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Dr. Andreas Schneider Fall 2008 Sociology 4327: Juvenile Delinquency Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 2:00-2:50PM Holden Hall 004 |
Contact Information
My Office hours
Fall 2008: Mondays and Wednesdays 10:00-11:00 AM Holden Hall 159, phone 806 742 2401 ext 231
By E-mail andreas.schneider@ttu.edu I usually check at least twice a workday.
Anytime on our teaching homepage on the World Wide Web http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider.
Teaching Assistant:
Nick Abbot
Holden Hall 26 806 742 2401 ext.247
Office hours Monday & Wednesday 10:00-12:00
Social Sciences Librarian: Brian Quinn, Texas Tech University Libraries, 806-742-2238 ext. 294, brian.quinn@ttu.edu
Juvenile delinquency is seen as a serious problem in the American society. I want to provide students with a solid theoretical foundation to critically evaluate this problem. To facilitate this evaluation I will frequently employ a cross-cultural perspective and real world examples. We will exercise our theoretical skills with examples of policy and practice.
The first part of the course will deal with the history, theory and demographics of juvenile delinquency. In the second part we will illuminate different forms and problems of juvenile delinquency. Our main source of reading will be Larry J. Siegel and Brandon C. Welsh. 2008. Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law, 10th Edition Wadsworth ISBN-10: 0495503649 | ISBN-13: 9780495503644. One of the newer methodologies involves the Internet as a resource. Students will be required to use information from the Internet. Students will have access to the electronic version of this syllabus on the World Wide Web (WWW) at: http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider. Although overheads and other sources used in class will be posted on our WWW page, class attendance will be mandatory, just as in traditional courses.
A general reminder: We will be dealing with diverse theoretical approaches and some emotional and controversial issues, e.g., the perspective of the delinquent, or surfing the Internet without a parental censoring program. Students should be prepared to be exposed to alternative opinions and materials which may be considered offensive by some people.
One section of this syllabus contains the administrative "laws" of the course. The other section with the course outline is to a certain degree variable. We shall proceed through the material at our own pace and take advantage of interesting current events. In the following the outline of topics and their corresponding readings are listed according to their anticipated sequence.
Participation is an important aspect of our class. I welcome feedback from students and try to incorporate it into the class session. For that reason we will proceed at our own pace as much as possible. In each class session I will provide you with a brief preview of our next session. Sessions described below are listed in their sequential order. In the electronic version this syllabus will be extended as we proceed in our course. I will link overheads and other information to the topics below, as they become available.
For everyone interested, I link my article about the reasoning behind the electronic syllabus, and the evaluation of students: Schneider, Andreas. 1998. "Sociology: The Internet as an Extended Sociology Classroom." Social Science Computer Review Vol. 16, No. 4.
We will cover the following in the sequential order in which they are listed.
Important URLs:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Bureau of Justice Statistics (NCVS)
- Social Statistics provided by the White House (UCR & NCVS)
- The Library of Congress
- National Institute of Mental Health
Read Chapter 1
Read Chapter 2
Additional required readings:
- UCR FAQ at http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucrquest.htm (just this page)
- National Crime Victimization Survey 4/96 at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cv94.htm (just this page)
- Criminal Victimization, 1996: Changes 1995-96 at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cv96.htm (just this page)
Read Chapter 13
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Just for fun:
Take a Journey in time, well before the Concept of Juveniles was established |
PRE Clark Dale: "I would like to talk about status offenders. To go more in depth with this topic, I would like to expound on the history of status offenses, the status offender in the juvenile justice system, reforming status offense laws, and increasing social control."
Exam Week
Monday Sept 22 First Exam
Wednesday 24 Movie (in class): Stanford Prison Experiment
Friday 26 Library session in the Library
There will be a 50 minute session on the use of the library held by Brian Quinn Sept 26 at our ordinary course time at the Library TLTC section Room 150. Directions: enter the library lobby through the main doors, turn right at the elevators, walk down the hall to the large video screen, turn right at the video screen and walk through the double doors, room 150 is just inside the double doors on the left.
Read Chapter 3
1. Choice Theories
Rational Choice, Routine Activities
Sept 17 PRE Yeats, Ryan: "I want to explain Routine Activities Theory, then explain why I believe it applies so well to juvenile offenders, focusing on motivating factors especially unique to young delinquents."
Sept 19 PRE Johnson, Conchetta: "My main focus would be on rational choice theory ... I would cover what "rational" is."
2. Biological Trait Theories
Biochemical, Neurological, Genetic
Sept 29 PRE Lauren Wyshywaniuk: "Biological trait theories. I would like to look at how different scenarios can effect the biological, neurological, and genetics of a person such as environment, diet, and birth injuries/defects [and how these biological traits influence juvenile delinquency]."
3. Psychological Trait Theories
Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Cognitive, Personality, Nurture
OCT 1 PRE Helton, Stephanie: "Individual-I want to look at the relationship between personality and delinquency. I want to try and figure out if certain personality traits will result in delinquent behavior. I also want to find out why people with these traits may not always act in a delinquent manner."
OCT 3 PRE Christina Vitale: "Mental health has always been a favorite topic for me. I would really like to find out which diseases are not only most common but the longest standing. [Do mental health problems make it more likely for a teenager to become delinquent -- or are delinquent teenagers more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health problem than non-delinquent teens?]"
OCT 3 PRE Amanda Glasgow:
Read Chapter 4
1. Social Disorganization and Relative Deprivation
OCT 6 PRE Hannah Baird: "Social Disorganization Theory exposes how the stratification of society inevitably creates a poverty-culture. Poverty-cultures lack the resources to maintain social control, which means there is a limited ability to holistically redirect those who engage delinquent behavior. Therefore according to this theory, the more disintegrated the infrastructure is in the area (such as the areas undergoing population/structure shifts such as ‘transitional neighborhoods’) the higher the delinquency rates will be, which has held to be true."
OCT 6 PRE Jesse Moreno: “Location, Location, Location” I want to compare child delinquency across a variety of environments. Revealing whether, children living in big cities are more likely to participate in delinquent actions than children of small towns or whether children that inhabit the suburbs less likely than those living in the slums to be delinquent. Or does their environment even play a role in their actions if so how much."
2. Strain Theory
OCT 8 PRE Cahill, Jason: "If I were to discuss the subject of Strain Theory, I would first start out by stating that the theory is primarily concerned with the effects of stress on a child’s psyche thereby causing him emotional damage leading to more delinquent activity. After this, I would outline the different types and sources of strain and go into specific examples of each. I will also discuss the effects of strain and how the symptoms, such as depression, anger and sadness, correlate with delinquency."
3. Cultural Deviance
Concepts of Social Stratification and Culture of Poverty
OCT 10 PRE Priscilla Carrera: Is there a "culture of poverty" that breeds juvenile delinquency? If yes, how can it be differentiated from structural approaches.
Interconnection of Social Disorganization, Strain Theory and Cultural Deviance
Read Chapter 4
1. Social Learning Theories
Differential Association, Neutralization
OCT 15 PRE Jeffrey A. Lawshā: "Media: Media portrayal of violence has continually desensitized our youth to the point where a PG-13 movie today would very well have been rated X in previous generations. [Please give us a brief overview of the different ratings]"
2. Social Control Theories
Containment, Social Control
OCT 17 PRE Taylor, Vanessa: "I would introduce Hirschi’s control theory. Self control is a variable that must be taken into account when it comes to juvenile delinquency. Through certain ways such as social bonds, self control is learned.
Read Chapter 5
Labeling Theory
OCT 20 PRE Krystal Muniz: "The use of labels in today’s society can cause more problems than originally intended. By labeling someone especially juveniles, it causes them to act out the common stereotype of a particular label. (Krystal Muniz)"
Dramaturgy
OCT 22 PRE Chris Moffitt: "Briefly introduce Dramaturgy, a Symbolic Interactionist approach. How can this idea be applied in Juvenile Delinquency?"
Conflict Theory
OCT 22 PRE Eileen Macias: "Society does an excellent job exiling certain individuals simply by labeling them. I believe many times delinquency can be avoided simply by addressing this situation. This topic interests me greatly because I have been in an environment where intervention could have happened and people were neglected, therefore turned to alternatives which led to delinquency."
Developmental Theories
Read Chapter 6
Student moderated session. Every student has 15 minutes to introduce his/her aspect of developmental theories. Students will present in the listed order. Please try to respect the other presenter's topic.
OCT 24 PRE Kasie Spradlin: "I would like to introduce and discuss the Life-Course Perspective of delinquency. I would also like to talk about the influences that can affect life-course throughout an individuals life."
OCT 24 PRE Traci Wilson: I would like to present the problem behavior syndrome. How PBS truly effects a young child."
OCT 24 PRE Kristin Parnell: Introduce and discuss latent trait theory.
Read Chapter 7
OCT 27 PRE Rhode, Christina: "Gender Roles as a cause for Juvenile Delinquency. Although our modern American society is more open to allowing girls to be educated and boys to be a little more effeminate, there is still some rigidity in the social gender roles of each. One of the pressures many males may face in order to "sufficiently" fill their gender role may be to act aggressive, fearless and sometimes cruel. This can lead to certain kinds of bad behavior in males that are not as often seen in females because the females are not as afraid of being labeled as "girls" since that is what they are. However, there are of course many instances in which girls themselves may feel the need to prove themselves as well through deviant action, although it may not be to feel as if they are filling their role as "female" accurately, but perhaps for other reasons."
OCT 27 PRE Fowler, Brantly: "With gender I would like to be able to discuss the development of female delinquency, along with the history of male juvenile delinquency. While touching base on gender differences, I will attempt to see if those tie into the statistic rates of male and female delinquency. This would show much more of an emphasis on female delinquency."
OCT 29 PRE W. Johnson: Are there changes in socialization that contribute to a rising proportion of females amongst juvenile offenders.
OCT 30: Rehearsal of Theories
OCT 30 PRE Key, Chris: "For family I would like to talk about how the family can influence juvenile delinquency both negatively and positively. The family is a very important factor in delinquency, and can thus have a very important role in the delinquency in their families. I would like to talk about how the family influences delinquency, how delinquency can be avoided if the family decides to step in, and just how important family is to already delinquents."
NOV 3: Third Exam
Read Chapter 8
NOV 5 PRE: Carolyn M. True: The pronoun "the apple does not fall far form the tree" describes the problem that delinquency runs in the family. Since we generally agree that there is no delinquency gene, there must be social factors that transfer behavior tendencies within the family. Describe these factors.
Nov 7 PRE Elizabeth Sanchez: Does it make a difference in juvenile delinquency if there is a single parent household.
Nov 7 PRE Alison Tappan: "I would like to highlight the effects and extent of child abuse and talk about the causes of child abuse and what makes a person more likely to abuse or be abused."
Nov 7 PRE Phoenix Walden: "FAMILY BREAK UP-The number of family break ups is increasing and in turn the number of blended families is rising. [Show the Research [that] has proven that by having an unstable family, children are more likely to become antisocial and to participate in juvenile activities.
Read Chapter 9
Nov 10 PRE Matt Huerta: "Influence of peers on delinquency include: friends have a greater influence over decision making than parents; strive for peer approval and to impress closest friends; acceptance has a major impact on socialization. Delinquent friends cause law-abiding youth to get in trouble. Troubled kids choose delinquent peers out of necessity rather than desire."
Nov 10 PRE Bobby Dunning: "Organized Juvenile Gangs I would like to look at juvenile gangs that are similar to adult organized crime. I would like to see if there is the same type of rules and leadership as there would be in something like the mafia. I would also like to see if organized crime in juvenile gangs is more likely with different racial and ethnic groups."
Nov 12 PRE Horton, Megan: "Gangs and Gender: When people think of gangs, they mostly think of a male-dominated group because that is what society has portrayed. Originally, females were involved in gangs in three ways: as branches of male gangs, as part of sexually mixed gangs or as autonomous gangs. Today the number of female gangs is increasing and many have reported that 25 percent or more of all gang members are female."
Nov 12 PRE Rufus Bell: What gangs are active in Lubbock. Which of them are dominated by juveniles? Make sure to contact the specialists in our local police and city administration.
Read Chapter 11
Nov 14 PRE Martinez, R: "I would like to research the impact of a socio-economic status on drug use. I would like to see if poorer people are more susceptible to drugs, because of their status. And I would also like to view how drug use then leads to delinquency."
Nov 17 PRE Kevin Goodman: "I would like to discuss the drug problem facing our nation’s youth today. I plan to talk about the statistics on drugs and juveniles, the types of drugs juvenile’s face the biggest problem with, and the number of juvenile’s that are in jail today because of drugs."
Read chapter 10
Nov 19 PRE Brian Childers: "In Chapter 10 of the text, various facets of schools and delinquency are discussed. They discuss the types of delinquency occurring in schools, the response to that delinquency, and most importantly, why this delinquency occurs. In numerous sections of the chapter it is postulated that for varying reasons the schools themselves contribute to delinquency. I would like to explore this possibility".
Nov 19 PRE Key, Ashley: "Punishment in Schools" Which are the different forms of punishment used in US schools. Present evidence of the efficiency or inefficiency to curtail delinquency of some of these forms of punishment
Special lecture about my current research: How the stigmatization of sexual identities create shame and anger that in turn lead to sexual violent behavior. Impact of sex education (or the lack thereof): Schneider, Andreas. "Shame as a Source for Sexual Violence." Youth Education & Responsible Sexuality Y.E.A.R.S. A Conference for our Children’s Welfare. Lubbock TX, March 1, 2003.
Fourth exam 20 % (comprehensive) Nov 21
Human Rights Watch World Report 2003: United States
Read Chapter 16
Nov 24 PRE Garza, Daniella: "[Describe the] Duties of Juvenile Probation Officers"
Nov 24 PRE Amber Appleton: "Recidivism Rates of Institutionalized Juveniles. I want to look at juveniles that are/have actually been institutionalized in some form and see if the recidivism rates are any different than those juveniles in community treatment."
Dec 1 PRE Justin Calderon: "I would like to look at the different techniques used for juvenile correction. I would like to find out what treatment works best for youth from different backgrounds. Also I want to look more into how differently females are treated in corrections.
Dec 1 PRE Bull, Martha: “Juvenile to Adult Repeat Offenses”: Research and discuss statistics of juvenile offenders that become adult offenders. What kind of punishment were they given? What factors could have caused them to repeat?"
Alternative Treatments
· Punishment in Schools
· Discretionary Deviance
Dec 1 PRE Shawnnita Johnson: Introducing the boys and girls club: organization, services, interests, activities, goals. How does it seeks contributing to the reduction of JD?
Chapter 14
Dec 3 PRE Whisenant, Matt: How are the police supposed to treat minors different than adults?
Dec 3 PRE Samuel Capps: Describe and evaluate different community policing models that are tailored towards minors.
What are the roles of police in schools?
Dec 3 PRE: Josh Galvan: "I would like to classify different ways police treat juvenile offenders whether it be by race, age, or gender."
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to
Assessment of Learning Outcomes
Multiple choice exams are used to test the knowledge of theories, methods and problems in juvenile delinquency. Some of these questions will be geared to assess the ability of the student to compare methodological and theoretical approaches and their application to problems in sociology. The presentation investigates the engagement of the student, his/her critical thinking, the ability to work independently, and his or her communication skills.
Your grade in this class will be based on your performance on the requirements listed below.
Pop exam 5% before the first exam (no time scheduled)
Presentation Proposal 5% Sept 5
Presentation 15% at the time the topic is covered
First exam 15 %, Sept 22
Second exam 15% Oct 13
Third Exam 15% Nov 3
Fourth exam 20 % (comprehensive) Nov 21
Attendance 10%
If the student stands "between" grades, outstanding constructive class participation might be used for further rounding in the conversion to the final grade.
Grades will be posted using the university's grade distribution system for which you need your personal Pin number.
Grading key to convert number grades in letter grades: 0-59 F, 60-62 D-, 63-66 D, 67-68 D+, 69-72 C-, 73-76 C, 77-78 C+, 79-82 B-, 83-86 B, 87-88 B+, 89-92 A-, 93-96 A, 97-100 A+
If you are interested, here the key to convert the letter grades into number grades: A+ 100, A 93, A- 90, B+ 88, B 83, B -80, C+ 78, C 73, C- 70, D+ 68, D 63, D-60, F 60.
With all respect, there are more efficient ways for me to serve students than conveying their current standing on the attendance list. For that reason I will stay with the strict policy not to reply to any requests of information about your attendance standing. My assistant will count the attendances at the end of the course. You are completely responsible for signing up the attendance sheet. If you wish, you can keep your own attendance statistics. My assistant will only accept written excuses, signed by a third official party. Missing exams or pop exams will not count against your participation.
All exams will be multiple choice. Make sure to bring your "bubble sheet" (not necessary for pop exams). The pop exam provides students with an opportunity to see how their real exams will look like. Only the fourth exam will be cumulative.
This will be a 15 minute presentation on a topic covered in a class session listed in the syllabus.
How to get a presentation: Presentation Proposal
How to prepare the presentation?
How do I grade?
Presentations on theories
Presentations on methods (crime reports, experiments etc.)
Presentations on issues (gender, drugs etc.)
When do you present?
Exams: Students who are absent will receive "0" points. Make up exams will be scheduled for students who have an authoritative excuse for missing the exams.
Late presentation will be marked down by one of five points in the following session, after that it will be counted as a missed assignment (0 points).
Authoritative excuses I accepted in the past were: physician's statements, copies of invitations for job interviews or funerals, and trophies. Concerning an absence due to officially approved trips – in accordance with the Texas Tech University Catalog (p.48), the person responsible for a student missing class (e.g. coach) due to a trip should notify the instructors of the departure and return schedule in advance of the trip. The student may not be penalized and is responsible for the material missed. The Texas Tech University Catalog also states that a student who is absent from classes for the observance of a religious holy day will be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence. (p.49) ( prior notification to the instructor is appreciated)
A clarifying reminder of our Dean: "Please make sure that the student knows that it is her/his responsibility to withdraw from the class in person in the Office of the Registrar. Often, students, as well as some instructors, are under the impression that the instructor of the course can withdraw the student from the class by assigning a grade of “W” on the final grade report. A “W” cannot be assigned to a student unless the student has officially withdrawn from the class by the withdrawal deadline".
Operation Policy: "The grade of W is given for a course officially dropped during the first six weeks of a term. A student should continue to attend a class until authorized by the academic dean to drop a course. The grade of WF is given when the student drops a course after the first 30 days of a term (12 days in summer) if the student is not passing the course at the time of the drop. A grade of WF will be given when the student is required by the dean to drop a course for failure to attend the class or for other reasons." P.77 UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG 2002 - 2003.
My standpoint: Grades are earned. I cannot and will not give grades according to perceived needs of my students but according achievements and university guidelines. According to these guidelines poor performance by no means warrant the assignment of a "W." If you succeed with registration to drop the course for medical excuses, this is of course fine with me. VERY IMPORTANT: I cannot assign you a “W” without registration giving me the option.
Disabilities Accommodation: Any student who because of a disability may require special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make necessary accommodations. Students should present appropriate verification from AccessTECH in the Student Counseling Center. No requirement exists that accommodations be made prior to the completion of this approved university process.
Academic Integrity: Keep in mind that I have to enforce the strict rules of academic behavior. Any student found cheating on the exam will receive an "F" for the exam and may receive an "F" for the entire course. “It is the aim of the faculty of Texas Tech University to foster a spirit of complete honesty and high standard of integrity. The attempt of students to present as their own any work not honestly performed is regarded by the faculty and administration as a most serious offense and renders the offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension. a. Dishonesty of any kind on examinations and quizzes or on written assignments, illegal possession of examinations, the use of unauthorized notes during an examination or quiz, obtaining information during an examination from the examination paper or otherwise from another student, assisting others to cheat, alteration of grade records, illegal entry or unauthorized presence in an office are instances of cheating. b. Complete honesty is required of students in the presentation of any and all phases of course work as their own. This applies to quizzes of whatever length as well as to final examinations, daily reports, and term papers. c. Plagiarism is offering the work of another as one's own without proper acknowledgement; therefore, any student who fails to give credit for quotations or essentially identical expressions of material taken from books, encyclopedias, magazines, internet sources, and other reference works, or from the themes, reports, or other writings of a fellow student, is guilty of plagiarism.(TTU OP 34.12)”
Civility in the Classroom: Please be referred to the University's policy posted at http://www.studentaffairs.ttu.edu/vpsa/publications/civility2002.pdf. While I have no problem with you eating in the classroom (see description), I ask you to shut off your cellular phones.
Disclaimer: The documents linked to other sources on the WWW, others than http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider2/ and its subdirectories, do not necessarily express the views of Texas Tech University or Dr. Andreas Schneider. @Copyright 2008 Andreas Schneider