Conclusion
Rigorous longitudinal growth models showed that high school students in schools with an SBTC reported higher school satisfaction and fewer delinquent friendships compared to schools without an SBTC. Basic pretest-post test analyses also showed significant decreases in student-reported violent 450 behavior in SBTC schools while there was no significant change in this outcome in comparison group schools. School hassles, bullying victimization, and use of suspensions for discipline all decreased in schools with an SBTC; however, these outcomes also decreased in comparison schools.
Finally, SBTC participants reported decreasing friend support and increasing peer pressure and peer rejection. These are potential mediation mechanisms indicating stress within the process of going through SBTCs as an 455 offender and should be further examined in future studies.
Teen Court assists offenders in establishing positive connections with the school community by giving them a voice, which might help them acknowledge their transgressions and improve their behavior. SBTCs focus on repairing the harm done to the victim or community and emphasize having an open dialog rather than on procedure and evidence.
Based on Braithwaite’s Re- 460 Integrative Shaming Theory and Sherman’s Defiance Theory, SBTC programs seek to provide an atmosphere in which youths can be re-integrated into the community, instead of being stigmatized for their transgressions.
SBTCs have the potential to interrupt the School to Prison Pipeline by providing an alternative to marginalizing discipline, such as suspensions from school. Our data shows that SBTCs exert some positive effects on 465
school climate (i.e., student satisfaction) and student problems (i.e., delinquent friendships, violent behavior) while diverting offenders to community/school service as an alternative to traditional discipline. Based on encouraging results from this initial randomized trial, we recommend replication studies with a larger number of schools and the integration of Teen Courts with other practices to form a comprehensive package of programs to impact school climate. Read @ https://2pgact17vsn520hzyb3nfxr6-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2020/07/Teen-Court-Research.pdf
For more Information on Youth-Led and Volunteer-Driven Youth Court, Teen Court, Peer Court, Student Court and Peer Jury Diversion Programs in the United States of America and around the Globe — visit the Global Youth Justice Worldwide Website @ https://www.globalyouthjustice.org/