School Disorder: The Influence of Individual, Institutional, and Community Factors*

Abstract

Drawing upon control theory, school climate theory, and social disorganization theory, this study examined the relative influence of individual, institutional, and community factors on misconduct in Philadelphia middle schools. Using U.S. census data, school district data, police department data, and school climate survey data obtained from the administration of the Effective School Battery to 7, 583 students in 11 middle schools, we examined the following predictors of student misconduct: community poverty and residential stability; community crime; school size; student perceptions of school climate (school attachment); and individual student characteristics (e.g., age, race, sex, school involvement and effort, belief in rules, positive peer associations). “Community” was conceptualized in two ways: “local” (the census tract around the school), and “imported” (aggregated measures from the census tracts where students actually lived). We used hierarchical linear modeling techniques (HLM) to examine between‐ and within‐school factors. Individual‐level factors accounted for 16% of the explained variance; school and community‐level factors (both local and imported) added only small increments (an additional 4.1–4.5%). We conclude that simplistic assumptions that “bad” communities typically produce “bad” children or “bad” schools are unwarranted.

Student Characteristics

“…In particular, after accounting for individual-and school-level variables, greater school capital, or positive feelings about schools' students, teachers, and activities, was associated with a decreased likelihood of violent delinquency. These results coincide with research on the importance of school attributes such as high student and teacher engagement, strong relationships, and perceived support among students in explaining student behaviour and achievement (Gottfredson 2001;Gottfredson et al 2005;Lawrence 2007;Payne, Gottfredson and Gottfredson 2003;Welsh et al 1999). In addition, the independent effect of school climate in this study is in line with research demonstrating that school authorities are able to reduce the level of violence in schools through strategies aimed at improving factors associated with school climate (McEvoy and Welker 2000).…”

The Victim-Offender Overlap: Specifying the Role of Peer Groups

“…School climate, as used here, represents students' perceptions of various aspects of a school's environment, including the attitudes and values that govern interactions among students, teachers, and administrators (Welsh et al 1999). To the extent that adolescents perceive their school's climate as "hostile" (based on their evaluations of the fairness of the school's rules, teachers, and other students), their schools will be less able to foster pro-social behavior.…”

Green Criminology and the Reconceptualization of School Violence: Comparing Green School Violence and Traditional Forms of School Violence for School Children

“…Criminologists have conducted empirical examinations of school crime, including applications of mainstream criminological theories in an effort to elucidate violent school victimization (Stewart, 2003;Welsh, Greene, & Jenkins, 1999;Wilcox et al, 2005). Dependent variables in these and other school violence studies include aggressive behaviors and physical attacks between students (Brezina, Piquero, & Mazzerolle, 2001;Ousey, Wilcox, & Brummel, 2008;Payne, Gottfredson, & Gottfredson, 2003;Schreck, Miller, & Gibson, 2003;Wilcox, Tillyer, & Fisher, 2009;Wynne & Joo, 2011), student weapon carrying (Brown & Benedict, 2004;Wilcox & Clayton, 2001), sexual assault and harassment victimization (Tillyer, Gialopsos, & Wilcox, 2013), and threat of injury by someone at school (Augustine et al, 2002).…”