A WORK SHOP FOR TEACHERS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A GANG PREVENTION PROGRAM
Ramsey, Rust and Sobel (2003) report that of the many gang prevention programs that have been developed and tested over the years, one of the most effective is the Gang Resistance and Training (GREAT) program which was originally developed in 1991 solely for middle school students but has now expanded to include K-12 students. The goal of GREAT is to teach young people to set goals, resist peer pressure, resolve conflicts and learn about how gangs can negatively affect the general quality of their lives. As the authors note, the effectiveness of this program has been outstanding and there is a real need for school teachers, counselors, and administrators to be aware of what this program can do to help prevent gang violence in their schools. Informing school faculty and administration about the program and inspiring them to implement it is a practice that holds a great deal of promise in the area of gang prevention. The purpose of this project is to design a workshop that makes teachers, counselors, and administrators aware of the GREAT program.
As noted by Ramsey, Rust and Sobel (2003), the GREAT program has a long history of success in terms of gang prevention. Following their original development and implementation of the program, Esbensen and Osgood (1999) found that in their sample of almost 6,000 students at 11 schools, youth who completed the program were less likely to join gangs. They also increased their gang-related knowledge, and had higher rates of prosocial behavior than did a comparison group that did not participate in the program. The researchers also found that students exposed to the program had fewer delinquent friends, higher self-esteem , lower rates of drug use and minor delinquent offenses, and were more committed to school success.
In Ramsey, Rust and SobelÆs (2003) expansion of Esbensen and OsgoodÆs (1999) research, the ...