In response to a literature that has paid limited attention to the complex representations of Cambodian students, this article investigated the ways in which Cambodian male youth were problematized in school through Discourses that presented them as apathetic students and/or gang members at one California high school. In this study, the ways in…

There is insufficient empirical evidence exploring associations between gang membership and school violence behaviors. Using a sample of 272,863 high school students, this study employs a structural equation model to examine how school risk and protective behaviors and attitudes mediate effects of gang members' involvement with school…

In this autobiographical narrative, the author recounts her experiences teaching the novel "Always Running" by Luis Rodriguez with her English classes at a high school in a gang-heavy area. When she first started teaching, this teacher struggled to engage students. One particularly disruptive student requested to read "Always…

"Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013" provides the most recent national indicators on school crime and safety. The information presented in this report is intended to serve as a reference for policymakers and practitioners so that they can develop effective programs and policies aimed at violence and school crime prevention.…

Age is one of the most robust correlates of criminal behavior. Yet, explanations for this relationship are varied and conflicting. Developmental theories point to a multitude of sociological, psychological, and biological changes that occur during adolescence and adulthood. One prominent criminological perspective outlined by Gottfredson and…

Gang involvement is an increasing issue among Latino youth, yet nuanced research on its potential causes is scarce. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to explore links between acculturative stress and gang involvement among immigrant and U.S.-born Latino middle school students (N = 199). Regression analyses showed that U.S.-born youths…

This article explores the experiences of adolescent males in Cambodia who, simultaneous to their maltreatment and marginalization within the family and community, have reduced opportunities to produce identities of sociomoral value through access to cultural capital. It draws on ethnographic data gathered from adolescents boys aged 9 to 16 in Siem…

This article asserts that schools have tremendous positive power over the lives of students--the power to teach them academics; the power to socialize them to be engaged citizens; the power to transform their lives in positive ways--but schools also have negative power: the power to mark a student with a discipline record; the power to force a…

Although previous research has examined factors related to gang membership and offending, research on the relationship between gangs and victimization is limited. The present study builds on previous research and examines gang membership, victimization, and self-control among 2,414 jail inmates. Results from self-report surveys indicate that gang…

Teaching youths who affiliate with a gang can be a daunting task. Risk factors for gang membership often compound across life domains and affect pro-social connectedness, cause feelings of marginalization, and hinder life-skill development. Sports and physical activities that are structured within a positive youth-development framework provide an…

Moral panics relating to anti-social youth have accelerated in recent years, and there has been an increasing recognition that preventing problematic behaviour is more effective than sanctions once it occurs. Drawing upon General Strain Theory, this paper explores the social pressures that might stimulate anti-social behaviour and gang culture. It…

After a period of decline, gang membership and gang activity are on the increase in the United States. Recent Department of Justice figures indicate that there are currently over 26,000 gangs involving over 800,000 members active in virtually every community in the nation. No longer territorial, gang activity extends from the most impoverished and…

Establishing reliable indicators of the current state of school crime and safety across the nation and regularly updating and monitoring these indicators is important in ensuring the safety of our nation's students. This is the aim of "Indicators of School Crime and Safety." This report is the fifteenth in a series of annual publications produced…

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for understanding the growth in youth gangs and gang behaviour. The paper builds on a youth theory perspective and describes how the social conditions work with or are against the young individual in such a way that gangs seem to be an option or an answer for some young people when faced with…

This report is the fourteenth in a series of annual publications produced jointly by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of Education Sciences (IES), in the U.S. Department of Education, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in the U.S. Department of Justice. This report presents the most recent data available on…