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School/Classroom Environment 

Schools offer prevention specialists regular access to students throughout their developmental years 

and may offer the only consistent access to the most crime-prone youths during their early school years 

(Gottfredson 1998). A school that implements and maintains an effective program may improve overall 

school climate and in so doing have a positive effect on youth behavior both during and after school 

hours. The lack of positive feelings for and identification with one’s school has been shown to be 

directly related to juvenile delinquency. For example, in a study of the predictors of in-school substance 

use among high school students, Voelkl and Frone (2000) found that students’ lack of identification 

with school was significantly related to both in-school alcohol and marijuana use. 

According to Gottfredson (1998), programs aimed at clarifying and communicating norms about 

behaviors are effective ways to reduce crime, delinquency, and substance abuse. Prevention programs 

directed at positively altering the school and classroom environment seek to reduce or eliminate 

problem behaviors by changing the overall context in which they occur. These strategies may include 

interventions to 1) change the decision-making processes or authority structures (building school 

capacity); 2) redefine norms for behavior and signal appropriate behavior through the use of rules 

(setting norms for behavior); 3) provide greater flexibility in instruction (classroom organization); 4) 

implement the use of rewards and punishments and the reduction of down time (classroom 

management); and 5) reorganize classes or grades to create smaller units, continuing interaction, and 

different mixes of students. Programs that have the capacity to build students’ attachment to their 

school are often highlighted as models for prevention. 

Theoretical Foundation 

Prevention programs aimed at improving the school or classroom environment are closely linked to 

social organization theory, because they have a holistic approach, working from the premise that all 

aspects of school life can affect violence and substance abuse (Sherman et al. 1998). Gottfredson (1998) 

identifies such programs, which are “aimed at clarifying and communicating norms and behaviors,” 

as effective prevention approaches. Several of these practices that were shown effective (in at least one 

study, or include components that have been found successful) were directly related to school or 

classroom environment strategies:

 “Schools within schools” programs, such as Student Training Through Urban Strategies

(STATUS). These programs, which group students into smaller units for more supportive

interaction or flexibility in instruction, have reduced drug abuse and delinquency.

Suggested Reference: Development Services Group, Inc. 2000. “School/Classroom Environment.” Literature review. 

Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 

https://www.ojjdp.gov/mpg/litreviews/School_Classroom_Environment.pdf

Prepared by Development Services Group, Inc., under cooperative agreement number 2013–JF–FX–K002. Points of view or 

opinions expressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of 

OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Justice.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention www.ojjdp.gov 2

 Training or coaching in “thinking” skills for high-risk youths, using behavior modification 

techniques or rewards and punishments. This program can reduce delinquency and can reduce 

substance abuse. 

 Building school capacity to initiate and sustain innovation through the use of school teams or 

other organizational development strategies succeeded in reducing delinquency and substance 

abuse in one study. 

 Improved classroom management and instructional techniques reduced alcohol use in one 

study. (Gottfredson 1998)

School Organization Interventions 

School organization interventions use a comprehensive and systematic approach to juvenile 

delinquency prevention through changing or improving the way that schools operate (Catalano, 

Loeber, and McKinney 1999). School organization approaches can involve a wide variety of 

interventions, including replacing school administrators, reorganizing teachers, and engaging parents 

in the planning and implementation of school policies and programs (Office of Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention 1998). 

Schools in urban, poor, disorganized communities are believed to experience more disorder than other 

schools. Although it is impractical to suggest that schools can reverse the level of problems within their 

community, they can influence their own in-school rates of disturbances or disruptions (Gottfredson 

and Gottfredson 1985). For instance, Gottfredson and Gottfredson (1985) say that when controlling for 

the relevant characteristics of the larger community, characteristics of schools and the way they are run 

explain significant amounts of variation in school rates of disorderly behavior. Research also suggests 

that changing the school environment to a more positive climate (where nurturing, inclusiveness, and 

a feeling of community occur) is associated with a reduction in the levels of violent behavior in the 

school. 

In addition, an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Study Group found that 

several such programs appear to reduce risk factors (including academic failure, dropping out of 

school, and rebelliousness) and increase protective factors (such as commitment to school and good 

attendance) (OJJDP 1999). There is emerging evidence that some research-based models of school 

reform, which provide clear guidance on specific changes that schools and classrooms must make, can 

result in significant improvement in achievement outcomes for schools with large numbers of students 

placed at risk of educational failure (U.S. Department of Education 1998). Other risk factors may also 

include academic failure, dropping out of school, and rebelliousness. School organization intervention 

programs seek to counteract these risk factors by enhancing protective factors such as a commitment to 

school and good attendance.

Classroom Organization, Management, and Instructional Activities

The most common school-based prevention strategy is instruction (Gottfredson 1998). Many consider 

instructional approaches that combine social and thinking skills to be effective in enhancing students’ 

abilities, attitudes, and behaviors inconsistent with substance abuse and other kinds of delinquent 

behavior (Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies 1999). Further, 

interventions involving classroom organization, management, and instructional strategies attempt to 

promote the protective factors that promote opportunities for active participation in learning, skills to 

establish positive social relationships, and bonding to school and prosocial peers. In contrast, the risk 
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention www.ojjdp.gov 3

factors generally addressed by these programs are obstacles such as academic failure, low commitment 

to school, and early and persistent antisocial behavior. 

It is believed that prevention programs should teach a variety of general life skills for helping 

adolescents deal with the challenges of adolescent life (Midwest Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools 

and Communities 1994). Accordingly, certain skills have emerged as critical to preventing and reducing 

substance abuse and violent behavior, including communication, assertiveness, media resistance, 

resistance training, social problem-solving, character/belief development, empathy and perspective 

taking, stress management and coping, and anger management or impulse control (Northeast Center 

for the Application of Prevention Technologies 1999). School and classroom environment programs 

seek to address these needs as they enhance educational skills from within the classroom environment.

References

Catalano, Richard F., Rolf Loeber, and Kay C. McKinney. 1999. School and Community Interventions to 

Prevent Serious and Violent Offending. Bulletin. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 

Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Gottfredson, Denise. 1998. “School-Based Crime Prevention.” In Lawrence W. Sherman, Denise C. 

Gottfredson, Doris Layton MacKenzie, John E. Eck, Peter Reuter, and Shawn D. Bushway

(eds.). Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn’t, What’s Promising. Report to the U.S. 

Congress, Prepared for the National Institute of Justice.

Gottfredson, Denice C., and Gary D. Gottfredson. 1985. “Youth Employment, Crime, and Schooling: 

A Longitudinal Study of a National Sample.” Developmental Psychology 21:419–32.

Midwest Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities. 1994. “Study Focuses on 

Successful Prevention Programs.” Midwest Forum, Vol. 4, No. 1. NCREL North Central 

Regional Educational Laboratory.

Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies. 1999. School-Based Prevention: 

Critical Components. Washington, D.C.: Education Development Center, Inc.

(OJJDP) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 1998. Guide for Implementing the 

Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Offenders. Washington, DC: U.S. 

Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention.

(OJJDP) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 1999. School and Community 

Interventions to Prevent Serious and Violent Offending. Bulletin. Washington, D.C.: U.S. 

Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention.

Sherman, Lawrence W., Denise C. Gottfredson, Doris Layton MacKenzie, John E. Eck, Peter Reuter, 

and Shawn D. Bushway. 1997. Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn’t, What’s Promising. 

Report to the U.S. Congress. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute 

of Justice.

U.S. Department of Education. 1998. Tools for Schools: School Reform Models Supported by the National 

Institute on at-Risk Students. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of 

Educational Research and Improvement.

Voelkl, K.E., and M.R. Frone. 2000. “Predictors of Substance Use at School Among High School 

Students.” Journal of Educational Psychology 93(3):583–92.