Discuss the three independent views on the association between school failure and delinquency. Explain your view on these associations

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• School failure is a direct cause of delinquent behavior. Children who fail at school soon feel frustrated and rejected. Believing they will never achieve success through conventional means, they seek out like-minded companions and together engage in antisocial behaviors. Educational failure evokes negative responses from important people in the child's life, including teachers, parents, and prospective employers. These reactions help solidify feelings of inadequacy, and in some cases, lead to a pattern of chronic delinquency.
• School failure leads to emotional and psychological problems that are the actual cause of antisocial behavior. Academic failure reduces self-esteem, and reduced self-esteem is the actual cause of delinquency. Studies using a variety of measures of academic competence and self-esteem demonstrate that good students have a better attitude about themselves than poor students; low self-esteem has been found to contribute to delinquent behavior. The association then runs from school failure to low self-concept to delinquency. Schools may mediate these effects by taking steps to improve the self-image of academically challenged children.
• School failure and delinquency share a common cause. Both are caused by another condition, so while it appears that school failure precedes and causes delinquency, the association is actually false and spurious.
• Student views will vary.