soc ia final

7/29/2019 Soc Ia Final

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NOTE: YOU WILL NEED TO CHANGE THE AREA TO SUIT UR

LOCATION AND SOME OF THE THINGS IN THIS SOCIOLOGY IA

MIGHT NOT BE THE SAME AS THE CARIBBEAN STUDIES SO

REFER TO UR SYLLABUS.

CANIDATES NAME: NEFTA BAPTISTE

SCHOOL: ST. STEPHENS COLLEGE

SCHOOL CODE: 160076

CANIDATES NO: 0080

SUBJECT: SOCIOLOGY

YEAR: 2012


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPIC PG.NO

Introduction .

Statement of the problem .

Aim .

Objectives ..

Literature review ..

Research design .

Sample .

Data collection instrument .

Presentation of data

Analysis of data ..

Discussion of findings .

Conclusion ..


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INTRODUCTION

The tableland village council has been a fixture in the tableland community for the past fifteen

years. In keeping true to their mission statement, Positively affecting lives the village council

aims to provide programs to entertain empower and uplift the lives of both youths and adults

in the tableland community. The village council does this through activities such as carnival

workshops, craft workshops, sports clubs and dance and vocal courses. The village council also

seeks to improve the neighborhood by improving the communitys sporting facilities and

beautifying the community. They achieve all this through fundraisers bazzars, sports and family

days and excursions which all the members of the community are free to participate in.


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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the

programmes/initiatives implemented by the Tableland village council to address the problem of

delinquency in the Tableland community.

AIM

To evaluate the effectiveness of the programmes/initiatives implemented by the Tableland

village council in addressing delinquency in the Tableland community.

OBJECTIVES

Assess the level of delinquency in the Tableland community. Highlight the causes of delinquency in the Tableland community.

Identify the programmes adopted by the Tableland village council geared towards

addressing delinquency.

Assess the effectiveness of the programmes employed by the tableland village council


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Make recommendations that could be used by the Tableland village council to deal withdelinquency in the Tableland community.

LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Kyriacou (2003) juvenile delinquency can be defined as committing an

illegal offence between the ages of 10 and 17 years. Juvenile delinquency can also be

defined as minor crime especially that committed by young people (Deosaran 2007). It is

however important to note that some writers, such as Gottfredson (2001) use the term

juvenile delinquency to refer to a broader range of problem behavior. Gottfredson makes

the point that restricting the term simply to illegal acts is artificial since non-criminal

behaviour is behaviourally analogous to criminal behaviour in its causation.

Although each writer may define the term juvenile delinquency differently, they are all

similar in that they all believe that in order to fully understand the term juvenile

delinquency, the causes of its occurrence must be studied.

Johnson & Shaw (2001) believe that there are risk factors that apply to a given

individual that increases the likelihood of that individual committing a crime. However


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Johnson & Shaw (2001) also believe that the three most common factors among persistent

offenders are emotional coldness, normalization to a criminal subculture and problems with

impulse control.

Similarly according to Huizinga, Esbensen & Weiher (1991), there are many pathways to

delinquency and a variety of family circumstancescontribute to negative behaviour in

children (Wright & Wright, 1992). Studies of family risk factors for delinquency conclude

that the probability of a child becoming a delinquent increases rapidly as the number of

family problems or risk factors increases (Rutter, 1987). The developmental pathways to

delinquency have been in longitudinal studies of delinquency.

The pathways to delinquency begin with the authority conflict pathway which begins

with stubborn behaviour, then defiant behaviour and developing later into avoidance of

authority figures. It is then followed by the covert pathway which begins with minor

aggression (bullying, teasing) followed by physical fighting and later violent acts.

Patterson & Joeger (1993) post it that there are two groups of youth involved in

delinquent behaviors- the early starters who follow the previously described developmental

pathways and late starters who are influenced by peers.

According to studies done by Deosaran (2007) age, school type, parental structure,

gender, race and social class all show direct links to juvenile delinquency. However

according to surveys done by Deosaran in the Caribbean it shows that age was one of the

strongest relationships found with violence and delinquency. As the student moves from

age ten to eighteen they seemed to commit more violence and delinquent acts.


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However research done by Beinhart, Anderson, Lee, and Utting (2002) showed that risk

factors in the community such as community disorganization and neglect, availability of

drugs, disadvantaged neighbourhood and a high turnover and lack of neighbourhood

attachment greatly affected the level of delinquency in communities

Research done by Kyriacou (2003) identified possible solutions or action points to

combat delinquency. The first stage in combating delinquency is the promotion of good

behaviour in school. A system of positive expectations coupled with support and praise for

good behavior can play an important role in counteracting negative influences on the pupil.

The primary years are extremely influential in developing pro-social behaviour.

Kyriacou also believes that parents can be helped by the school to play a key role in

encouraging pupils to behave well in school. This can include giving parents advice on their

role and on good parenting and the use of appropriate discipline techniques. Parents can

also assist by encouraging their children to take part in outdoor pursuits which can give

certain pupils a real boost because pupils at risk of delinquency often have low self-esteem

and are particularly vulnerable to being coerced by peers into committing a crime. As such

any activity that can strengthen a pupils self-esteem will combat this.

Kyriacou also states that the community can play an influential role in curbing

delinquency. This can be done by providing opportunities for youth and parent involvement

in community activities. By doing this youths will feel a greater social attachment or bond

with their parents and the community. Activities provided by community groups will also

have the effect of keeping youths occupied doing something productive with the


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supervision of positive role models and with less unoccupied time they will be less likely to

partake in delinquent acts.

RESEARCH DESIGN

In this research paper I will be using quantitative data. Quantitative data usually takes

the form of statistical or numerical information. My main reason for choosing to employ the

use of this type of data is the fact that quantitative research facilitates theory formation

because as a large amount of data is collected the data can display cause and correlation

and therein make the formation of theories as to the cause and the solution 2 delinquency

possible. The use of this type of data is also advantageous in that it provides objectivity;

therefore respondents will not in any way be influenced by my personal opinion of

delinquency in the Tableland community.

The instrument used to collect data was questionnaires. A questionnaire is a number of

preset questions that can contain open-ended, fixed choice or a combination of both types

of questions. In my use of questionnaires I used a combination of fixed choice and open

ended questions.

The advantages of questionnaires to my research are that the data can be easily

tabulated, measured and analyzed and they are easy to administer. However some


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disadvantages are that fixed choice questions can possibly force a respondent to choose an

answer that does not capture his/her feelings about an issue and that some respondents

may provide erroneous information or treat the issue too lightly. However these problems

were overcome by incorporating open ended questions in my questions and secondly in

order to prevent respondents from treating the issue lightly I made an effort to impress

upon the respondents the importance of the research and the necessity for them to answer

all questions honestly and seriously.


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SAMPLE

A sample can be defined as a group of people selected from the population. The units

selected are deemed to be representative of the population from which they are drawn.

Therefore my sample population will be residents of the Tableland community.

The sampling method I will use will be stratified random sampling wherein my sample

frame will be persons who live within the immediate vicinity of the community Centre

which is the village councils base of operation. From the two traces in the immediate

vicinity; Ramsumir trace and Local road fifteen males and fifteen females will be chosen to

participate from each trace. Therefore a total of sixty participants will be involved in the

research. This amount was chosen because since Tableland is a small community containing

approximately 1000 persons this was thought to be a representative sample. They were

approached individually and asked whether they would like to participate in the study.


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QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Age2. Sex

Male Female

3. How long have you lived in the Tableland community?4. Do you think that delinquency is a problem in your community?5. If yes on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being not bad and 5 being extremely bad how would

you rate the level of delinquency?

1 2 3 4 5

6. Who are the individuals mainly involved in delinquent acts?Males Females

7. What age group do they belong to?8. What type of delinquent acts youths are usually involved in, in the community?9. What do you think are the causes of delinquency?

A = family factors B = community factors C = exposure to negative

influence


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10.Has the Tableland Village Council (TVC) done anything to address the problem ofdelinquency in the area?

Yes No

11.If yes, what have they done/implemented?12.How have the programmes you identified contributed to the development of the

youth in the area?

13.Do you believe that the programmes implemented by the (TVC) is effective inaddressing the problem of delinquency in your community?

Yes No

14.On a scale of 1-5 with 1 being not at all effective and 5 being very effective, howwould you rate the programmes organized by the (TVC)to address delinquency in

the Tableland area?

1 2 3 4 5

15.Do you believe that the programmes implemented can be improved?Yes No

16.If yes in what ways can the programmes be improved to make them moreeffective?

A = more regular meetings B = more activities during the school vacation

C = after school activities in conjunction with the school D = wider range of

activities to choose from E = mentoring programmes


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17.Do you think that the cooperation of other groups such as parents and the schoolwith the TVC can increase the effectiveness of the TVC in addressing delinquency?

Yes No

PRESENTATION OF DATA

Figure.1

Figure .2

Yes, 48

No, 12

Pie Graph showing whether residents think that

delinquency is a problem in the Tableland community?


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Figure .3

Figure .4

0

5

10

15

20

25

1 2 3 4 5

No.

respondents

Rate of delinquency

Graph showing the rate of delinquency in the Tableland

community with 1 being 'not bad' and 5 being

'extremely bad'

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

13-15 16-18 19-21

no.

ofrespondents

Age groups

Graph showing the age groups of individuals who usually commit

delinquents acts.


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TALLY CHART SHOWING WHAT DELINQUENT ACTIVITIES YOUTHS ARE USUALLY

INVOLVED IN.

Figure .5

A = family factors

0 5 10 15 20 25

A

B

C

Graph showing what respondents thought

were the causes of delinquency

Drugs18

Underage drinking20

School absenteeism

14

Bullying

8


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B = community factors

C = exposure to negative influence

Figure .6

TABLE SHOWING THE PROGRAMMES IMPLEMENTED BY THE TVC

PROGRAMMES NO. OF REPONDENTS

Craft workshops 12

Sports clubs 15

Theatre arts programmes 13

After school study groups 20

Figure .7

PICTOGRAPH SHOWING HOW THE PROGRAMMES IMPLEMENTED BY THE TVC

CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELPOMENT OF YOUTHS IN THE AREA

CONTRIBUTION NO. OF RESPONDENTS PICTOGRAPHIC

REPESENTATION

Acquirement of social and practical skills 10

Boosting of self-esteem 10

Decreased involvement in delinquent

activities

20

Improvement in academics 20


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SCALE: = 10 RESPONDENTS

Figure .8

90%

10%

Doughnut graph showing the percentage of people

who believe that the programmes implemented are

effective in addressing delinquency or not.

Yes

No


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Figure .9

Figure .10

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4 5

n

o.

ofrespondents

Rate of effectiveness

Graph showing the rate of effectiveness of the

programmes organized by the TVC to address

delinquency on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being 'not at alleffective' and 5 being 'very effective'


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From graph: IMPROVEMENTS

A = more regular meetings

B = more activities during the school vacation

C = after school activities in conjunction with the school

D = more parent child activities

E = mentoring programmes

Figure .11

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

A B C D E

No.

ofrespondents

Graph showing the ways in which the programmes

implemented by the TVC can be improved


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ANALYSIS OF DATA

Yes87%

No

13%

Column graph showing whether residents think that

the help of other groups such as parents and the

school can increase the effectiveness of the TVC in

addressing juvenile delinquency


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Figure 1 shows that 48 respondents out of the 60 persons questioned think that

delinquency is a problem in the Tableland community. However 12 persons think that it is not a

problem.

Figure 2 is a graph showing the level of delinquency on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being not bad

and 5 being extremely bad. Most of the respondents rated delinquency as being 3 which is the

middle of the two extremes of 1 and five.

Figure 3 is a column graph showing the age groups of individuals usually involved in

delinquent acts. According to the graph 28 respondents believe that individuals in the age

group 16-18 are usually involved in delinquent acts , 20 respondents believe that the age group

13-15 are the second most involved whereas the age group 19-21 are the least involved in

delinquent acts.

Figure 4 is a tally chart showing what type of delinquent acts youths are usually

involved in. 20 of the respondents which was the majority said that underage drinking was the

most common where bullying was the least common.

Figure 5 is a graph showing what respondents thought was the causes of delinquency.

The majority of the respondents which was 25 said that the main cause of delinquency was

family factors.

Figure 6 is a table showing the programmes implemented by the TVC.

Figure 7 is a pictograph illustrating how the programmes implemented by the TVC

contribute to the development of youths in the area. The majority of the respondents stated

the most common development was; decreased involvement in delinquent activities and

improvement in academics.

Figure 8 is a doughnut graph showing that 90% of the respondents believed that the

programmes implemented are effective in addressing delinquency while 10% think that it is

not.


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Figure 9 is a graph showing the rate of effectiveness of the programmes organized by the

TVC to address delinquency on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being not at all effective and 5 being very

effective. The majority, which was 31 rated the effectiveness as 5 which meant that the

programmes were very effective.

Figure 10 indicates that the majority of respondents believe that the improvement

should be B more activities during the school vacation.

Figure 11 is a graph showing that 52 respondents think the help of other groups such as

parents and the school can increase the effectiveness of the TVC in addressing delinquency

while 8 think it will not.


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DICUSSION OF FINDINGS

The research conducted in this study evaluates the effectiveness of the

programmes/initiatives implemented by the Tableland Village council in addressing the

problem of juvenile delinquency in the Tableland community. In- depth research was done to

assess the level of delinquency in the community, highlight the causes, identify the

programmes geared towards addressing delinquency and assess the effectiveness of the

programmes. The results obtained from the research, showed some similarities to previous

research carried out on this topic.

The results showed that 48 of the respondents believed that delinquency was a problem

in the Tableland community however 12 did not. Most of the respondents generally rated the

level of delinquency at the medium level of 3 and also 4 which is an indication that most

respondents acknowledge that delinquency is a problem in the community but not to the point

that it is at an uncontrollable level such as it would be at level 5.

Youths between the ages of 16-18 were found to be the most common offenders with

the age group 13-15 following at a close second. Those in the age group of 19-21 committed

the least delinquent acts. Kyriacou (2003) defined delinquency as committing an illegal offence

between the ages of 10 and 17 years. Therefore the results from the research fall into the

category mentioned by Kyriacou in his research.

In his research Gottfredson (2001) used the term juvenile delinquency to refer to a

broader range of problem behaviour and not simply illegal acts. Similarly research showed that

the youths in the tableland community not only participated in illegal acts such a underage

drinking and using drugs but they also participated in non- illegal acts such as bullying and

school absenteeism which respondents also termed as delinquent behaviour.

Previous studies done by (Rutter, 1987) on family risk factors showed that the

probability of a child becoming a delinquent increases rapidly as the number of family problems

increases. Similarly the research done shows that most respondents believed that family factors

was the leading cause of delinquency in the tableland community. The two other causes were


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community factors similar to studies done by Beinhart, Anderson, Lee and Utting (2002) and

exposure to negative influences.

Similar to studies done by Kyriacou (2003) which stated that the community can curb

delinquency by providing opportunities for youth and parent involvement, research shows that

the Tableland village council implemented various programs geared towards youth and parent

involvement to decrease delinquency. These programmes were rated as being very effective by

most respondents since they observed development of the youths such as increased self-

esteem, decreased involvement in delinquent activities, improvement in academics and

acquirement of social and practical skills.

The research also showed that the progammes could be improved to make them more

effective but also that 87% of the respondents believed that parents and the school could also

increase the effectiveness of the Tableland village council. Research by Kyricou also stated that

parents and the school were important to the process of curbing delinquency


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CONCLUSION

The research showed that delinquency is a problem in the Tableland community since

most people rated it as a 3 between the two extremes of 1 not bad and 5 extremely bad and

similar to previous studies family factors was thought to a the leading cause of delinquency in

the community. In order to curb this delinquency the Tableland village council implemented

programmes geared towards youth and parent involvement. The majority of the repondents

were of the opinion that the progammes were very effective but there was still room for

improvement.

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