A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Audience Approved by PEP for teachers, building administrators, and resource persons who will present the course to 8th and/or 9th grade students.

Description Many law-related education (LRE) courses exist with curriculum materials only, without a mechanism to change student attitudes and behaviors related to citizenship. In this program, educators are prepared to increase students' knowledge of the law and legal processes and reduce student delinquency by increasing law-abiding behavior. The program's team approach involves simultaneous training of teachers, building administrators, and police officers--all of whom are considered critical to the success of changing student attitudes towards delinquency. Teachers build their proficiency in instructional and classroom management strategies, including handling student debate. Police officers become adept at interactive teaching strategies, ways to deliver information to young students that law enforcement officials take for granted, and methods to help students realize that the officer's presence in the classroom is not an intrusion, but a learning opportunity. Building administrators are encouraged to be supportive and informed about the connections between the LRE course and their own actions (such as school governance). Training includes instruction, demonstration, practice, and debriefing. The preferred length of training is six days, with participation by police officers for at least two days. Participants receive a textbook and 200 pages of reference material including sample lessons.

Evidence of Effectiveness Eighth and ninth-grade students taught a one-semester LRE course by teams who have completed our training not only gain knowledge of the law and legal processes, but exhibit more favorable attitudes toward school, teachers, police, and law-abiding behavior, and less frequent delinquent behavior in and out of school than students in the same grades at the same schools who are taught conventional social studies or civics courses as measured by pre- and postprogram student questionnaires.

Requirements Minimal requirements include agreement by a local law enforcement agency to allow one or more officers to participate for at least two days of training and serve as co-teachers for two hours of classroom time per week, and commitment by one or more social studies teachers and one building administrator (per school) to attend six days of training and provide a nine-week LRE course. Costs for a typical four-person team from one school are $1,650, including all materials needed by team members but not student texts (estimated at $15 per student) or food, lodging, travel, team members' pay, and personal expenses. Costs for paying participating law enforcement officials for classroom participation must also be considered. Training takes place at the University of Colorado.

Services Awareness materials are available at no cost. Program staff are available to attend out-of-state awareness meetings (costs to be negotiated).

Contact

Robert M. Hunter, University of Colorado, Center for Action Research, Bureau of Sociological Research, Campus Box 580, Boulder, CO 80309. (303) 492-6114.

Developmental Funding: National Institute for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and Colorado Division of Criminal Justice.
PEP No. 88-09 (3/15/88)

-###-

[Life Unworthy of Life]

[Respecting Ethnic And Cultural Heritage (REACH)]