Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Relationship Between Education and Crime

The link between education and crime has been documented by scholars for decades. The initial data demonstrated a correlation between a childÆs poor performance in school and criminal activity as an adult. Left unanswered is the question of whether poor school performance is a symptom or a cause of a future criminal. This paper will examine the current discussion about the relationship between crime and education, first addressing the theories that underlie all research and then by examining the findings of modern researchers.

All of todayÆs research begins with reference to one of the major theories of delinquency: Strain Theory, Social Control Theory, and Deviance Theory. Strain Theory holds that the problems of adjustment faced by youths in the school setting lead to poor performance and later delinquency. Strain Theory particularly emphasizes the role of class in the educational achievement of young people. The esteem of lower-class youths suffers because of their inability to measure up to the middle-class standards of American education (Cohen 1955).

Another factor affecting dropouts and delinquency are the expectations of young people. Young people generally equate a college degree with monetary success, and lower-class youths are no different in that respect. But the loss of self-esteem from the strain of adjusting to the middle-class educational system leads lower-class youths to the assessment that they have little chance of going to college. Dropping out of school kills any hope of attending college, yet some of these adolescents still harbor goals of monetary success. Such youths have a high probability of engaging in delinquent behavior (Farnworth and Leiber 1989).

Thus, lower-class youths have a low probability of educational success because of the frustration that results from their failure to achieve their goals of acceptance and the middle-class lifestyle (Cloward and Ohlin 1960). This prompt...

Page 1 of 10 Next >

More on Relationship Between Education and Crime...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Relationship Between Education and Crime. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 18:08, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1712888.html