Adolescents from high- and low-income backgrounds were interviewed about their perceptions of their own and others' disciplinary infractions and consequences in school. High-income adolescents reported fewer misbehaviors and behaviors which were playful, whereas those of low-income youth stemmed mainly from anger. Low-income adolescents reported a greater number and variety of penalties that seemed both disproportionate to offenses and humiliating in nature. It is suggested that inequitable school conditions for low-income students influence their behaviors and disciplinary practices contribute to their anger and alienation. Moreover, low-income adolescents' acting-out or withdrawal behaviors are likely to be perceived by others as signs of emotional disturbance and not as legitimate responses to social class inequities in school and society.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AnyonJ. (1980). Social class and the hidden curriculum of work.Journal of Education, 162, 67–92.
2.
BalchR. W., & KellyD. H. (1974). Reactions to deviance in a junior high school: Student views of the labeling process.Instructional Psychology, 1, 25–38.
3.
CastleburyS., & ArnoldJ. (1988). Early adolescent perceptions of informal groups in a middle school.Journal of Early Adolescence, 8(1), 97–107.
4.
EisnerE. (1979). The educational imagination.New York: Macmillan.
5.
EliasM. J. (1989). School as a source of stress to children: An analysis of causal and ameliorative influences.Journal of School Psychology, 27, 393–407.
6.
FineM. (1986). Why urban adolescents drop into and out of public school.Teachers College Record, 87, 393–409.
7.
GirouxH. (1984). Marxism and schooling: The limits of radical discourse.Educational Theory, 34(2), 112–135.
8.
GlaserB. G., & StraussA. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research.Chicago: Aldine.
9.
GoldsteinA. (1987, September). Teaching prosocial skills to antisocial youth. Paper presented at a Psychology Department seminar, Bloomington, Indiana.
10.
GoodT. L. (1983). Student and teacher perceptions: A review of five position papers. In LevineJ. M., & WangM. C. (Eds.), Teacher and student perceptions: Implications for learning (pp. 125–142). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
11.
GrantC. A., & SleeterC. E. (1986). After the schoolbell rings.Philadelphia: Falmer Press.
12.
GuttmanJ. (1982). Pupils', teachers', and parents' causal attributions for problem behavior in school.Journal of Educational Research76(1), 14–21.
13.
HavinghurstR. (1966). Education in metropolitan areas.Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
14.
HeaveyC. L., AdelmanH. S., NelsonP., & SmithD. C. (1989). Learning problems, anger, perceived control, and misbehavior.Journal of Learning Disabilities, 22(1), 46–50.
15.
KornblumW. (1984). Lumping the poor: What is the underclass?Dissent, 64, 295–302.
16.
LightfootS. L. (1981). Toward conflict and resolution: Relationships between families and schools.Theory Into Practice, 20, 97–104.
17.
LindseyJ. D., DanielsV. I., & RutledgeD. D. (1986). The learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency link: A major concern for professionals.High School Journal, 69(2), 126–131.
18.
MacLeodJ. (1987). Ain't no making it: Leveled aspirations in a low-income neighborhood.Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
19.
NewmannF. M. (1981). Reducing student alienation in high schools: Implications of theory.Harvard Educational Review, 51, 546–564.
20.
OakesJ. (1985). How schools structure inequality.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
21.
PinkW. T. (1982). School effects, academic performance, and school crime.Urban Education, 17, 51–72.
22.
RutterM. (1983). School effects on pupil progress: Research findings and policy implications.Child Development, 54, 1–29.
23.
SafranS. P., & SafranJ. S. (1985). Classroom context and teachers' perceptions of problem behaviors.Journal of Educational Psychology, 77(1), 20–28.
24.
SteinbergL. (1987). Single parents, stepparents, and the susceptibility of adolescents to antisocial peer pressure.Child Development, 58, 269–275.
25.
VernbergE. M., & MedwayF. J. (1981). Teacher and parent causal perceptions of school problems.American Educational Research Journal, 18, 29–37.
26.
WeinsteinR. S. (1983). Student perceptions of schooling.Elementary School Journal, 83, 285–312.
27.
WillisP. (1977). Learning to labor: How working class kids get working class jobs.New York: Columbia University Press.
28.
WilsonW. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
