Every community in this nation wants safe, orderly school campuses, but we remain far from reaching that objective. Crime and safety issues continue to plague America's schools and to interfere with the education of our children. This document provides a framework for school improvement that specifically addresses crime and safety. Chapter 1, "The…

Supporting Greek life has been an important educational initiative for many colleges and universities. Although Greek students are typically involved with the college and community, there are other aspects of Greek culture, such as hazing and alcohol abuse, which are troublesome to university administrators. This document discusses standards, set…

Analyzes the importance of break dancing to a subgroup of Ute and Navajo students at a southwestern high school. Describes the break dancers' interactions with other students, their communities, and their school. Break dancing facilitates intragroup communication, creates a unique group identity, and allows the students a kind of success in…

A view of the high school as ecosystem, with implications for the assessment of behavior in the high school culture." (Author/SP)

Few empirical studies have examined student resistance and counterculture. This paper presents findings of a study that investigated the subjective experience of high school students to understand student resistance to the formal culture of schools. The research used a conceptual framework based on the anthropological concepts of "ritual" and…

Extracurricular activities have long held roles of importance in independent school life. However, schools often assign teachers to oversee extracurricular activities as an afterthought and provide limited resources for extracurricular programs. This paper considers the integral role of activities in independent schools and presents theories of…

Claims that the creation of healthy campus cultures requires reexamination of the values, artifacts, symbols, and rituals held by student subcultures. Such cultures are supported directly or indirectly by universities. Evaluates prospects for change on a campus, ways to understand student subcultures, and how to build new artifacts, traditions,…

This paper outlines a bully-proofing program that aims to shift power away from the fear of bullies to the "silent majority." The Bully Project is a comprehensive systems approach which changes the attitude and environment of the school. It does this by training the staff to recognize the difference between bully and victim behavior and…

One of 52 theoretical papers on school crime and its relation to poverty, this chapter states that careful examination of juvenile crime reveals that it is primarily a subcultural phenomenon. The principal types of juvenile crime, such as drug use, vandalism, and theft, are usually committed by groups with their own distinctive attitudes, values,…

A study that included observations and interviews in street and school settings throughout California and in selected cities nationwide documented the changing nature of gang identity within the broader context of street style and adolescent expression. Suggests that targeting student behavior, as opposed to style of clothing, would be more…

Few schools provide an equitable environment for female and minority students. This paper examined the culture of a high school as it was perceived and experienced by female, at-risk students in grades 9-12. Interviews were conducted with 11 female at-risk students at a high school in the greater New York metropolitan area, their parents,…

Many factors that contribute to a negative school climate also cause discipline problems. Our schools are "rigged," like gambling casinos, in that they must produce a certain percentage of losers. The present school system, in performing its screening role for society, demands that some fail. Students today are aware of this rigging and the…

Due to the increase in the number of non-physical bullying incidents observed by both teachers and administrators throughout the last year at a high-school, students were becoming so intimidated by other students that they were unwilling to even speak up about or report any such incidents to school administrators. A strategy was designed and…