skills / Juvenile delinquency / Learning Processes / Middle School Students / Middle schools / Misconduct / Parents / Personal characteristics / Personality / School attendance / School commitment / School functioning / School Role / Schools / Secondary school students / Sex Differences / Siblings / Social Problems / Social research / Socialization / Sociology / Sociology of education. Educational systems. Lifelong education / Student Alienation / Student Behavior / Student Characteristics / Student Participation / Students / Teachers / USA