Local monitoring in Swansea, Wales has identified a strong link between school exclusion and youth offending. This precipitated the establishment of the Promoting Positive Behaviour (PPB) initiative. A questionnaire based on the Mooney Problem Checklist (MPCL) was completed by 162 (124 control and 38 experimental) Year 10 and Year 11 pupils in Swansea. The research investigated differences in the extent of problems experienced by pupils who had been excluded from school and those who had not. Results show that pupils in Swansea who have been excluded report a range of problems at higher levels than non-excluded pupils. This indicates that PPB’s focus upon reducing disaffection and maintaining young people in schools may ameliorate problems and prevent associated problem behaviours such as offending.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anderson, B.et al. (2001) Risk and Protective Factors Associated With Youth Crime and Effective Interventions to Prevent it. Youth Justice Board Research Note No. 5, London, Youth Justice Board .
2.
Audit Commission (1996) Misspent Youth: Young People and Crime. London, Audit Commission .
Brophy, J. and Good, T.L. (1986) Teacher Behaviour and Student Achievement, in Wittrock, M.C. (Ed.) Handbook of Research on Teaching. New York, Macmillan .
5.
Catalano, R.F. and Hawkins, J.D. (1996) The Social Development Model: A Theory of Anti-social Behaviour, in Hawkins, J.D. (Ed.) Delinquency and Crime: Current Theories. Cambridge University Press .
6.
DfEE (1993) Education Act 1993. London, HMSO .
7.
Dolan, L. , Kellam, S. and Brown, C.H. (1989) Short-term Impact of a Mastery Learning Preventive Intervention on Early Risk Behaviours. Baltimore, John Hopkins University .
8.
Domino, G. and DeGroote, M.V. (1978) A Comparison of Counselling Seekers and Non-seekers on the Mooney Problem Check List . Journal of College Student Personnel. 19: 33-36 .
9.
Farrington, D.P. (1996) Understanding and Preventing Youth Crime. York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation .
10.
Farrington, D.P. (2002) Developmental Criminology and Risk-focused Prevention, in Maguire, M. , Morgan, R. and Reiner, R. (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology.3rd edn.Oxford University Press .
11.
Farrington, D.P. and Loeber, R. (1999). Risk Factors for Delinquency Over Time and Place . Youth Update. 17: 2, 4-5 .
12.
Fink, A. (1995) How to Design Surveys. London, Sage .
13.
Fleming, M.B. (1982) Problems Experienced by Anglo, Hispanic and Navajo Indian Women College Students . Journal of American Indian Education., 22: 1, 7-17 .
14.
Flood-Page, C.et al. (2000) Youth Crime: Findings from the 1998/99 Youth Lifestyles Survey. Home Office Research Study 209. London, Home Office .
15.
Goldblatt, P. and Lewis, C. (1998) Reducing Offending: An Assessment of Research Evidence on Ways of Dealing with Offending Behaviour. London, Home Office .
16.
Gottfredson, M. and Hirschi, T. (1990) A General Theory of Crime. Stanford CA, Stanford University Press .
17.
Gottfredson, D.C. (2001) Schools and Delinquency. Cambridge University Press .
18.
Graham, J. and Bennett, T. (1995) Crime Prevention Strategies in Europe and North America. Monsey, New York, Criminal Justice Press .
19.
Graham, J. and Bowling, B. (1995) Young People and Crime. Home Office Research Study 145. London, Home Office .
20.
Haines, K. , Jones, R. and Isles, E. (2001) The Causes and Correlates of School Exclusion: Can Targeted Social Provision Prevent School Breakdown? Promoting Positive Behaviour in Schools. Spotlight 58. Cardiff, Wales Office for Research and Development .
21.
Hargreaves, D.H. (1982) The Challenge for the Comprehensive School: Culture, Curriculum and Community. London, Routledge .
22.
Hawkins, J.D. and Catalano, R.F. (1992) Communities that Care. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass .
23.
Hawkins, J.D. and Lam, T. (1987) Teacher Practices, Social Development and Delinquency, in Burchard, J.D. and Burchard, S.N. (Eds.) The Prevention of Delinquent Behaviour. Newbury Park CA, Sage .
24.
Herrenkohl, T.I.et al. (2001) School and Community Risk Factors and Interventions, in Farrington, D.P. and Loeber, R. (Eds.) Child Delinquents: Development, Intervention and Service Needs. London, Sage .
25.
Hulbert, J. and Lehmann, D.R. (1972) Are Three Point Likert Scales Always Good Enough?Journal of Marketing Research. 9: 444-446 .
26.
Hundleby, H.D. and Mercer, G.W. (1987). Family and Friends as Social Environments and Their Relationship to Young Adolescents’ Use of Alcohol, Tobacco and Marijuana . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44: 125-134 .
27.
Jacoby, J. and Matell, M.S. (1971) Three Point Likert Scales Are Good Enough . Journal of Marketing Research. 8: 495-506 .
28.
Lipsey, M. and Derzon, J. (1998). Predictors of Violent or Serious Delinquency in Adolescence and Early Adulthood, in Loeber, R. and Farrington, D.P. (Eds.) Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders: Risk Factors and Successful Interventions. California, Sage .
29.
Mooney, R.L. and Gordon, L.V. (1950) The Mooney Problem Check List. New York, Psychological Corporation .
30.
National Assembly for Wales (2000) Better Wales. Cardiff, National Assembly for Wales .
31.
National Assembly Policy Unit (2002) Extending Entitlement: Support for 11 to 25 year olds in Wales. Direction and Guidance. Cardiff, National Assembly for Wales .
32.
Piperato, D.F. and Roy, J.R. (2002) Transforming school culture.
33.
34.
Robins, L.N. (1980) The Natural History of Drug Abuse . Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia. 62: 284, 7-20 .
35.
Sampson, R.J. and Laub, J.H. (1993) Crime in the Making: Pathways and Turning Points Through Life. Harvard, Harvard University Press .
36.
Sherman, L.et al. (1998) Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn’t, What’s Promising. Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Baltimore, University of Maryland .
37.
Smith, R. (1998) No Lessons Learnt: A Survey of School Exclusions. London, The Children’s Society .
38.
Social Exclusion Unit (2000) Report of Policy Action Team 12 ‘Young People’. London, Social Exclusion Unit .
39.
Tryon, G.S. (1984) Validity of a 42 Item Mooney Problem Checklist Scale for Cunselling . Journal of College Student Personnel. 25: 281-282 .
40.
United Nations (1989) United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF .
41.
Walsh, W.B. and Betz, N.E. (1995) Mooney Problem Checklist Form A (Adult Form). Tests and Assessment. 3rd edn.New York, The Psychological Corporation .
