Long Beach Unified School District Uniform Initiative: A Prevention-Intervention Strategy for Urban Schools, The

Journal of Negro Education, The, Fall 2003 by Lopez, Rebecca A

While much of the literature describes various challenged and dysfunctional school climates that hinder healthy development, researchers are unanimous in their depiction of the ideal setting. It is the positive school climate or what Garbarino et al. (1992) refer to as a "mental health environment" where "instruction, discipline, social activities and relationships at the school are coordinated to provide a secure school environment in which children are encouraged to exercise self-discipline and are also provided with opportunities to enhance their self-esteem" (p. 168).

Erikson (1968) identified a second major developmental task for children. The task of identity development, while peaking in adolescence, has its foundation during childhood. The social skills required to enter into peer relationships involve being able to form friendships, display empathy, engage in cooperative and competitive activities, and manage emotions-all tasks that lead to the adolescent formation of a selected identity and life direction (Ho, 1992, p. 20). Children who are not able to participate in peer interactions may fail to develop the skills to move successfully to other social and emotional tasks in adolescence (Erikson, 1959). The long-term consequences of repeated rejection by peers can be observed among youth who drop out of school or become involved in juvenile offenses and other problem behavior (Bagwell, Newcomb, & Bukowski, 1998; Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995).

Impact of Negative Schooling Experiences on Children

As a primary setting for social change and socialization of the young, Elliot and Voss (1974) use strain theory to explain the possible antisocial outcomes of negative school experiences. In fact, they suggest that dropping out of school and delinquency are predictable responses to the frustrations of negative school experiences. Frustrations born of economic and racial segregation are often noted as two crucial factors contributing to educational failure and delinquency (Lawrence, 1998). For example, Nijboer and Dijksterhuis (1983) found a "devastating" effect of negative labeling in their work with children labeled as delinquents. Negative experiences and interactions in the school environment can distort personal values, crush hopes, and force a "self-imposed alienation," which pushes the child further out of the mainstream and closer to delinquency (p. 4). Dupper and Meyer-Adams (2002) suggest the existence of "low-level violence" that promotes the alienation and victimization of the student when schools allow bullying, peer sexual harassment, and psychological maltreatment by peers and teachers (p. 350).

SCHOOLS AS SAFE AND EQUITABLE ENVIRONMENTS

Opportunities and Challenges

The burden of creating equitable environments, then, often falls to our schools. Schools are expected to initiate many of the social remedies for society's class and racial segregation while maintaining demanding scholastic standards. As a major community institution, schools have opportunities to implement programs of integration of the growing segments of social, racial and ethnic classes (Bowen & Richman, 2002). This imperative becomes more acute as we face an urban America with increasing numbers of ethnic minorities who constitute a new "rainbow underclass" (Rumbaut & Portes, 2001, p. 10).