Gary D. Gottfredson

School Climate Predictors of School Disorder: Results from a National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools

Hypotheses about the association of school organizational characteristics with school crime and disorder were tested in a nationally representative sample of 254 secondary schools. Relatively small intra-class correlations suggest that most of the variance in the individual measures of school disorder result from within-school rather than between-school variation. Therefore only a small portion of this variation is potentially explainable by between-school influences. Nevertheless, school climate explained a substantial percentage of the variance in all measures of school disorder, controlling for the effects of community characteristics and school student composition. Schools in which students perceived greater fairness and clarity of rules had less delinquent behavior and less student victimization. Rule fairness and clarity did not influence teacher victimization. Schools with more positive psychosocial climates had less teacher victimization, but climate did not influence student victimization or delinquent behavior.

Quality of School-Based Prevention Programs: Results from a National Survey

A national probability sample of 3,691 school-based prevention activities operating in the spring of 1998 is used to describe the quality of implementation of typical school-based prevention practices, compare the quality of implementation of prevention practice with what is typical in prevention research, and test hypotheses about predictors of the quality of implementation. Results indicate that the quality of school-based prevention practices as they are implemented in the typical school is low. The examination of correlates of prevention quality suggests that the level of implementation of prevention practices can be improved through better integration of these activities into normal school operations; more extensive local planning and involvement in decisions about what to implement; greater organizational support in the form of high-quality training, supervision, and principal support; and greater standardization of program materials and methods. Implications for practice are discussed.

What schools do to prevent problem behavior and promote safe environments.

This article reports results from a survey conducted in a probability sample of U.S. public, private, and Catholic schools to obtain information about the nature and extent of activity to prevent problem behavior. Principals of 848 schools (66%) completed an initial questionnaire to identify prevention activities and arrangements; principals of 635 schools (50%) completed a second questionnaire to describe discipline practices. Results imply that schools engage in a large number of activities ranging from security and surveillance, through school climate change, to counseling and curricular or instructional programs. Most schools have strict rules about dangerous behaviors. Suspension is used extensively to respond to student misconduct, yet many schools fail to use the full range of available responses to desirable and undesirable behavior, and the consistency of responses is not always high. There is room for improvement in the area of school discipline management, but making rules stricter or increasing the use of suspension and expulsion appear unnecessary. Many of the activities in which schools are engaged to promote safety and prevent problem behavior have not been the subject of evaluation, so research provides little information about the effectiveness of what schools now do. The large quantity of prevention practices undertaken in the typical school raises the question of whether so many different activities can be carried out in a high quality fashion.

Social Area Influences on Delinquency: A Multilevel Analysis:

One research tradition in criminology has focused on the distribution of crime rates among social areas, and a second tradition has examined the distribution of crime among individuals. Rarely are both traditions combined in a single study. This study explores social area influences on the delinquent behavior of 3,729 adolescents who are clustered within diverse social areas. The research examines mechanisms through which the characteristics of social areas—measured independently of the characteristics of the individuals—contribute to the explanation of individual delinquent conduct. Results imply that social areas have a small effect on individual delinquent behavior. Individuals living in areas characterized by weakened family units and social disorganization report more negative peer influence and less attachment and commitment to school than do individuals living in more organized areas. Results imply that these intermediary effects produce more male aggressive crime. Females in disorganized areas also report more aggressive crimes, but the effect is only partially mediated by the theoretical intervening variables in the model. On the other hand, males living in more affluent areas report more property crimes. This area effect is present regardless of the age, race, or socioeconomic status of the respondents and is not mediated by social bonding or delinquent associates.

School predictors of the intensity of implementation of school-based prevention programs: results from a national study.

Research has indicated that the effectiveness of school-based prevention programs is affected by the implementation quality of these programs. As the importance of implementation has become clearer, researchers have begun to examine factors that appear to be related to implementation quality. Data from a nationally representative sample of 544 schools were used to examine structural equation models representing hypothesized relationships among school and program factors and implementation intensity, controlling for exogenous community factors. Significant relationships were found between implementation intensity and several school and program factors, including local program development process, integration into school operations, organizational capacity, principal support, and standardization. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention to Prevent Problem Behavior in a Disorganized School

We assessed the effectiveness of two realizations of cognitive–behavioral instruction in an inner-city middle school with high rates of absenteeism, low staff morale, and chronic low academic achievement. Implementation measures showed that 68% of intended instruction was delivered in the first realization. Self-report measures showed improved school conduct, less victimization in school, and more positive peer associations for the treatment group than for the comparison group at the end of the school year. Treatment students were less likely to leave the school than were comparison students, but were more often absent and tardy. Implementation was poorer in the second realization, and there were no treatment–comparison differences on self-reports or teacher ratings, but treatment students less often left the school. Difficulties in conducting instruction in difficult settings may limit the effectiveness of otherwise efficacious interventions. Specific intervention programs may offer minimal benefits if more basic school improvements are not achieved.

A Multimodel School-Based Prevention Demonstration

A school-based, multicomponent drug prevention model operating in a middle school in Charleston, South Carolina was evaluated. The project included schoolwide curricular changes, instructional changes, changes to school nonns aimed at all staff and students in the school, and changes targeting the 10% of the students in the school judged to be at highest risk for drug involvement. The evaluation results to date indicate a positive effect of the program on grade point average and a decrease in peer drug influence for high-risk program students as compared with high-risk comparison students. Although some negative effects also were observed during the 1992-1993 school year, those were likely a result of the mix of services provided that year and the influence of variables outside theframework of the program. As the services were modified, the negative effects disappeared. Morefine-grained analyses are under way.

Can Prevention Work Where It Is Needed Most

This article addresses the generalizability of research showing that certain preventive interven tions reduce youth involvement in undesirable behaviors A middle school with multiple organ izational problems attempted to implement a comprehensive prevention program aimed at increasing social competencies, social bonding, and school success using program components that had been demonstrated in prior research to reduce problem behavior The program never reached the expected levels of implementation, and no dependable effects on youth behaviors or attitudes were observed. The results are placed in the context of research that has repeatedly shown that prevention programs work best in amenable settings.

Interests, Aspirations, Self-Estimates, and the Self-Directed Search

This article discusses the meaning of vocational aspirations, competency self-estimates, and ability self-ratings assessed by the Self-Directed Search (SDS). It describes views on the role of learning in the development of vocational interests expressed by E. L. Thorndike and E. K. Strong and the more recent views on interest development expressed by J. L. Holland. The article suggests that self-estimates and self-ratings may be interpreted as type-specific self-efficacy expectations as described by A. Bandura and that vocational aspirations may often resemble goals. Evidence of the predictive value of classified aspirations and of self-estimates is discussed. It is concluded that Holland’s theory of vocational personalities provides an organizing typology that is compatible with ideas derived from social-cognitive theory and goal theory, and the SDS provides a tool for assessing constructs drawn from the latter theories.

A School-Based Social Competency Promotion Demonstration.

A comprehensive, school-based, instructional and social competency promotion program to prevent problem behavior was attempted in a troubled middle school. The program included components aimed at increasing social competencies as well as components to increase social bonding and school success. The evaluation of the 5-year effort showed that it was ineffective. The program never reached the expected levels of implementation, and no dependable effects on youth behaviors or attitudes were observed. The results are interpreted within the context of what is known about the quality of implementation and the organizational climate within which the demonstration was attempted.