Gangs In Schools
by Gary Burnett
ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education
and Garry Walz
ERIC Clearinghouse on
Counseling and Student Services
Gang culture among young people, in itself, is nothing new.
Indeed, youth gangs have been a major part of the urban
cultural landscape since at least the 1830s, when Charles
Dickens described Fagin's pack of young boys roaming the
streets of London in Oliver Twist.
In the late twentieth century
United States, however, gangs have taken on a different
character and have moved into areas unimagined by Dickens.
Most significantly, they are spreading from inner cities
to "edge cities"--cities at the outskirts of large
urban centers--and to suburbs; indeed, while gang activity
has been stabilizing in urban areas, it has increased significantly
elsewhere (Bodinger-deUriarte, 1993). At the same time,
gangs have become a growing problem in public schools, which
historically have been considered "neutral turf."
Characteristics
of Gangs
Researchers agree that most gangs share certain characteristics.
Although there are exceptions, gangs tend to develop along
racial and ethnic lines, and are typically 90 percent male
(Bodinger-deUriarte, 1993). Gang members often display their
membership through distinctive styles of dress--their "colors"--and
through specific activities and patterns of behavior. In
addition, gangs almost universally show strong loyalty to
their neighborhood, often marking out their territory with
graffiti (Gaustad, 1991). All of these representations can
be visible in the schools.
As Gaustad (1991) points
out, however, the specifics of gang style and activity can
vary tremendously from gang to gang, and can even change
rapidly within individual gangs. For instance, African American
gangs tend to confine their activities to their own communities,
although the Bloods and the Crips, two gangs originating
in Los Angeles, now have members nationwide. In contrast,
Asian gangs often travel hundreds of miles from home in
order to conduct their activities (Bodinger-deUriarte, 1993).
In addition, African American and Hispanic gangs are much
more likely to display their colors than are Asian gangs.
Anglo gangs are often made up of white supremacists. Gangs
can also vary tremendously in numbers and age ranges of
members.
The Impact of Gangs
on Schools
Despite their high profile in the media, relatively few
young people join gangs; even in highly impacted areas,
the degree of participation has rarely exceeded 10 percent.
In addition, it has been reported that less than 2 percent
of all juvenile crime is gang-related (Bodinger-deUriarte,
1993).
Such low numbers, however,
may camouflage the impact that the presence of gangs has
on a school. For one thing, they play a significant role
in the widespread increase of violence in the schools; indeed,
school violence has steadily increased since a 1978 National
Institute of Education study, Violent Schools-Safe Schools,
found that school-aged children were at a higher risk of
suffering from violence in school than anywhere else (cited
in Gaustad, 1991).
Because gangs are, by definition,
organized groups, and are often actively involved in drug
and weapons trafficking, their mere presence in school can
increase tensions there. It can also increase the level
of violence in schools, even though gang members themselves
may not be directly responsible for all of it; both gang
members and non-gang members are arming themselves with
increased frequency. Students in schools with a gang presence
are twice as likely to report that they fear becoming victims
of violence than their peers at schools without gangs (Trump,
1993). Moreover, a 1992 Bureau of Justice Statistics survey
reports that schools with gangs are significantly more likely
to have drugs available on campus than those without gangs
(Bodinger-deUriarte, 1993). In Gaustad's words, gangs create
a "tenacious framework" within which school violence
can take root and grow (1991, p.24).
Far from remaining neutral
turf, schools not only suffer from gang-related violence
"spilling over" from the streets, but are themselves
rapidly becoming centers of gang activities, functioning
particularly as sites for recruitment and socializing (Bodinger-deUriarte,
1993; Arthur & Erickson, 1992). An interview-based study
by Boyle (1992) suggests that gang members see school as
a necessary evil at best, and at worst as a form of incarceration.
Although many gang members acknowledge the importance of
the educational objectives of school, school is much more
important to them as a place for gathering with fellow gang
members for socializing and other more violent activities.
Significantly, Boyle also found that even those gang members
who had been suspended or had dropped out of school could
be found on campus with their associates, effectively using
the school as a gang hangout rather than as an educational
institution.
Finally, gangs can spread
unexpectedly from school to school as students transfer
from gang-impacted schools to gang-free schools, causing
an unintentional spillover of gang activity in the new school.
Why Gangs Develop
and Why Students Join Them
Gangs take root in schools for many reasons, but the primary
attraction of gangs is their ability to respond to student
needs that are not otherwise being met; they often provide
youth with a sense of family and acceptance otherwise lacking
in their lives. In addition, gangs may form among groups
of recent immigrants as a way of maintaining a strong ethnic
identity. Understanding how gangs meet these student needs
prepares schools to better respond to them. Four factors
are primary in the formation of juvenile gangs (William
Gladden Foundation, 1992):
Taken together these four
factors interact to produce gangs that become more powerful
and ruthless as they work to maintain and expand their sway
over territory and youth.
Gangs and School
Response
Still, despite the significant influence that gangs have
upon violence and crime in schools, it would be a great
disservice to portray them as so potent that schools are
powerless to respond. Indeed, the perception of gangs as
omnipotent frequently leads schools either to react harshly
with overly punitive and restrictive actions or to be so
intimidated that they refrain from taking any action at
all.
What is needed instead is
a strategy that mobilizes school and community resources
to offer viable alternatives to youth gang membership. To
be successful, however, a school's strategy must be built
upon the above-described sociopsychological reasons for
why gangs develop and attract youths; in particular, schools
must find ways to address students' feelings of powerlessness
and low self-esteem. A strategy that embodies an understanding
of "gang psychology" increases the probability
that gangs will be less able to attract new members and
retain old members.
Effective Interactions
for Combating School Gang Problems
The following eight interventions
have each been shown to be effective on their own, but can
also be the basis of a comprehensive school wide strategy:
Though the above steps offer no magical solution for eliminating
gangs, they offer valuable interventions that may make gangs
appear less attractive and prepare individual students to
more effectively resist gang pressure to join with them.
This article was reprinted
with the permission of the ERIC Urban Education Web.
This publication was
prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research
and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under OERI
contract no. RI88062013. The opinions expressed in this
report do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies
of OERI or the Department of Education.
References
Arthur, R., & Erickson,
E. (1992). Gangs and schools. Holmes Beach, FL: Learning
Publications. ERIC Abstract
Bodinger-deUriarte, C. (1993). Membership in violent gangs
fed by suspicion, deterred through respect. Los Alamitos,
CA: Southwest Regional Educational Laboratory. ERIC Abstract
Boyle, K. (1992). School's
a rough place: Youth gangs, drug users, and family life
in Los Angeles. Washington, DC: Department of Education,
Office of Educational Research and Improvement. ERIC Abstract
Gaustad, J. (1991). Schools
respond to gangs and violence. Eugene, OR: Oregon School
Study Council. ERIC Abstract
Trump, K. S. (1993). Youth
gangs and schools: The need for intervention and prevention
strategies. Cleveland: Urban Child Research Center.
William Gladden Foundation.
(1992). Juvenile gangs. York, PA: Author. ERIC Abstract
Digest Number 99, July 1994
EDO-UD-94-5
ISSN 0889 8049
