Social Studies

School Based Assessment

2019

Name of Candidate: Joshua Brathwaite

Candidate Number:
School Number:
Teacher: Ms. Gaskin
Date: 24th March 2019
Table of Contents

TOPIC Page

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 3
METHOD OF INVESTIGATION 4
REASON FOR CONDUCTION RESEARCH 5
INSTRUMENTS USED FOR DATA COLLECTION 6-11
PROCEDURS USED TO COLLECT DATA 12
PRESENTATION OF DATA GRAPHS 13-16
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 17
CONCLUSIONS 18
RECOMMENDATIONS 19
BIBLIOGRAPHY 20

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Statement of the Problem

Is juvenile delinquency a problem in our society?

The reason I chose the topic juvenile delinquency, is that as a student I have seen fellow students
exhibiting behaviour that I consider not to be in keeping with the type of society I want to live in.

These children with behavioural problems can later become drug abusers and have violent
tendencies, which can lend to mental and physical health problem in the future. I have seen
evidence of this in the traditional media and social media, and even in my community.

My aim is to try to understand why some children behave in this manner and others do not, even
though they may be attending the same school even some of the same classes and exposed to
similar negative influences.

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Method of Investigation

I intend to collect information through a survey in the form of a questionnaire.

This medium was used became of its convenience and flexibility, meaning that you can give the
questionnaire to the persons and then collect later and also for it is confidentiality. The
questionnaire does not carry the person’s name and it is also an informal way to gather data for
graphical interpretation.

A total of 30 persons were surveyed.

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Reason for Conducting Research

The reason for conducting this survey was because I realised that there was a sudden increase in
the number of juvenile delinquents in my school and in my neighbourhood. This survey is the
see if my thoughts are adequate.

5
Instruments Used for Data Collection

Juvenile Delinquency Survey

Juvenile Delinquency is considered criminal acts or offences by a young person, especially one
below the age at which ordinary criminal prosecution is possible. It is behaviour that is beyond
parental control and therefore subject to legal action.

This survey seeks to understand how and why our young people conduct themselves in the
delinquent manner that they do and also to seek solutions for such behaviour.

Please note that some of the questions below can have more than one possible
answer, these are the views and opinions and the respondents on the topic.

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What is your gender?

Male

Female

2. What is your age range?

11-16

17-22

23-28

29-34

35.40

41+

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 3. What is your religion?

_ __________________________

4. What is your family type?

Single Parent

Nuclear Family

5. Do you think juvenile delinquency is a problem in today’s society?

Yes

No

6. What do you consider to be “juvenile delinquency?”

_ __________________________

_ __________________________

_ __________________________

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 7. What do you think the best solution would be for helping a juvenile delinquent?

Boot Camp

Detention Facility

Group Home

Counselling/Therapy

School Programs

Other (please specify)

_______ __ _____

_________ _____

_________ _____

8. What do you think is a cause for juvenile delinquency?

Parental Neglect

Negative Social Situations

Poverty

Poor Education

Other (please specify)

_____ _________

_____ _________

_____ _________

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 9. Who is responsible for juvenile delinquents?

Parents

Schools

Juvenile

Some Communities

Other (please specify)

_________ _____

_________ _____

_________ _____

10. What age range do you consider more commonly associated with juvenile
delinquency?

10-12

13-15

16-18

19-21

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 11. What do you think is the worst problem in schools today?

Drugs

Violence

Weapons

Disrespect/Lacking respect for authority

Breaking School Rules

Other (please specify)

________ ______

________ ______

________ ______

12. Do you think it is necessary for parents to attend child guidance clinics?

Yes

No

13. What is your perspective on juvenile delinquency associated to how it affects the
future of the human race?

_____ _________

_____ _________

_____ _________

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 14. Do you think attempting to help the erroneous youth is even necessary? Please give
reason for your answer.

Yes

No

_________

_____ _________

_____ _________

15. What would best “fix” the problem?

Better trained/educated teachers

More school programs

School counselling / therapy

More parental involvement

Metal detectors

Drug searches

Other (please specify)

_____ _________

_____ _________

_____ _________

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Procedures Used to Collect Data

Questionnaires were prepared with a total of fifteen (15) survey questions, they were printed and
the questionnaires distributed to thirty (30) persons (15 females and 15 males). Their ages ranged
from 11 years and up. The respondents were selected from among family and friends and some
from offices where my parents work.

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Presentation of Data Graphs

Figure 1

QUES 8: What do you think is a cause for juvenile delinquency?

25

20
Number of Responses

15

10

0
Parent Neglect Negative Social Poverty Poor Education
Situations

Causes

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14
Figure 2

QUES 10: What age range do you consider more commonly associated with
juvenile delinquency?

Age 10-12 Age 13-15 Age 16-18 Age 19-21

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Figure 3

QUES 15: What would best “fix” the problem?

Gende Better More School More Metal Drug Other

r trained School counselling/therapy parental detectors searches
teachers Program involvement
s
Male 3 5 7 8 0 3 0
Female 8 6 9 12 3 3 0
Total 11 11 16 0 3 6 0

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 Figure 4

QUES 5: Do you think juvenile delinquency is a problem in today's

society?
30

Number of Responses
25

20

15

10

0
YES NO

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Analysis and Interpretation

The graph in figure 1 shows that most of the surveyed people think that “negative social
situations” is the cause of juvenile delinquency, and “Parent Neglect” was close to “negative
social situations”

The chart in figure 2 shows that 50% of the surveyed people think that “Age 13-15” is the most
commonly associated age range with juvenile delinquency and also that “Age 19-21” is the least
problem, accounting for only 9%.

The table in figure 3 shows that most of the respondents think that “More Parent Involvement” is
the best “fix” for the problem. Breaking down the table in gender, both males and females think
that “More Parent Involvement” is the best “fix” for the problem.

The graph in figure 4 shows that a big majority of the surveyed people answered “Yes” to “is
juvenile delinquency a problem in today’s society”.

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Conclusion

Based on analysis most responses were that delinquency is a problem in today’s society and that
negative social situations is the main cause of juvenile delinquency. The respondents also believe
that counselling can fix the problem.

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Recommendation

The question is, “is juvenile delinquency a problem in our society”. Most of the responses were
“more parental involvement” and “school counselling/therapy” is necessary for the fix of
juvenile delinquency.
I recommend that both “parental involvement” and “school counselling/therapy” be used to help
with the problem of juvenile delinquency, but with a serious concentration on
counselling/therapy in the school setting. This is because it is my belief that government needs to
intervene with our youth with respect to making sure that there are more Guidance Counsellors
positioned in the schools and that they are equipped with the knowledge and skills set to work
with the children.

Additionally, talking to the parents is essential, so they can start to help the counsellors with
venture such as studies that they may need to carry out. Parents may also be in a position to
donate money or time to help improve the counsellors , so that they can conduct better therapy
sessions.

These study results/sessions should then be shown to the Principal, who should in turn have talks
with the Ministry of Education as to how to move forward with the recommendations e.g. Boot
camps, Detentions.

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Bibliography

Picture https://www.google.com/search?
q=picture+of+juvenile+delinquency&tbm=isch&tbs=rimg:CY0KqA6bPwIDIjjaw2eaREug3LwP
p5v4z_1-DSx11ITr6Q7y56sUj1gVbJqGGC9-
Ky6MZjEEEjriSjuFJ6GsDKCNcjSoSCdrDZ5pES6DcEci_1e1GAZX5KKhIJvA-
nm_1jP_14MRUKNeMi4EjLYqEglLHXUhOvpDvBGa3yO5NK8-
ISoSCbnqxSPWBVsmERzH3phqBmIKKhIJoYYL34rLoxkR1FoJIK4cuK4qEgmMQQSOuJKO
4RHrzFsBJav50yoSCUnoawMoI1yNEW47jDtVHhLh&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjEytnF35
PhAhVHs1kKHQhjAA4Q9C96BAgBEBg&biw=1280&bih=849&dpr=1

Questionnaire

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C83ZMH2

Definition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juvenile_delinquency

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