The Centrality of Schools in the Lifecourse: The Case for Focusing on School-Related Influences in Developmental Theory and Research

ABSTRACT

While the strength of the lifecourse/developmental (LCD) perspective in the examination of antisocial behavior has been clearly demonstrated, this work has given little attention to schools and education as salient influences. By contrast, there is much research using other theoretical frameworks to examine school-related risk factors of deviance. Given what we know about the importance of schooling and education on individual development and subsequent implications for behavior, we contend that academic influences should be more prevalent in LCD theories of deviance and that research using an LCD theoretical perspective should embrace non-LCD work examining school-related risk factors of antisocial behavior.

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Notes on contributors

Allison Ann Payne

ALLISON ANN PAYNE is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology and the Associate Director of the University Honors Program at Villanova University. Her research interests include juvenile delinquency prevention, school climate and discipline, and criminological theory.

Kelly Welch

KELLY WELCH is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Villanova University. Her scholarly interests include racial and ethnic criminal stereotypes and disparate justice, the sociology of punishment, and social justice.