Course Description

Gangs can be found in all cities with populations of 100,000 or more.  Gangs are found within practically every major urban high school in the country (Camp and Camp, 1985; Curry and Decker, 1998: 125-132; Klein, 1995: 168-170; Spergel, 1995: 116-127).  Exactly how many gangs and how many members there are in the country is presently not known with any degree of certainty.  The most recent estimate is that there are more than 30,000 gangs and over 800,000 gang members (U.S. Department of Justice).

So much of what teachers and administrators think about gangs is embedded in popular myth and inconsistent with factual knowledge about the reality of gangs.  The need for accurate analysis of the realities of various aspects of gangs is important for all educators to know.  In most instances when gang problems arise in schools, educators have a tendency to respond with a uniform code of conduct, i.e. expulsion, suspension, detention.  These tactics are implemented in hopes of inhibiting the future display of gang activity (Grant and Van Acker, 2000).  This kind of reaction has proven to actually exacerbate the alienation of student involvement in gang activity.  

This course begins with an orientation of three classes of theories explaining gang formation: strain, control, and sub-culture.  Strain theory suggests that the difference between economic opportunity and individual aspirations is the root cause of gang formation.  The strain, according to Merton (1938), is the “position of desiring a goal that they cannot reach through conventional means”  (page 673).  Control theory consists of two basic forms: individual or personal control and social control.  Reckless (1967) “containment perspective” suggests that “pulls” to delinquency exist which the individual must control (pulls consist of unemployment, deviant friends, and frustration, among others).  Control theory suggests students engage in gang activity because they have weak social bonds with family, school, neighborhood or other social structures (Hirschi, 1969).  Sub-cultural theory supports the idea that gang involvement is simply an extension of the lower-class culture.  Sutherland and Cressey advocated that delinquent behavior is learned and involves the same processes as other social behavior (1970).  

Strain, control, and sub-culture are joined by many explanations of what might be labeled gang formation theories.  Most researchers do not recognize one overriding theoretical explanation of gang formation.  In this course we bring together several theories along with several longitudinal studies (Rochester Youth Development Study and Seattle Social Development Project) to compose a strategy educators may use to prevent gang formation, curb gang activity in the school, and to confront gang expansion.  The strategy includes three techniques: preventing prior entry, co-opting gang activity, and competing with gang activity.

Objectives

Participants will develop skills to:

• Review theoretical explanations for the formation of gangs.
• Identify the primary problem of gangs and define “gang.”
• Determine the influence of multi-risk factors on gang membership.
• Identify the antecedents to gang membership.
• Review the characteristics of gang members.
• Determine how gang membership promotes delinquent behavior.
• Review the criminal activity of gangs and the influence of drugs and guns.
• See gang membership from the perspective of gang members.
• Analyze the organizational structure of gangs.
• Identify trends in female participation in gangs.
• Analyze, review, and assess intervention strategies.
• Provide a future perspective on gangs.

Curriculum Design

There are a series of major concepts systematically presented by the instructor using the Socratic Method.  Each concept acts as a building block to form a strategy teachers can use in the classroom and their school to prevent and control gang activity. 

Time Requirements

Preventing Gang Activity is a 13 week 3 credit graduate level or sixty hour professional development course taught online. Modules 1 through 9 will be completed one per week. Module 10 will be completed over a two-week period so students will have time to revise and complete the final integration project.

Hardware & Computer Skills Requirements

Students may use either a Macintosh computer or a PC with Windows 95 or higher. Students should possess basic word processing skills and have internet access with an active e-mail account. Students also are expected to have a basic knowledge of how to use a Web browser, such as Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer or America Online's (AOL) browser. To download a browser at no cost, visit one of the following Web sites – Netscape.com; Microsoft.com and AOL.com.

Course Materials

Each student is provided a copy of the course text, Youth Gangs in American Society, Second Edition by Randell G. Sheldon, Sharon K. Tracy, and William Brown.  Each session contains required readings, specific activities, and written reflection on the session content.

Session Outline
Module 1: What is a Gang?
Content: 

• Introduction
• Session Objectives
• Ice-Breaker
• Objectives that can be added
• Complete class registration
• What is a gang?
• Gang crime
• Stereotyping
• Policy and reality
• Assignments

Module 2: Theoretical Explanation of Gangs
Content: 

• Dyads: Sharing
• Presentation
• Theory Strain
• Theory Control
• Theory Sub-culture(s)
• Class Theory
• Assignments

Module 3: The Antecedents of Gang Membership
Content:  

• Dyad: Sharing Experience
• Presentation: Present Objectives
• Risk Factor Approach
• Cumulative Risk
• Origins of Gang Membership
• Synthesis
• School Applications
• Assignments

Module 4: Co-Opt Gang Pull
Content:  

• Functional definitions of “pull” and “co-opt”
• Analyze the role of antecedents
• Identification of “clusters” that lead to gang activity
• Gang continuum
• Develop a strategy for co-opting gang appeal
• Issues of security

Module 5: Gang Sub-cultures
Content: 

• Review “subculture” theory to explain gang activity
• The context of gang participation
• Gangs as a facilitating context for deviant behavior
• Gang membership status
• Kind of person perspective model
• Kind of group perspective model
• Applications to intervention strategy building

Module 6: Criminal Activity in Gangs
Content:

• Review “strain” theory
• Apply strain theory to criminal behavior
• Influence of guns
• Drug profit(s)
• Unconventional means
• Differential opportunity
• School applications

Module 7: Gangs and Girls
Content: 

• Trends
• Types of female gangs
• Reasons for joining a gang
• Relationships with male gang members
• Moving beyond stereotypes
• Family related issues
• Crime and drugs
• School applications

Module 8: Organizational Analysis of Gangs
Content:

• Gang organizational dynamics
• Gang life cycles
• Gang myths
• How gangs grow, migrate, franchise
• Retention, recruitment, and merger
• Influence of environment
• Major social issues influencing gang activity

Module 9: Interventions
Content: 

• Types of intervention strategies
• Strategy effectiveness
• Components of successful strategies
• Law enforcement
• Course design strategy: antecedent reduction, cluster reduction, co-opting gang appeal

• Long-term consequences
• Why are there gangs?
• Rational choice theory
• Social learning theory
• Class presentations
• Course evaluation
• Final exam

Grading

Student Requirements

	1.	Participation: Actively participate in all Forum activities.
	2.	Reading Assignments: Complete all readings and reflection assignments.
	4.	Participants will assess the status of gangs in their schools and community.  Participants will complete a Final Action Plan to prevent and control gang activity in their school.

Student Academic Integrity
Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined by our partnering colleges and universities and is subject to academic disciplinary action.

Register
To register to take TEI's Preventing Gang Activity in Schools online graduate course, go to the Course Registration page.