ABSTRACT
The school has come to be seen as a prime actor in the development and prevention of delinquent behavior. This ascendance to prominence is refl ected in a number of theories of deviant behavior, research focusing on the correlates and causes of behavior, government and private reports linking schools and
education to delinquency, and the advent of delinquency intervention programs intimately tied to schools and education. Teachers and others in the schools have a great deal of contact with society’s youth and are in a position to identify problems as they emerge. The ability to use school problems and concerns to predict possible problems later in life places school personnel in the midst of secondary prevention. Although not criminal, school problems are used as indicators of possible future delinquent or criminal activity both in and out of school. Schools are also prime locations for implementing secondary prevention programs. Many interventions often deal with predelinquent youths and youths having problems in school.
