A GOVERNMENT-commissioned report on teenage delinquency suggests tackling rising teenage crime through a series of measures based on the fact that prevention is better than the cure.
The report was issued by a committee of seven experts, after a recommendation by the Education Minister Andreas Demetriou. It highlights the fact that the increase in teenage delinquency is a worrying issue, not only for academics but also for politicians.
“Public education is the basic foundation of contemporary democratic societies,” it says and so the Committee’s vision is for “schools without violence”.
Specifically, the Committee proposes that the educational system be rejuvenated, that schools are improved so as to provide better support to students, and that students, regardless of social class, are given the same personalised attention.
Thus the committee proposes that a counsellor and a school social adviser be appointed to each school as part of programmes to prevent violence and delinquency at school. It says that “the timely detection of children who are facing behaviour problems and are having difficulties in adapting, will greatly help in reducing social maladjustment.”
In fact many cases arriving at the Social Welfare offices concern children who have already become marginalised or law-breakers. As a measure to prevent marginalisation, the Committee proposes that welfare officers be appointed to schools.
In addition, proposals include the appointment of School Assistants who “will provide individualised education respecting the needs and particularities of all children”.
According to the Committee, the introduction of a Consulting Psychologist would also strengthen attempts to tackle and prevent school violence and anti-social behaviour. This role includes “handling difficult cases and offering services to parents and students after school hours. Consultant psychologists will offer support and guidance both to parents and students on a systematic basis, with the aim of developing their ability to adapt socially but also in their incorporation in the school and the wider social community”.
Proposals further include the creation of the position of a Mentor in schools. Research has shown that a student with serious psycho-social problems may show substantial improvements if s/he has emotional support from an adult in the school environment. It is thus proposed that educators be trained for the position of Mentor to provide this necessary support and to be able to deal with crisis management.
In addition, the development of Centres of Psychological Health to provide treatment on a systematic basis for a small number of children showing severe disorders and psychological problems is also among the proposals made.
Based on developing prevention of delinquency, the report adds that pre-school education should be improved, as “a foundational measure for the timely detection of problems and would constitute protection shields against the later development of anti-social behaviour”.
In the same line of argument, the report suggested that greater emphasis be given to the teaching of Human and Social Sciences (such as Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy) in Lyceum classes. Emphasis should also be given to Citizenship Education in compliance with European models.
THE COMMITTEE’S report also urged improved relations between the three active factors in education: teachers, parents and students.
As regards to teachers, the report proposes that a continuous training be adopted for educators in issues of health and citizenship education, development of social skills, management crisis, managing groups, child and teen psychology, educational sociology. Suggestions also include the formation of classes of mixed ability based on the belief of “co-development of knowledge through social interplays”.
Emphasis is also given on reducing social differences by supporting the less privileged students and securing the educational success of all students regardless of social class.
Students should also be included in the internal functioning of the school, according to the report. “The active participation of students in the development of internal rules constitutes conditions for success in their implementation”. Accordingly, what is important is not the imposition of rules on students but the decision on them emanating from an open discussion and communication between educators and students.
In addition, students should be motivated to learn and this could, according to the Committee, be encouraged by adopting ‘positive motivators’ such as acknowledgement and rewards for individual and team work achievements, as well as the acceptance of differences and the solution of conflicts by students through alternative means.
The inclusion of the family in the educational process is also considered a determinant in tackling school violence and delinquency. The family is the environment which will best provide an irreplaceable psychological and material support throughout the child’s educational journey.
The recent international trend in enhancing the involvement and communication between school and family is proposed to be adopted in Cyprus as well. Specifically, the Committee recommends the creation of a ‘parent welcoming room’ and the active involvement of parents in their children’s education, as in class visits, participations in school cultural events and help in school projects.
An emphasis is also given in strengthening the ‘social bond’ between students and educators. The creation of a creative activity and entertainment room would serve as an alternative to ‘ditching’ school while, it would also act as an informal meeting point between students and their teachers.
However, the report also noted that school buildings should be taken advantage of by the whole community so as to provide organised sporting, political, cultural, entertainment and even educational activities that would keep teenagers engaged and away from delinquency.
