Criminal Justice Education in Schools: Youth Development and Behavioral Reform

Introduction

In modern times, including criminal justice in the criminal curriculum is very important. Legal education at school is an organized, purposeful influence on forming the child’s general legal consciousness, judgments, beliefs, and ideals. Children must understand what their actions can lead to. In this way, they will be better marked and adapted to society. They will learn to control their actions and emotions. Children will develop an understanding of what actions are right and what actions are wrong.

Some programs, such as lunch detention and the rotation of the alternative learning center, could be introduced as part of the “Introduction to criminal justice” into the school curriculum. These would help build and strengthen children’s sense of responsibility and work through their problems. By reducing crime, humanity can achieve an ideal society.

The Importance of Criminal Justice Education for Youth

Criminal justice is a system that should be taught to children and adolescents in schools. The Violence Against Women Act (Sacco, 2019) was the basis for introducing criminal justice into the school curriculum to some extent, which was necessary and offered many opportunities (Weaver & Swank, 2020). Making children aware of the consequences of their actions will lead to more appropriate behavior, simplifying the educational process.

Experienced teachers find that their students occasionally violate certain agreed-upon rules of behavior. The teacher’s response to such infractions is an important sign of teacher skill. Experienced teachers try to understand why students behave like they do (Wolff et al., 2021).

In addition, they respond in a way that respects the student’s dignity. The best answers, in general, deal with undesirable behavior at the start of an episode, but this is not always practicable (Diliberti et al., 2019). Introducing some practices will help control student behavior and make children feel responsible.

School-Based Disciplinary Practices and Behavioral Reform

Lunch Detention is a practice that involves a student spending his or her lunch hour apart from his or her friends. This will help the student rethink his or her actions and be more engaged in his or her studies. Of course, this is the correct tenet of modern education: tactfulness, respect for privacy, personal data and information protection, and no personal contact.

Numerous job descriptions and methodological guidelines, which are regularly issued for teachers who use inclusion, say that the teacher must value the dignity of all participants in the educational process and respect the right of the child to have his or her point of view (MacKenzie et al., 2020). At the same time, the teacher should always maintain authority and be an example for students. However, in the current version of the school, all the rights and responsibilities of the teacher are limited to the educational process. Such practices can separate the punished child from the team and cause further difficulties.

Another practice that is prudent to adopt for delinquent students is etiquette lessons. The importance of the rules of conduct in society for children and adolescents today can hardly be overestimated. Etiquette lessons are a worthwhile investment in a child’s future. The ability to behave in society, good manners, and knowledge of dinner etiquette should be instilled in the child in childhood (Hasanah & Deiniatur, 2020).

Rules of etiquette for teenagers are very important. Today’s teens need to follow the rules of etiquette and learn good manners; they need to be respectful and tolerant of the people around them, which is especially important for students in the criminal justice system. This is to gain respect for themselves and prepare them for their future adult life in society (Häggman-Laitila et al., 2019). If a child spends most of his time surrounded by people who respect the basic rules of politeness, he will comply with them. Furthermore, even better if the child attends courses or lessons in etiquette and politeness for better results.

Another practice might be to introduce rotations in alternative learning centers. They assist in the monitoring of pupils who are disruptive in the classroom (Anderson, 2020). These learning centers have specialists who monitor their students’ emotional well-being and progress. An alternative learning center has a non-traditional curriculum and teaching methods.

The state defines the legal basis for such schooling and establishes the obligation to comply with standardized exams and assessments. Such centers offer a variety of teaching methods; some have a strong religious, scientific, or philosophical orientation, while others are ideologically neutral and created by disillusioned teachers and educators. Alternative education is characterized by learning practices that differ from standard instruction (Pan et al., 2021). Such learning environments can be found in public, charter, and independent schools and at home.

Small class sizes, close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community characterize many alternative education environments. Some alternative centers have a mission and beliefs to which they strive to adhere. All students can learn and succeed through a variety of methods. It is worth mentioning that success in learning comes when great achievement is expected of the student. An alternative learning environment develops independence, mastery, and creative thinking, and corrects a child’s behavior.

Restorative and Preventive Approaches in Juvenile Justice

The “Consider the Consequences” program is an early intervention program that aims to make young people aware that their actions might result in difficulties, jail time, or even death. The program consists of an 8-hour, tightly supervised tour of the jail that allows participants to experience what it is like to be incarcerated. It will demonstrate how engagement with gangs, drugs, firearms, and disobedience may lead to incarceration. Although this is not a frightening program, it may be daunting. This program allows children ages 10 to 16 to understand what their actions can lead to (Fogel et al., 2023). It helps them think about their future and identify and fix problems.

Restorative justice recognizes that the crime committed not only entails a violation of the law by the perpetrator but also the harm done to the victims. A positive outcome requires, among other things, a condemnation of the offense, not the individual, and then a show of support and love from loved ones. Restorative justice is the just resolution of a dispute or conflict, aimed at overcoming its negative consequences and healing its participants from a social perspective.

The ideal goal of such justice is to create a sense of responsibility for offenders’ actions and to restore the situation to what it was before the conflict or, if that is not possible, to compensate for the damage caused (Lustick, 2021). Teaching children about this phenomenon will help them understand that their actions can harm innocent people (Brown, 2021). That is why restorative justice should also be introduced into the school curriculum.

Conclusion

Thus, criminal justice must be introduced into the school curriculum to prevent juvenile delinquency. In addition, the recommended juvenile justice standards set up the legal system to at least divert the child from the criminal justice system. A criminal justice course in the classroom will broaden the child’s horizons and make them think about their actions. Children will know that every action has a consequence. They will take responsibility for their lives and their future. By introducing this course into schools, humanity can begin the journey toward achieving an ideal society with minimal crime.

References

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