Analysis of Assessment of an Alternative Education Program for At-Risk Delinquent Youth Study by Cox - Literature review Example

 COX, M. S. (1999). An assessment of an alternative education program for at-risk delinquent youth. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. New York, Sage Publications Inc. Delinquency has for long been a subject that intrigues every aspect of my mind. It has been the subject of debate both within the confines of my mind and in my discussion with fellow peers. Particularly, the issue of how delinquency should be addressed and whether or not it should be punished is of interest. I take great exception from those that advocate for the total punishment of delinquent children without due regard for the reasons behind the delinquencies. It is my belief that there are better avenues of correcting wrongdoing among children. Cox’s work is the complete package of what I advocate for. The option of having alternative education programs for prospective delinquent children is something I admire. It was no difficult task choosing my area of research seeing that it has been aptly covered by Cox among other researchers. The research by this particular writer is a bonus for me as it provides a foundation stone for my future research interests. Perhaps the reason for my personal interest in this research area is because I lost an elder brother to jail for delinquency; something that could have been prevented early enough. While searching for this journal, I first developed a search strategy that was very useful in identifying this research. To start with, I first defined the topic that I wanted to cover, or rather my research interest. As stated earlier, my interest in research is in child delinquency. A practical solution to child delinquency is the establishment of alternative schools. In so doing, I came up with the keywords ‘child delinquency’ and ‘alternative schools’. To make my search more wide and varied, I included the keyword ‘assess*’. The asterisk at the end of the word assess was intentional to make the search pick up variations such as ‘assessed’ and ‘assessment’. Since the three concepts, assess, child delinquency and alternative schools are related I used the conjunction ‘and’ between them to ensure the search gave results that had all the three concepts. The work of Cox particularly interested me because of the number of reviews that it had attracted (Conley, 2002, pp. 142). Moreover, the researcher has been involved in other remarkable researches. In particular, his assessment of delinquency related outcomes of alternative education programs stood out because it covered the same field that I was venturing in. The fact that Cox has published those many times (Korn, 1991, pp. 75) makes him an ideal reference point in doing my future research. The main objective of Cox’s study was to assess the utility of an alternative school as a delinquency intervention program. The study evaluated the impact of an alternative school on students’ self-esteem, school attendance and grade point averages. It also aimed to show the correlation between alternative schools and self-reported delinquencies, students’ attitudes toward school, and standardized academic scores (Smith, 1974, pp. 79). Though the ethical considerations used by the researcher are not mentioned, it is clear that the confidentiality of the participants is guaranteed. The names or residence of the samples is not disclosed anywhere in the entire research. Instead, the researcher generalizes the sample and uses figures in reference to the participants. While this action may be lauded as an ethical measure, the researcher still contradicted his ethical stand. In sampling the participants, the researcher states that the referrals of at-risk participants were made by parties other than the participants themselves. In fact, it is clearly indicated that the parties thereof were neither the parents nor the guardians of the participating students. In so doing, the researcher breaches the ethical code because some of these students may have been referred without their consent. It could be argued that the researcher perhaps just forgot to mention that fact but that argument holds no basis in research. Ethical consideration is an important aspect of any research and must, therefore, be upheld at all times. Particularly, ethical consideration is of utmost importance where children and other vulnerable groups are used in the sampling (Prychitko, 1998, pp. 182). Another aspect that the researcher assumes is the impact of his personal bias based on the values that he upholds. Moreover, the fact that the researcher has done a lot of research on the same subject could have serious implications for the research outcome. The research does not have a pilot study that is usually done prior to the actual research. The importance of a pilot study cannot be gainsaid as it saves the researcher a lot of troubles while embarking on a research project. The pilot study allows the researcher to identify, at an early stage, whether the research is viable or not. The response of the respondents is tested at this time and alterations done in the research method based on the pilot study’s outcomes. The same pilot study helps the researcher in selecting the methods to use in data collection and in the general carrying out of the research. It also helps the researcher identify and modify a favorable research design for the particular study. Pilot studies are also important in that they give a snippet of the results to expect in the final researcher (Deal, 1978, pp. 68). This may save the researcher the struggle of having s full study where the results are obnoxious or imply vague conclusions. The pilot study, therefore, acts as a pretest to the actual research study. It should be seen as a controlled study in which the researcher observes the outcome and have an idea of what to expect in the full study. Results of the full study are later compared to the predicted pilot study results and may be fine tuned to make scientific sense. However, certain researches may be difficult to conduct pilot studies especially where the research design involves a lot of observation and interviewing. Such was the case with Cox’s research. The method of sampling used in the research was random selection where the participants were referred to the alternative school by teachers, counselors, and principals. After selection, about half of the students were sent to the alternative school while the other half remained in the school to form the control group. The fact that the researcher involved another party other than himself in selecting the students absolved him of any bias. Moreover, the criterion used in sampling the students was a standard and predetermined one. The students had to meet certain requirements that proved that they were at risk of committing delinquencies. However, it is not indicated whether the students were sourced from one or many schools and how these schools were identified. It could be assumed that the researcher used his past experience and local knowledge in sampling the schools in which to source the students. Because this is not explained in the research project, it could count as a bias against certain schools. Perhaps, at-risk students from schools that had fewer cases of delinquencies would have reacted differently in the same circumstances. In the research methodology, the researcher opted for a quantitative method of data collection. Interviews were conducted, and self-reported delinquencies recorded from accounts of the students. The self-esteem of the students was also measured using the Rosenberg Measure of Self Esteem, a six- item scale. The attitudes towards school were also measured using an 11-item scale that measured perceptions of, among other things, teacher support. The research was mainly deductive where the research hypothesis was tested. Of importance to note is the fact that self-reported delinquency was used primarily to record the number of delinquencies that each student had committed. This could be open to bias as the students, averaging 13 years, could deem delinquency as a heroic act and thus tend to lie about the number. However, this is something that is beyond the control of the researcher. The choice of the methodology in the research was perfectly befitting the type of research that was been conducted. In choosing quantitative research design, the researcher posed himself as a scientist whose quest in the research was objective knowledge. Quantitative research is based on the idea that facts are facts and cannot be changed by subjective interpretation (Brown, 2007, pp. 275). This decision was particularly important because a large number of students were being sampled. Moreover, the credibility of the research is higher because the results are independent of the researcher. A quantitative approach was particularly important because a hypothesis was constructed before data collection and because a cause-effect relationship had to be identified. It thus provides precise numerical data that is easy and fast to analyze. This is unlike qualitative approaches that focus on describing a phenomenon. By choosing a quantitative approach, therefore, the researcher put caps on the use of facts, and only facts, in making research conclusions. The research, particularly, seeks to explain the cause and effects of delinquency in schools. It aims to explain how and why that happens and also seeks to find an alternative solution to the same problem. The researcher also uses a positivist approach in the research; a bold step by far. This approach is subject to the risk that things might turn out in contrast to your expectations therefore proving one wrong. Most researchers do not wish for such a situation as their reputation is squarely at risk of deterioration if such an outcome were to happen. The positivist approach aims to find a measure and correlation between two variables. In this case, the variables are the alternative school posed against student’s attitude towards school, school attendance, and performance. The approach is based on a positive verification of observable rather than assumptions. It has no room for intuitions and instinctive guesses, for example (Vinson, 2004, pp. 96). The choice of the instruments of data collection in this research is to a large extent commendable. Interviewing is particularly reliable because one gets the information first-hand from the source. The information is therefore not open to alteration or ambiguity. This is because the interviewee is available to explain anything that the researcher deems to be vague. In his case, Cox opted to use questionnaires in conducting the interviews to measure the link between school-related perceptions, self-esteem, and self-reported delinquent behaviors. The items to use in the questionnaire were sourced from reliable past researches in the same subject. This further absolved the researcher of any bias in choosing the variables he wanted to test for the research. In particular, the questionnaire was structured and used a total of 61 items. Structured interviews are reliable in cases where the researcher wants to get answers to the same questions from different respondents. This ensures a standardized and limited response based on what is being sought in the research. It actually caps off data that may be unnecessary to that particular research question. Furthermore, the questions in the questionnaire were closed-ended and, therefore, limited the areas of response that the respondents could give information on. The only exception was the self-reported delinquency items where the questions were open-ended. Opting for this design was particularly important because it involved young children who had to be guided to avoid replication of information. Closed-ended questions also guaranteed that the information provided was relevant to the research question. In addition to interviews, the researcher measured students’ attitudes toward school and their self-esteem. To measure the attitude, the researcher identified 11 items that included; perceptions of teacher support, perceptions of stigma in school, academic prospects of success and general attitudes toward school. The responses from students were analyzed to reflect a degree of positiveness of their attitudes. Z-scores were then computed for each item since not all items had the same number of possible responses. Average scores were then calculated and used for the study. The same was done to measure self-esteem of the students, this time using a 6-item scale, however. High score scales indicated a high self-esteem while lower scales were reflective of a low self-esteem. Further, the researcher obtained classroom grades for four subjects- math, English, social studies and science. These grades were the used to calculate the grade point averages for the students. The approach used by the researcher is one to applaud. However, the researcher assumes that lower grade point averages are reflective of at-risk delinquent children and vice versa. This is in an actual sense, not the case because even bright students may end up committing delinquencies (Vinson, 2004, pp. 39). Moreover, the age of the students had an avarege of about 13 years. This age is not reflective of all students and should have been expanded a little further to include older students as well. The reason for this argument is that students in different ages behave differently in different circumstances, including the desire to commit delinquencies. On completion, the study found that the grade point averages of the participant group increased at the post-program period but decreased at the one year follow-up assessment. Of importance to note is the fact that the control group’s grade point averages decreased at the post-program period and increased at the one year follow-up. The reason for this is given as the decrease in school absences for the participating group during the research and an increase in school absences for the control group during the same period. After returning to their traditional schools, school absences increased for the participating group, thus explaining the decrease in grade point averages at the one year follow-up. In making this conclusion, the researcher assumes that the grade point averages are solely dependent on the number of school absences that a student has in a single semester. He overlooks the fact that other factors, such a change in teaching methods and change in environment, could also affect a student’s performance. The study also found that the students in the alternative school had improved self-esteem and better attitudes towards school as compared to their control group counterparts. However, this improvement is short-lived as it was only observed in the students' stay in the alternative school. Upon resuming to the traditional schools, however, the students’ attitudes reverted to the normal values. It can, therefore, not be assumed that students taken to alternative schools will maintain the same good behavior once they go back to the traditional schools or to the society. The change in their behavior is, therefore, confined to the time they are at the alternative schools and not permanent. Nevertheless, the research found important aspects of students’ behavior that are important in preventing delinquencies. It is particularly noteworthy that the students were prevented from committing delinquencies at their age. This research was, therefore, an important reference point for curriculum developers and teachers in schools with at-risk delinquent students. Policy makers will also find this research handy in coming up with legislations to curb delinquencies. Perhaps a major lesson is that behavior can be shaped at an early stage instead of waiting to be corrected. References BROWN, L. H., & BECKETT, K. S. (2007). Building community in an alternative school: the perspective of an African American principal. New York, Peter Lang. DEAL, T. E., & NOLAN, R. R. (1978). Alternative schools: ideologies, realities, guidelines. Chicago, Nelson-Hall. KORN, C. V. (1991). Alternative American schools: ideals in action. Albany, N.Y., State University of New York Press. PRYCHITKO, D. L. (1998). Why economists disagree: an introduction to the alternative schools of thought. Albany [u.a.], State Univ. of New York Press. SMITH, V. H. (1974). Alternative schools: the development of options in public education. Lincoln, Neb, Professional Educators Publications. THIESSEN, E. J. (2001). In defence of religious schools and colleges. Montreal, McGill-Queen's University Press. VINSON, K. D., & ‬ROSS‎, ‬. W. (2004). Defending public schools. Volume III, Volume III. Westport, Conn, Praeger.CONLEY, B. E. (2002). Alternative schools: a reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif. [u.a.], ABC-CLIO. Read More