Title
Author(s)
The application of labelling and differential association theory to
anunderstanding of the school drop-out problem of out-reach
clients
Au, Yuk-har, Grace.; 歐玉霞.
Citation
Issued Date
URL
Rights
1994
http://hdl.handle.net/10722/39698
The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights)
and the right to use in future works.
THE APPLICATION OF LABELLING AND DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION
THEORY TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCHOOL
DROP-OUT PROBLEM OF OUT-REACH CLIENTS
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO
THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL ADMINISTRATION
UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK
BY AU YUK HAR^ GRACE
AUGUST, 1994
SUPERVISOR: MRS SANDRA HO
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
工 wish t o acknowledge my gratitude t o the Outreaching S o c i a l
Work S e r v i c e o f Hong Kong Playground A s s o c i a t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y
the s t a f f o f Wong T a i S i n O u t r e a c h i n g S o c i a l Work Team, f o r t h e i r
great
support
and a s s i s t a n c e i n making
arrangement
of
case
interviews i n t h i s study.
Besides, I want t o express my thanks t o Mrs, Sandra Ho, the
supervisor
of
my
dissertation for
throughout t h e p r o c e s s .
T.
W.,
for
his
her
advice
and
guidance
S p e c i a l thanks s h o u l d a l s o go t o D r . Lo,
generous
support
and
stimulation
in
the
preparation o f t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n .
工 am most i n d e b t e d t o my b e l o v e d Tong and my b e s t f r i e n d s .
I v y , L i l l i a n and A n g e l i n a -
Without t h e i r tremendous support and
encouragement, t h i s work would have been much l e s s s a t i s f a c t o r y .
F i n a l l y , g r a t i t u d e goes t o t h e respondents o f t h i s study who were
so c o o p e r a t i v e and w i l l i n g t o share w i t h me t h e i r e xp e r i e nce s o f
dropping out o f s c h o o l .
ABSTRACT
I n t h i s studyr
sociological
theories,
two s i g n i f i c a n t
namely,
labelling
t h e o r y and d i f f e r e n t i a l a s s o c i a t i o n t h e o r y
were s e l e c t e d as a n a l y t i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e s t o
examine t h e dynamic p r o c e s s e s o f l a b e l l i n g
and p e e r i n f l u e n c e s i n r e l a t i o n t o o u t r e a c h
c l i e n t s ' dropping out o f s c h o o l .
As t h e
p r e s e n t s t u d y i s e x p l o r a t o r y i n n a t u r e and
f o c u s e s on t h e p r o c e s s and i n t e r a c t i o n , a
q u a l i t a t i v e methodology w i t h e l e v e n cases
was adopted.
Findings indicated t h a t the
i n f l u e n c e s o f l a b e l l i n g and p e e r a s s o c i a t i o n
d i d e x e r t a g r e a t impact on some o u t r e a c h
c l i e n t s ' d r o p p i n g out b e h a v i o u r .
CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
List of Tables
ii
List of Appendices
ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
I.
IL
III.
IV",
Rationale
Definition of Terms
Scope And Purpose of Study
Organization of the Study
10
CHAPTER TWO : LITERATURE REVIEW
R e l a t e d L i t e r a t u r e and R e s e a r c h
on S c h o o l Drop Out
I I . L o c a l S t u d i e s on S c h o o l Dropout
I I I . An Overview o f T h e o r i e s o f D e v i a n c e
工
.
12
25
33
CHAPTER THREE： CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
1，
工
工
•
Framework 工-Labelling T h e o r y
Framework 11 - Differential Association Theory
39
45
CHAPTER FOUR： METHODOLOGY
I•
II.
III.
IV",
V.
VI.
Research Design
Sampling Method
Instrument
Data Collection and Analysis
The Research Questions
Limitations of Study
51
52
54
55
56
57
rHAPTER FIVE: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
1«
II.
III.
IV.
General Characteristics of Respondents
Labelling Process and Dropping Out
Differential Association and Dropping Out
Discussion on the Application of Labelling
Theory and Differential Association Theory
60
64
80
97
CHAPTER SIX: IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
I.
11e
Related Issues
Implications for Outreaching Social
Work Service
III, Concluding Remarks
102
APPENDIX ONE: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
111
APPENDIX TWO: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE (CHINESE VERSION)
116
BIBLIOGRAPHY
119
106
109
L i s t o f Tables
Page
Table 1
General C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f the
Respondents
Table 2
Forms o f P r i m a r y D e v i a n c e o f
Respondents
65
Table 3
Forms o f Secondary D e v i a n c e o f
Respondents
74
Table 4
N a t u r e o f Respondents 1 I n t i m a t e
P e r s o n a l Groups
81
Respondents 1 Ideas F a v o u r a b l e
and U n f a v o u r a b l e t o D r o p p i n g Out
95
Table 5
61
L i s t o f Appendices
Appendix One
I n t e r v i e w Schedule
111
Appendix Two
I n t e r v i e w Schedule (Chinese V e r s i o n )
116
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
I n t h e p a s t decade, t h e p r o b l e m o f s c h o o l drop o u t has
become i n c r e a s i n g l y r e c o g n i z e d i n t h e s o c i e t y .
To some
e x t e n t , t h e p u b l i c ' s h e i g h t e n e d awareness towards s c h o o l
drop out problem stemmed from t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e
Hong
Kong
government's
nine-year
compulsory
education
p o l i c y i n 1978 (Hong Kong F e d e r a t i o n o f Y o u t h Groups, 1994
:71).
However, r e s e a r c h s t u d i e s on s c h o o l drop o u t problem
i n Hong Kong a r e v e r y s c a r c e .
S t a r t i n g from t h e end o f
196031 t o now/ t h e r e have been o n l y e i g h t r e l e v a n t s t u d i e s
w i t h an e x p l i c i t o r i m p l i c i t attempt t o e x p l o r e t h e causes
o f drop o u t p r o b l e m o f t h e young p e o p l e i n Hong Kong (Hong
Kong F e d e r a t i o n o f Youth Groups, 1 9 9 4 ) .
T h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n was an e x p l o r a t o r y s t u d y on s c h o o l
dropouts s e r v e d b y t h e o u t r e a c h i n g s o c i a l work s e r v i c e i n
Hong Kong.
Two a r e a s , t h e l a b e l l i n g e f f e c t
and p e e r
influence
on o u t r e a c h c l i e n t s 1
explored.
I n t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y , some s i g n i f i c a n t c o n c e p t s
of
two
namely,
sociological
labelling
theories
theory
and
drop-out
on
problem,
explaining
differential
were
deviance,
association
t h e o r y were used a s a n a l y t i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e s t o a c h i e v e a
b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e phenomenon o f s c h o o l d r o p o u t
i n Hong Kong.
I.
RATIONALE
1•
Choosing School Drop Out Problem as the Issue to be
Studied
Working in the outreaching social work service for the
past six years has given the author a good opportunity to
understand the needs and problems of outreach clients who
are
often
described
viewed
in
as
a group
of
1
youths-at-risk11.
the Operational Manual
As
for social workers
issued by the Coordinating Committee on Outreaching Social
Work of Hong Kong Council of Social Service (1988 ： 2) /
"Outreaching social work is a systematic helping
process whereby professional social workers are
to reach out and to establish contact with young
people in the places which they are known to
frequent, notably playgrounds, parks, fast-food
restaurants, housing blocks, etc. Once contact
is established, it is possible to identify those
young people who, for whatever reasons, be they
personal, social, emotional, have developed
social maladjustment and behaviour problems which
may be socially undesirable, delinquent, or selfdestructive .”
I t i s o b v i o u s t h a t o u t r e a c h i n g s o c i a l work i s t o
enhance t h e s o c i a l f u n c t i o n i n g o f i n d i v i d u a l young p e r s o n s
t h r o ug h r e m e d i a l , p r e v e n t i v e a n d / o r developmental measures.
Based upon h e r f i e l d w o r k e x p e r i e n c e s / t h e a u t h o r f o u n d t h a t
outreach c l i e n t s
are
more
prone
to
undesirable
i n f l u e n c e 1 and e f f e c t o f l a b e l l i n g as 'bad g u g s ' ,
1
peer
youths-
A c c o r d i n g t o Summary Report on C l i e n t e l e I n f o r m a t i o n System o f
O u t r e a c h i n g S o c i a l Work, 1989-1991, p r e p a r e d by t h e C o o r d i n a t i n g
Committee on O u t r e a c h i n g S o c i a l Work and Res earc h Department, The
Hong Kong C o u n c i l o f S o c i a l S e r v i c e , u n d e s i r a b l e p e e r i n f l u e n c e ,
one s i g n i f i c a n t i t e m i n p e e r s p r o b l e m , was t h e most common main
problem, a c c o u n t i n g f o r 31.6¾ of all problems of outreach clients
as at March, 1991.
at-risk'
or
even
psychological,
youths 1
‘delinquent
social
and
behavioural
compared t o t h e o r d i n a r y young p e o p l e .
noticed that i n recent years
clients
such as
the
on
their
development
as
And t h e author
problems o f
teenage p r o s t i t u t i o n ,
outreach
s c h o o l drop o u t ,
running away from home, t r i a d and substance abuse seemed t o
be more complicated and m u l t i - f a c e t e d than b e f o r e .
Among these youth problems t h e
author
showed much
concern over t h e drop out problem as she found t h a t t h e
numbers o f dropout cases and p o t e n t i a l dropout c a s e s were
increasing.
Report
on C l i e n t e l e
S o c i a l Work
p . 5) .
Her o b s e r v a t i o n was supported by t h e Summary
As
Information
System o f
Outreaching
(Hong Kong C o u n c i l o f S o c i a l S e r v i c e ,
1993,
shown i n the r e p o r t , t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f s c h o o l
drop out cases i n c r e a s e d s i n c e March 1988 through March
1991 (5.9%, 7.3%,
In
8.7% and 8.1% r e s p e c t i v e l y ) .
response t o
voluntary
social
the
service
school
agency.
drop
out
Hong
problem,
Kong
the
Playground
A s s o c i a t i o n , f o r which t h e author has been working f o r s i x
y e a r s , conducted two s t u d i e s on s c h o o l drop out problem i n
1988 and 1990 r e s p e c t i v e l y .
These two s t u d i e s s t i m u l a t e d
t h e author as w e l l as her c o l l e a g u e s t o pay
a greater
e f f o r t on e x p l o r i n g r e s o u r c e s t o h e l p t h e dropouts who a r e
i n need.
I n t h e p r e v i o u s t h r e e y e a r s , over 17,000 teenagers
from form one t o form t h r e e have been r e p o r t e d by t h e i r
s c h o o l s t o t h e E d u c a t i o n Department as suspected dropouts,
and o f these 8,046 were confirmed (Hong Kong F e d e r a t i o n o f
Youth Groups, 1994).
Education
A c c o r d i n g t o the s t a t i s t i c s o f the
Department,
there
were
5,221
drop-out
cases
( i n c l u d i n g t h e students who were c o n t i n u o u s l y absent from
s c h o o l f o r seven days o r above) f o r t h e academic y e a r o f
1992/93
Apart
(Hong
Kong F e d e r a t i o n o f
from the f a c t t h a t
Youth Groups,
1,556 persons
who
1994).
changed t o
another s c h o o l f o r f u r t h e r s t u d y , 133 persons were found t o
be s e t t l e d i n r e s i d e n t i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , and 1,162 persons
migrated t o o t h e r c o u n t r i e s and a t o t a l o f 2,270 persons
were unknown o f t h e i r study o r c a r e e r development a f t e r
t h e i r dropping out o f s c h o o l .
However,
teammates1
as
reflected
from
the
author 1 s
and
her
f i e l d w o r k e x p e r i e n c e s , the f i g u r e s concerning
drop-out cases
may be an u n d e r - e s t i m a t i o n s i n c e q u i t e a
number o f s c h o o l s do not r e p o r t cases on schedule and a few
do not make any r e p o r t t o E d u c a t i o n Department.
Moreover,
an i n c r e a s i n g number o f s t u d e n t s a r e p l a y i n g t r u a n t and
f o o l i n g around i n t h e p u b l i c p l a c e s such as t h e p a r k s ,
street-corners
absence
from
maintaining
and/or t r i a d
and
school
fast-food
and
employment
influences
shops.
difficulties
expose
and
committing d e l i n q u e n t a c t s .
Their
in
prolonged
getting
and
them t o u n d e s i r a b l e peer
increase t h e i r
chances
of
On the whole, a l l o f t h e s e mentioned above s t i m u l a t e d
t h e author t o develop
study
an i n t e r e s t i n conducting a case
on o u t r e a c h c l i e n t s '
drop
out
problem,
with
an
attempt t o having a deeper understanding towards drop out
problem-
It
beneficial to
was
expected
that
outreach s o c i a l
the
study
workers t o
would
be
handle t h e i r
c l i e n t s * drop out problem i n a more e f f e c t i v e way.
2•
Application
of
Labelling
Theory
and
Differential
Association Theory on Understanding the Issue to be Studied
In
the
present
study,
two
interested
areas
to be
explored were the possible labelling and peer influences on
a youngster 1 s drop out problem.
theories
on
explaining
Two promising sociological
deviance,
labelling
theory
and
differential association theory were selected as analytical
perspectives for the author to focus on the two interested
areas of the study.
The selection of the two theories as
an analytical perspective was mainly based on the following
grounds.
First of all, as reflected by the frontline workers
who are working with the author in the same outreaching
social
work
negative
team,
labelling
it
was
observed
and
that
undesirable
influences
peers
played
of
a
significant role of contributing to outreach clients 1 drop
out
problem.
observation
Though
built
on
it
was
basically
outreach
a
subjective
workers'
fieldwork
experiences when dealing with school drop-out cases, this
reflected at
least
part
of
a
true
picture
of
school
dropouts 1 e x p e r i e n c e s •
Second, in general there are two types of delinquent
behaviour,
namely,
criminal
(Trojanowicz and Morash,
offence
and
1992； K r a t c o s k i
1990; B i n d e r , G e i s and B r u c e , 1988)-
status
offence
and K r a t c o s k i ,
Criminal offences are
a l e g a l wrong t h a t can be f o l l o w e d by c r i m i n a l p r o c e e d i n g s
which may r e s u l t i n punishment.
T h i s k i n d o f o f f e n c e s may
be committed by a d u l t s o r young p e o p l e .
Status offences
a r e those o f f e n c e s t h a t o n l y a y o u t h can commit and would
n o t be c o n s i d e r e d c r i m i n a l f o r a d u l t s , such a s r u n n i n g away
from home,
truancy,
purchasing o r d r i n k i n g o f a l c o h o l i c
beverages, and d r o p p i n g o u t o f s c h o o l .
In t h i s respect, a
s c h o o l dropout i s p e r c e i v e d as committing a s t a t u s o f f e n c e .
With t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f n i n e y e a r s ' compulsory e d u c a t i o n
o f Hong Kong i n 1978, t h e young perso n s aged under f i f t e e n
and not h a v i n g completed form t h r e e a r e expected t o r e c e i v e
formal education i n school•
Thus the young persons aged
under fifteen who dropped out from school are considered to
have committed a deviant act that violates the social norms
and existing law of Hong Kong
(Hong Kong Car itas, 1985;
Hong Kong Playground Association, 1988 and 1990).
Mien reviewing the studies and literature with regard
to juvenile delinquency and deviance, labelling theory and
differential
association
theory
found
to
have
good
e x p l a n a t o r y power on t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between d r o p p i n g out
and
juvenile
delinquency
(LeCompte
and
K r o n i c k , 1990； A l p e r t and Dunham, 1986).
effect
of
labelling
is
Dworkin,
1991 ；
And t h e n e g a t i v e
particularly
a d o l e s c e n t s t a g e o f l i f e (Ng and Cheung,
strong
at
the
1988) .
For the
d i f f e r e n t i a l a s s o c i a t i o n t h e o r y ( S u t h e r l a n d and C r e s s e y ,
1978), i t has
research
been e x t e n s i v e l y t e s t e d and s u p p o r t e d by
findings
one1s
that
deviant
or
delinquent
behaviour i s l e a r n e d from o n e ' s i n t i m a t e p e r s o n a l group (Ng
and Cheung,
1988; V o i d ,
t h e s e two t h e o r i e s
1986; N e t t l e r , 1974).
a r e commonly a p p l i e d on s t u d y i n g i s s u e s
o f deviance and j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n c y .
adopted t h e
major
In short,
concepts o f
the
Hence, t h e a u t h o r
two t h e o r i e s
as
an
a n a l y t i c a l t o o l when examining t h e l a b e l l i n g e f f e c t and
p e e r a s s o c i a t i o n i n r e l a t i o n t o a young p e r s o n ' s problem o f
dropping out,
II.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
At
the
introductory
chapter o f t h i s
dissertation,
d e f i n i t i o n o f two s i g n i f i c a n t t e r m s , o u t r e a c h c l i e n t s and
s c h o o l dropouts i s needed.
F i r s t , outreach c l i e n t s r e f e r
t o t h e t a r g e t group o f y o u t h s aged 6 t o 24 who a r e s e r v e d
by t h e o u t r e a c h i n g s o c i a l work teams i n Hong Kong.
may
encounter
family,
sex,
problems
related to
occupation,
behaviour,
leisure
and
They
emotion,
schooling.
S p e c i f i c a l l y , t h e y can be c a t e g o r i z e d as f o l l o w s (Hong Kong
Council o f S o c i a l Service, 1988:2):-
1)
members o f n a t u r a l groups o r s t r e e t gangs
who a r e
susceptible t o undesirable influences, e . g . p r o s t i t u t i o n ,
gambling e t c . , and such groups may o r may n o t share common
interests;
2)
those who have poor t i e s w i t h t h e i r f a m i l i e s and may
runaway from home;
3)
unattached young people who a r e o f t e n found l o i t e r i n g
w i t h o r without companions;
4)
school
dropouts o r p o t e n t i a l
dropouts
who
may
be
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h gangs•
Because
groupings
of
and
their
high
undesirable
accessibility
influences
in
to
informal
their
natural
environment, outreach clients are often viewed as a group
of 'youths-at-risk1
such
a
specific
(Ng, 1985).
clientele
This study was to examine
group
with
school
drop
out
problem.
Second, with a view of defining the term of school
dropouts, the author made reference to the existing laws of
Hong Kong,
Under the Compulsory Education Ordinance Cap.
279, Laws of Hong Kong, any person aged under fifteen and
not having completed form three, who did not attend class
continuously
for
more
than
fourteen
days
without
authorization is considered as a school dropout (Hong Kong
Caritas, 1985; Hong Kong Playground Association, 1988 and
1990; Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, 1994).
In the a c t u a l p r a c t i c e , i t
number
of
school
dropouts
was noted t h a t
who
did
not
a large
attend
class
c o n t i n u o u s l y f o r more than two weeks without a u t h o r i z a t i o n
would drop out from s c h o o l e v e n t u a l l y .
T h e r e f o r e i n the
present study t h e author would l i k e t o adopt t h e d e f i n i t i o n
o f school drop-out as s p e c i f i e d i n t h e e x i s t i n g e d u c a t i o n
ordinance.
III.
SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF STUDY
A l a r g e body o f e m p i r i c a l s t u d i e s and r e s e a r c h has
i d e n t i f i e d a wide range o f f a c t o r s t h a t a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
a young p e r s o n 1 s dropping o u t o f school (Rumberger, 1987;
F i n n , 1989).
out
I t i m p l i e s t h a t t h e c a u s a l i t y o f s c h o o l drop
problem i s
multidimensional,
however, i t i s
quite
d i f f i c u l t t o cover a l l these dimensions i n t h e p r e s e n t
study.
In view o f the l i m i t e d r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e f o r the
present
study,
the
author' s
emphasis
was
put
on
the
understanding o f dynamics o f i n f l u e n c e s o f l a b e l l i n g and
peers
exerted
on
a young p e r s o n * s
drop out b e h a v i o u r .
However, i t i s worthy o f mentioning t h a t o t h e r f o r c e s o r
variables
such
as p a r e n t a l
supervision
and e x p e c t a t i o n
toward s c h o o l i n g t h a t a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a young p e r s o n 、
dropping out would also be discussed
variables had
a
particular
if these forces or
relevance to
their
drop-out
behaviour.
The
present
study was
an
exploratory
effort
to
examine how a young person develops his/her school drop out
problem and t o what extent t h e l a b e l l i n g e f f e c t and peer
i n f l u e n c e i s a p p l i c a b l e i n understanding h i s / h e r drop out
problem.
I t should be s t r e s s e d t h a t the author d i d not
attempt t o t e s t i f y o r r e f i n e any t h e o r y .
Moreover, i t was
not the i n t e n t i o n o f t h e p r e s e n t study t o conduct a l a r g e s c a l e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e survey on s c h o o l drop out i n Hong Kong
but j u s t a s m a l l - s c a l e i n - d e p t h study o f a few c a s e s .
To
be s p e c i f i c , t h e o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e study a r e as f o l l o w s :
1)
To g a i n a b e t t e r understanding o f the p r o c e s s i n which
some outreach c l i e n t s developed and formed t h e i r drop-out
behaviour
so
differences
as
of
to
their
identify
life
similarities
experiences,
as
well
attitudes
as
and
b e h a v i o u r a l p a t t e r n s i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e i r drop-out problem.
2)
To
examine
how
and t o what
extent t h e l a b e l l i n g
process i n t h e school s e t t i n g and peer i n f l u e n c e s e x e r t e d
on some outreach c l i e n t s 1 d r o p - o ut problem.
3)
To i d e n t i f y i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r o u t r e a c h i n g s o c i a l work
s e r v i c e when h e l p i n g t h e o u t r e a c h c l i e n t s w i t h s c h o o l drop
out problem.
IV.
ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
In t h i s introductory chapter, a general p i c t u r e of
t h e p r e s e n t study w i t h t h e r a t i o n a l e , scope and purpose,
d e f i n i t i o n o f terms were b r i e f l y s t a t e d .
In the following
c h a p t e r , r e l a t e d l i t e r a t u r e and r e s e a r c h on s c h o o l drop
o u t , i n c l u d i n g l o c a l and overseas s t u d i e s , and s o c i o l o g i c a l
t h e o r i e s i n r e l a t i o n t o deviance
10
would be reviewed.
The
conceptual
perspective
of
the
study,
including
two
p e r s p e c t i v e s based on l a b e l l i n g t h e o r y and d i f f e r e n t i a l
a s s o c i a t i o n t h e o r y would be p r e s e n t e d i n c h a p t e r t h r e e .
D e t a i l s on t h e methodology o f t h e s t u d y were t h e n examined
i n chapter f o u r .
F i n d i n g s and d i s c u s s i o n on t h e f i n d i n g s
would be p r e s e n t e d i n c h a p t e r f i v e .
I n the l a s t chapter,
i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r o u t r e a c h i n g s o c i a l work s e r v i c e were found
w i t h a c o n c l u d i n g summary on t h e s t u d y -
11
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
I n t h i s c h a p t e r , a r e a s t o be c o v e r e d were a r e v i e w o f
literature
and r e s e a r c h on s c h o o l
drop o u t ,
including
o v e r s e a s and l o c a l s t u d i e s ； and a b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e
theories o f deviance.
C o n c l u d i n g remarks were g i v e n a t
ea ch s e c t i o n o f t h i s c h a p t e r .
I.
RELATED LITERATURE AND RESEARCH ON SCHOOL DROP OUT
1•
The Incidence of the Problem
The
first question
to be
commonly
asked
is
the
incidence of the problem that is also the most difficult to
answer.
In actual practice, no one knows what the school
dropout rate really is in the society.
The current figure
of school dropouts may be an under-estimation because quite
a number of schools do not report cases on schedule and a
few do not make any report to the responsible department
(Rumberger, 1987； Hong Kong F e d e r a t i o n o f Y o u t h Groups,
1994).
F o r many m o d e r n i z e d c o u n t r i e s , t h e r e has been a t r e n d
i n which t h e dropout p o p u l a t i o n i s d e c r e a s i n g (Inbar,
1990).
I n g e n e r a l , t h e d e c l i n i n g number o f t h e d r o p o u t
p o p u l a t i o n may b e a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e i n c r e a s e d e d u c a t i o n
o p p o r t u n i t i e s o f t h e young p e r s o n s due t o b o t h a g r o w i n g
12
s o c i a l demand f o r more s c h o o l i n g and an i n c r e a s e d economic
need f o r a more e d u c a t e d work f o r c e (Carnoy & L e v i n , 1985).
However, i t s h o u l d b e n o t e d t h a t d r o p o u t r a t e s v a r y w i d e l y
among s c h o o l systems a s w e l l a s s o c i a l groups ( E l l i o t t &
V o s s , 1974; Rumberger, 1987； I n b a r , 1990).
I f the long-term incidence o f dropping out o f school
i s d e c l i n i n g , why h a s t h e p u b l i c ' s c o n c e r n f o r t h i s problem
increased i n recent
decades?
Three e x p l a n a t i o n s
account p a r t l y f o r t h i s i n c r e a s e d a t t e n t i o n .
may
First of a l l ,
though t h e l o n g - t e r m t r e n d o f d r o p p i n g o u t has d e c l i n e d ,
the
short-term
trend
has
remained
steady
and
i n c r e a s e d , p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r some groups o f s t u d e n t s .
even
For
example, i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f w h i t e male
d r o p o u t s i n c r e a s e d f r o m 14% t o 17% between 1968 and 1978
and t h e n d e c l i n e d t o
16% i n 1984 (Rumberger, 1987) .
And
because m i n o r i t i e s a r e more l i k e l y t o d r o p o u t b e f o r e
g r a d u a t i o n , some demographic changes, i n c l u d i n g t h e growth
o f s i n g l e - p a r e n t f a m i l i e s and t h e number o f c h i l d r e n l i v i n g
i n p o v e r t y would
lead t o
an i n c r e a s e i n t h e
p o p u l a t i o n i n t h e f u t u r e ( P a l l a s e t a l . , 1989) ,
dropout
A l l of
these suggest t h a t t h e c u r r e n t dropout p o p u l a t i o n , although
much s m a l l e r t h a n t h a t i n t h e p a s t , i s s t i l l s i z e a b l e
particularly
in
some
vulnerable
groups
of
students
(Runiberger, 1987； I n b a r , 1 9 9 0 ) .
A
second
reason f o r
the
13
increased
concern i s
a
widespread b e l i e f t h a t t h e e d u c a t i o n a l requirements o f work
w i l l increase i n the f u t u r e .
The i n c r e a s e d use o f new
t e c h n o l o g i e s and s t r u c t u r a l changes i n t h e j o b c o m p o s i t i o n
o f t h e economy w i l l r e q u i r e more e d u c a t i o n a l s k i l l s and
knowledge (Rumberger, 1987, p . 1 0 2 ) .
A t h i r d r e a s o n f o r i n c r e a s e d c o n c e r n i s t h a t many
c o u n t r i e s such as Hong Kong and many s t a t e s o f t h e America
have passed l e g i s l a t i o n t o r a i s e academic r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r
high school graduation.
Lots of e f f o r t s are required t o
p r e v e n t s t u d e n t s from d r o p p i n g o u t o f s c h o o l b e f o r e t h e y
can r e c e i v e t h e b a s i c e d u c a t i o n r e q u i r e d b y t h e government.
Whatever t h e reasons f o r t h e h e i g h t e n e d concern, t h e
above a n a l y s i s suggests t h a t t h e d r o p o u t i s s u e i s worthy o f
r e c e i v i n g more a t t e n t i o n from r e s e a r c h e r s , p o l i c y makers
and r e l a t e d p r o f e s s i o n a l s as t h e f a c t t h a t t h e dropout
p o p u l a t i o n though much s m a l l e r t h a n i n e a r l i e r p e r i o d s , i s
s t i l l sizeable.
D e t a i l s o f t h e major c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f
dropouts w i l l be p r e s e n t e d i n t h e t h i r d s e c t i o n o f t h i s
chapter.
2•
Nature of the Problem
Dropping out of school is not an isolated phenomenon
(Kronick
& Hargis,
various
services
1990 : ¢ 1 X
including
It
welfare,
vocational guidance and training.
14
usually
involves
education
and
In a sense, the problem
o f dropout i s a complex s o c i a l and e d u c a t i o n a l problem as
most o f t h e e a r l y s c h o o l l e a v e r s have s e r i o u s e d u c a t i o n a l
d e f i c i e n c i e s t h a t l i m i t t h e i r economic and s o c i a l w e l l b e i n g throughout t h e i r a d u l t l i f e (Rumberger, 1987).
As suggested by N a t r i e l l o e t a l . (1986), t h e r e a r e
f o u r major a s p e c t s t h a t a r e t h e key elements f o r a c h i e v i n g
a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e dropout phenomenon.
The
f o l l o w i n g f i g u r e i l l u s t r a t e s t h e framework f o r s t u d y i n g t h e
n a t u r e o f dropout problem a s w e l l a s f o r a renewed r e s e a r c h
agenda on t h e p r o b l e m : Student
Characteristics (1)School Process
(2)/
> D r o p p i n g o u t (3)
Consequences o f D r o p p i n g o u t (4)
The above f i g u r e shows t h a t t h e r e a r e two antecedent
elements, t h e background o f s t u d e n t s and t h e p r o c e s s a s p e c t
o f the students' s c h o o l environment.
A l a r g e number o f
s t u d i e s emphasized on t h e r e l a t i v e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f t h e s e
two elements t o d r o p p i n g o u t .
But t h i s f i g u r e suggests
t h a t t h e s e two elements t h e m s e l v e s a r e n o t independent.
They a r e i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h e a c h o t h e r , showing a p a t t e r n o f
r e c i p r o c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p between them and have an impact on
t h e t h i r d element, d r o p p i n g o u t o f s c h o o l , t h a t i s t h e
c e n t r a l element t o be s t u d i e d .
Moreover, t h e f o c u s o f
r e s e a r c h s t u d i e s n o t o n l y p u t on t h e c a u s e s o f d r o p p i n g
o u t , b u t a l s o on i t s consequences, t h a t i s t h e f o u r t h
15
element t o be e x p l o r e d .
In
short,
the
above
figure
points
out
that
an
e x a m i n a t i o n o f each o f t h e s e f o u r a s p e c t s a s w e l l as t h e
i n t e r p l a y among them w i l l be h e l p f u l f o r g a i n i n g a g r e a t e r
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e n a t u r e o f d r o p o u t phenomenon.
Hence,
a l i t e r a t u r e r e v i e w on c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f d r o p o u t s , causes
o f d r o p p i n g o u t and consequences o f t h e p r o b l e m w i l l be
conducted i n t h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n s .
3•
Characteristics of dropouts
As stated by Hahn (1987), dropping out of school is a
problem not confined to a group of minority students who
could not learn.
educational
Most
practitioners
researchers, policy makers and
contributed
their
efforts
identify the students who may be potential dropouts.
to
They
think that one mode of attack on the problem is to study
the
characteristics
that
differentiate
graduates (Kronick & Hargis, 1990 ； 6 5 ) .
dropouts
from
I n t h i s respect,
i t can be v i e w e d as a way o f p r o v i d i n g p r e v e n t i v e s e r v i c e s
f o r the p o t e n t i a l dropouts b e i n g i d e n t i f i e d ( N a t r i e l l o e t
a l . , 1986; W e l l s , 1990).
The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f d r o p o u t s a r e o f t e n c l a s s i f i e d
into
three
related;
maj or
categories:
and s c h o o l - r e l a t e d .
student-related； familyD e t a i l s o f the dropouts'
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s are presented as f o l l o w s :
16
3.1
Student-related Characteristics
The p o s s i b l e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f d r o p o u t s o r p o t e n t i a l
d r o p o u t s a r e d e s c r i b e d as e x h i b i t i n g academic d i f f i c u l t i e s ,
inattentiveness,
low
self-esteem,
excessive
absences,
h e a l t h - r e l a t e d p r o b l e m s , i n a b i l i t y t o f a c e s t r e s s and l a c k
o f m o t i v a t i o n ( W e l l s , 1990 :
6)-
The p r e v i o u s s t u d i e s o f
d r o p p i n g o u t have r e v e a l e d a p r o f i l e o f s t u d e n t s w i t h
c e r t a i n background c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , who a r e more l i k e l y t o
be
early
school-leavers
than
students
with
other
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ( N a t r i e l l o e t a l . , 1986； Wehlage & R u t t e r ,
1986; Weis e t a l . , 1989) .
F o r example, d r o p o u t s t e n d t o
come from m i n o r i t i e s s u c h a s n o n - w h i t e , r a t h e r t h a n w h i t e
r a c i a l backgrounds
(Rumberger,
1987； K r o n i c k
Sc H a r g i s ,
1990) . A n o t h e r f i n d i n g s s u g g e s t t h a t d r o p o u t s t e n d t o come
from lower socioeconomic s t a t u s
(SES)
backgrounds t h a n
g r a d u a t e s (Wehlage & R u t t e r , 1986; F i n n , 1989； W e l l s , 1990;
K r o n i c k & H a r g i s , 1990).
Some s t u d i e s r e p o r t e d t h a t d r o p o u t s were found t o have
lower i n t e l l e c t u a l a b i l i t i e s than graduates e s p e c i a l l y t o
be behind i n r e a d i n g and Mathematics, and t o be l a c k i n g i n
g e n e r a l academic s k i l l s ( E k s t r o m e t a l . , 1986; Peck e t a l . ,
1989； K r o n i c k & H a r g i s , 1990) .
performance
leading t o
course
However, t h e p o o r academic
failure
and
low
study
m o t i v a t i o n i n s t e a d o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l 1 s low i n t e l l e c t u a l
a b i l i t y a r e t h e d e t e r m i n i n g f a c t o r s o f d r o p p i n g o u t (Peck
e t a l . r 1989)•
17
Economic f a c t o r s a r e r e p o r t e d b y d r o p o u t s as c r u c i a l
i n the d e c i s i o n t o leave school before graduation.
Males
o f t e n report dropping out f o r f i n a n c i a l reasons, e i t h e r t o
h e l p s u p p o r t t h e i r f a m i l i e s o r t o s o l v e t h e economic s t r e s s
o f t h e i r f a m i l i e s ; w h i l e females r e p o r t l e a v i n g school t o
g e t m a r r i e d o r because o f pregnancy (Ekstrom e t a l . , 1986;
Rumberger, 1987; K r o n i c k & H a r g i s , 1990). I t i m p l i e s t h a t
there
may be
a gender-related reason f o r students
who
dropped o u t from s c h o o l .
3•2
Family-related Characteristics
Many studies revealed that dropouts tend to come from
low
S.E.S.
families.
Factors
associated with the
low
S.E.S. families include low educational and occupational
attainment
levels
of
parents,
low
family
income, weak
family cohesiveness or single-parent family, and the lack
of learning materials and chances in the home (Steinbery et
al., 1984; Ekstrom et al., 1986) .
family-related
characteristics
of
Other indicators of
dropouts
include
the
stressful home situation, poor communication between home
and school, siblings and/or parents who were dropouts and
frequent family moves (Wells, 1990).
3•3
School-related Characteristics
Recently, a new focus for research has been placed on
identifying school-related factors associated with dropping
out.
Two major visible school-related factors are poor
18
academic achievement
and b e h a v i o u r a l p r o b l e m i n s c h o o l
( E l l i o t t & V o s s , 1974; Wehlage & R u t t e r , 1986； E k st r o m e t
a l . , 1986; W e l l s , 1990) .
Poor academic achievement can be
r e f l e c t e d b y s t u d e n t s ‘ low g r a d e s , t e s t s c o r e s and grade
retention.
I t i s a l s o known t h a t t h e b e h a v i o u r a l p r o b l e m
i n s c h o o l i n c l u d i n g a b s e n t e e i s m , t r u a n c y and d i s c i p l i n e
problem i s a n o t h e r major f e a t u r e o f d r o p o u t s (Wehlage &
Rutter/
1986)-
particularly
Most
of
attendance,
the
can
discipline
be
traced
problems,
back
to
the
d r o p o u t s ‘ performance i n e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l ( W e l l s , 1990).
As r e p o r t e d i n some s t u d i e s , m a j o r i t y o f d r o p o u t s have
a f e e l i n g a l i e n a t e d from s c h o o l and t e a c h e r s (Wehlage &
R u t t e r , 1986; W e l l s , 1990).
A f e e l i n g o f "school i s not
f o r me" was i d e n t i f i e d among d r o p o u t s i n a s u r v e y conducted
i n C a l i f o r n i a (Peck e t a l . , 1 9 8 9 ) .
However, l i t t l e
attention
has
been g i v e n t o
the
e f f e c t s o f schools themselves, i n c l u d i n g t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l
s t r u c t u r e , l e a d e r s h i p and t e a c h e r s 1 a t t i t u d e s on s t u d e n t s 1
d e c i s i o n t o drop o u t .
expressed
Some s t u d i e s f o u n d t h a t d r o p o u t s
dissatisfaction
with
school
and
showed
d i f f i c u l t i e s i n g e t t i n g a l o n g w i t h t e a c h e r s and d e a l i n g
w i t h school structure
(Rumberger,
1987).
According t o
Wehlage and R u t t e r (1986), i n t h e p r o c e s s o f becoming a
dropout, t h e a c t o f r e j e c t i n g t h e e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n
must be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e b e l i e f t h a t t h e i n s t i t u t i o n has
19
rejected the students.
cumulative
The p r o c e s s o f d r o p p i n g o u t i s
and s t a r t s w i t h n e g a t i v e messages from t h e
s c h o o l t h a t t h e s t u d e n t s ' academic o r d i s c i p l i n e problems
need t o be h a n d l e d .
related factors
A l l o f these i l l u s t r a t e t h a t school-
exert
students1 d e c i s i o n o f
a certain
degree o f
impact
on
dropping o u t .
By and l a r g e , most o f t h e a r t i c l e s and s t u d i e s attempt
t o i d e n t i f y t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f dropouts as w e l l as
potential
dropouts
with
an
assumption
that
a
better
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e s e s t u d e n t s w i l l be
h e l p f u l f o r p o l i c y makers, s o c i a l workers and e d u c a t o r s t o
develop p o l i c i e s and p r o v i d e s e r v i c e s t h a t w i l l reduce t h e
number o f s t u d e n t s who f a i l t o g r a d u a t e .
However, Wehlage and R u t t e r (1987) p o i n t e d o u t t h a t
t h e f o c u s on c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f d r o p o u t s may r e i n f o r c e t h e
tendency o f
e d u c a t o r s o r p o l i c y makers t o
locate the
problem on t h e d r o p o u t s t hems elves i n s t e a d o f someplace
o t h e r t h a n i n t h e dropouts 1 p e r s o n a l , s o c i a l and f a m i l y
characteristics.
In
other
words,
concentrating
on
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f dropouts may be c o u n t e r - p r o d u c t i v e i n
t h a t i t g i v e s e d u c a t o r s and p o l i c y makers an excuse f o r
r e c o g n i z i n g t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l e f f e c t s e x e r t e d on a young
p e r s o n 1 s d e c i s i o n t o drop o u t .
20
When r e v i e w i n g t h e r e l a t e d l i t e r a t u r e ,
found t h a t
there
are
community-related
a
few s t u d i e s
characteristics
the
author
on examining t h e
such
as
a
lack
of
r e s p o n s i v e community s u p p o r t s e r v i c e s and l i n k a g e s between
s c h o o l and community s e r v i c e s .
Most o f t h e a r t i c l e s and
research
student-related,
concentrated
on
the
family-
r e l a t e d and s c h o o l - r e l a t e d i s s u e s o f d r o p p i n g o u t .
recommended t h a t more s t u d i e s
It is
on t h e c o m m u n i t y - r e l a t e d
i s s u e s such as t h e s o c i e t a l r e a c t i o n t o d r o p p i n g o u t and
governmental p o l i c y
of
handling
the
problem w i l l
be
conducted i n t h e f u t u r e .
4•
Causes of the Problem
Many studies have concentrated on only a few of the
various factors known to be associated with dropping out,
and many are based upon correlational models that identify
the relationship between one factor and dropout behaviour
when the influence of other variables are under control
(Rumberger^
1986:11).
Variables
that
are most
highly
associated with dropout problem include the influence of a
student1s
social
environment,
peer
relationships
interest
and
within
sense
the
of
school
achievement
(Pittman, 1991). According to a prediction model suggested
by Dunham and Alpert (1986: 46), four important factors
associated with, the individual!s dropping out
misbehaviour
in
school; disliking
school;
included:
the negative
influence of peers with respect to dropping out and getting
21
i n t o t r o u b l e ; and a weak r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h p a r e n t s .
However, many s t u d i e s on d r o p p i n g c u t p o i n t o u t t h a t
no s i n g l e , c l e a r - c u t r e l a t i o n s h i p between cause and e f f e c t
has been e s t a b l i s h e d ( L a r s e n and S h e r t z e r ,
1989； Peck e t a l . , 1989； P i t t m a n , 1991).
1987； F i n n ,
Research f i n d i n g s
s u g g e s t t h a t d r o p p i n g o u t r e p r e s e n t s a developmental and
cumulative process rooted i n e a r l i e s t school experiences
(Elliott
1990)-
& Voss,
1974;
Mann,
1986;
Finn,
1989; W e l l s ,
As argued by Mann ( 1 9 8 6 ) , i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o
c o n s i d e r d r o p p i n g o u t o f s c h o o l a s a outcome o f m u l t i p l e
problem i n s t e a d o f r e c o g n i z i n g i t a s a s i n g l e p r o b l e m .
5.
Consequences o f t h e Problem
Concern f o r d r o p o u t s i s b a s e d on an assumption t h a t
l e a v i n g s c h o o l b e f o r e g r a d u a t i o n i s bad f o r t h e i n d i v i d u a l
and f o r s o c i e t y .
Most e v i d e n c e s u p p o r t s t h e b e l i e f t h a t
d r o p p i n g o u t o f s c h o o l has n e g a t i v e i n d i v i d u a l and s o c i a l
consequences.
5,1
I n d i v i d u a l Consequences
Dropping out o f school i s g e n e r a l l y p e r c e i v e d as a
f o r m o f academic f a i l u r e .
The most immediate i n d i v i d u a l
consequences o f d r o p p i n g o u t i s a low l e v e l o f academic
skills.
Because o f t h e i r i n a d e q u a c i e s o f academic s k i l l s ,
many s c h o o l d r o p o u t s e n c o u n t e r d i f f i c u l t i e s i n j o b - h u n t i n g
and m a i n t a i n i n g s t e a d y employment w i t h an adequate income
22
(Rumberger, 1986),
There i s a n o t i o n t h a t t h e p a t h o c c u p i e d by h i g h achieving
students i s
smooth
and r e l a t i v e l y
free of
o b s t a c l e s . However, t h e l o w - a c h i e v i n g s t u d e n t s u s u a l l y r u n
on t h e p a t h t h a t i s f u l l o f b a r r i e r s ( K r o n i c k & H a r g i s ,
Dropouts 1
1990)does
not
just
lower l e v e l o f e d u c a t i o n a l a t t a i n m e n t
an
immediate
and
visible
individual
consequences, i t becomes a more obvious l i m i t a t i o n o v e r
t i m e because d r o p o u t s have fewer o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o r e c e i v e
f u r t h e r e d u c a t i o n and v o c a t i o n a l t r a i n i n g needed t o s e c u r e
t h e i r c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s i n t h e j o b market.
A p a r t from t h e p o s s i b l e economic consequences,
dropouts
may
suffer
from o t h e r
personal
consequences
i n c l u d i n g a d v e r s e e f f e c t s on t h e i r p s y c h o l o g i c a l w e l l b e i n g , mental and p h y s i c a l h e a l t h (Walz, 1989; K r o n i c k &
Hargis,
1990) .
As dropouts have h i g h e r p r o b a b i l i t y o f
unemployment t h a n o t h e r p e r s o n s , t h e s e s t u d i e s suggest t h a t
t h e y would have
problems.
a greater
However,
the
chance o f
causal
s u f f e r i n g mental
relationship
between
d r o p p i n g o u t and subsequent p h y s i c a l and mental h e a l t h has
n o t y e t been f u l l y examined.
5•2
Social Consequences
In Levin's study (1972), findings illustrate that a
wide range of social consequences of dropping out includes
23
an i n c r e a s e d demand f o r s o c i a l s e r v i c e s ; i n c r e a s e d c rime;
reduced
political
participation;
lower
rate
i n t e r g e n e r a t i o n a l m o b i l i t y and f o r g o n e n a t i o n a l
of
income.
B e s i d e s , q u i t e a number o f s t u d i e s suggest t h a t a c l o s e
c o r r e l a t i o n between dropout and d e l i n q u e n c y be i d e n t i f i e d
( E l l i o t t & V o ss, 1974; Mak,1976; Thornbery e t a l . , 1985;
Dunham & A l p e r t , 1986; K r o n i c k & H a r g i s , 1990) .
findings
indicate
that
most
background o f d r o p p i n g o u t .
of
the
Research
delinquents
had
To some e x t e n t f t h e p u b l i c J s
greater a t t e n t i o n t o dropping out i s
a recognition of
e m p i r i c a l f i n d i n g s t h a t a r e l a t i o n s h i p between dropout and
delinquency i s established.
I n c o n t r a s t t o numerous s t u d i e s on t h e n e g a t i v e
e f f e c t s o f d r o p p i n g o u t , some s t u d i e s show t h a t d r o p p i n g
o u t c o u l d be b e n e f i c i a l f o r some y o u n g s t e r s a s w e l l a s t h e
s c h o o l s t h e y a t t e n d e d (Rumberger,
1986).
Some s t u d e n t s
choose o t h e r a d a p t i v e a l t e r n a t i v e s o v e r s t u d y i n g i n s c h o o l .
F o r i n s t a n c e , a s t u d y o f h i g h s c h o o l d r o p o u t s and g r a d u a t e s
r e p o r t e d t h a t d r o p o u ts had e q u a l o r g r e a t e r improvements i n
self-esteem
and
a
sense
of
control
than
the
school
graduates (Wehlage & R u t t e r , 1986).
As a whole, more e f f o r t s s h o u l d be made t o e x p l o r e
more f u l l y t h e wide range o f i m p a c t s , b o t h p o s i t i v e and
n e g a t i v e , r e s u l t i n g from d r o p p i n g o u t ; and t h e d i f f e r e n c e s
i n t h e s e impacts
among v a r i o u s groups o f d r o p o u t s when
24
t a k i n g i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e i r p e r s o n a l r f a m i l y and
s o c i a l backgrounds .
工
工
•
LOCAL STUDIES ON SCHOOL DROPOUT
In the light of a dramatic increase in juvenile crime
in
late
1970s,
delinquency
1990).
studies
increased
on
the
areas
significantly
in
of
deviance
the
1980s
and
(Lam,
Most of the local studies attempted to identify the
characteristics
of
the
deviants and
delinquents
(Chan,
1973; Hong Kong Council of Social Services, 1981 ； Chow,
1985; Chow & Cheung f 1987; Tsuen Wan D i s t r i c t B o a r d , 1987；
Y . W . C . A . , 1987 & 1989) w h i l e some o f them on t h e causes o f
d e l i n q u e n c y ( F i g h t V i o l e n t Crime Committee, 1975 & 1981；
Chan,
1982； Mok, 1985) .
A s r e f l e c t e d from t h e r e s e a r c h
s t u d i e s , q u i t e a number o f f a c t o r s t h a t a r e based on t h e
socio-cultural
perspective
were
identified to
have
a
c e r t a i n degree o f c o r r e l a t i o n w i t h t h e j u v e n i l e d e v i a n t o r
delinquent behaviours .
As compared t o the l a r g e number of s t u d i e s on j u v e n i l e
delinquency,
the
number o f
local
research studies
schooling p a r t i c u l a r l y dropping out i s l i m i t e d .
section,
on
In this
some s i g n i f i c a n t f i n d i n g s o f l o c a l s t u d i e s on
d r o p o u t w i l l be d e s c r i b e d b r i e f l y .
1•
The Incidence of the Problem
Among the local studies, only two of them with a major
25
f o c u s o f d r o p p i n g o u t were conducted by t h e o f f i c i a l body,
t h e S o c i a l W e l f a r e Department (S.W.D.) i n 1974 and 1975
respectively.
The r e p o r t (1974) f o c u s e d on t h e i n f l u e n c e
o f dropouts on t h e d e l i n q u e n t b e h a v i o u r w h i l e t h e r e p o r t o f
1975, w i t h t h e t i t l e o f
juvenile
probationers:
" A s t u d y on a group o f a c t i v e
to
ascertain
their
schooling
b e h a v i o u r , causes l e a d i n g t o s c h o o l d r o p o u t s and p o s s i b l e
i m p l i c a t i o n s o f s c h o o l dropout s on j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n c y "
found t h a t s c h o o l dropout r a t e o f p r o b a t i o n e r s under t h e
age o f s i x t e e n was s u r p r i s i n g l y h i g h .
More t h a n h a l f o f
dropouts
(58.4%)
dropped
willingly
and m a j o r i t y o f
claimed
to
have
the probationers
schooling
(73%)
had
dropped o u t b e f o r e t h e y committed t h e i r o f f e n c e s .
Up t o now, most o f the l o c a l s t u d i e s were conducted by
t h e non-governmental b o d i e s
and had samples
f r o m soine
s p e c i f i c c l i e n t e l e groups such a s o u t r e a c h c l i e n t s and
probationers ( S I D . ,
1975;
Caritas,
Playground A s s o c i a t i o n , 1989 & 1990) .
1985;
Hong
Kong
As discussed i n the
p r e c e d i n g c h a p t e r , t h e s t a t i s t i c s c o m p i l e d by t h e E d u c a t i o n
Department might n o t r e f l e c t t h e t r u e and comprehensive
p i c t u r e o f t h e problem a s t h e
number o f
d r o p o u t s was
p r o b a b l y u n d e r - e s t i m a t e d . I n s h o r t , t h e problem o f f i n d i n g
out the a c t u a l incidence o f dropout i n the l o c a l s e t t i n g
was
quite similar t o that
described i n the
studies -
26
overseas
2•
Characteristics of Dropouts
The author found that the study conducted by the Hong
Kong
Federation
of
Youth
Groups
(1994)
was
the
most
representative and updated local study with regard to the
characteristics
of
dropouts.
A
self-administered
questionnaire was sent to a sample of 400 dropoutsr who
were randomly selected from the Education Department's list
of 5,221 dropout cases of 1992 to 1993.
A total of 112
dropouts completed and returned the questionnaires.
With
the assistance of the school social work services of eight
voluntary agencies, questionnaires were also sent to the
dropouts not known to the Education Department.
Forty-
three questionnaires from this category of dropout cases
were received.
In the study, it was found that the ratio
of numbers of male dropouts to females was four to one.
Most of the students had dropped out from school at around
fourteen years old.
Besides, the findings of the study mentioned above
indicate that most of the dropouts came from disadvantaged
backgrounds.
Single-parent or broken families accounted
for 21.6% of the dropout cases.
Moreover, one-third of
cases the families earned less than $7,500 per months that
was considered as the lower economic status families in
Hong Kong (Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, 1994:72).
Concerning the educational level of parents, 62.5¾ of the
fathers and
75.9%
of the mothers had
27
only had primary
education.
A l l o f t h e s e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f d r o p o u t s were
q u i t e s i m i l a r t o those o f the overseas r e s e a r c h f i n d i n g s
(Wehlage
Kronick
& Rutter,
1986;
Rumberger,
1987； F i n n ,
1989 ；
St H a r g i s , 1990) t h a t t h e d r o p o u t s u s u a l l y come from
t h e lower S . E . S . f a m i l i e s .
I n considering the s p e c i f i c nature o f c l i e n t e l e group
o f t h i s study, three l o c a l studies ( C a r i t a s r
1985； Hong
Kong P l a y g r o u n d A s s o c i a t i o n , 1988 & 1990) were u s e d a s a
main
reference
for
the
author
to
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e i s s u e t o be s t u d i e d .
gain
a
better
I n 1988 the- Hong
Kong P l a y g r o u n d A s s o c i a t i o n conducted a s y s t e m a t i c s u r v e y
on d r o p o u t s t h a t i n v o l v e d a t o t a l t a r g e t p o p u l a t i o n o f
1,808 c l i e n t s and p o t e n t i a l , c l i e n t s from t h e a g e n c y 1 s f o u r
o u t r e a c h i n g teams.
E v e n t u a l l y 543 q u e s t i o n n a i r e s i n w h i c h
474 q u e s t i o n n a i r e s were found a p p l i c a b l e i n t h e s t u d y were
received.
As
the
study
did
not
focus
on
the
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s , no s i g n i f i c a n t f i n d i n g s
e x c e p t t h a t t h e d r o p o u t s had a h i g h e r p e r c e n t a g e o f c a s e s
living i n public
housing e s t a t e s
as
compared t o
the
p o t e n t i a l d r o p o u t s and c o n t r o l group were o b s e r v e d .
W i t h t h e h e l p o f o u t r e a c h i n g s o c i a l work teams from
other voluntary agencies
S.W.D.,
the
Hong
Kong
and t h e p r o b a t i o n s e r v i c e o f
Playground A s s o c i a t i o n
conducted a s t u d y on d r o p p i n g o u t i n 1990.
further
A t o t a l o f 359
r e s p o n d e n t s o f w h i c h 187 b e i n g d r o p o u t s were i n t e r v i e w e d .
28
The f i n d i n g s i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e d r o p o u t s had a p o o r e r s o c i a l
and economic backgrounds; and l e s s p a r e n t a l s u p e r v i s i o n
when compared t o t h e n o n - d r o p o u t s .
These f i n d i n g s a r e more
o r l e s s t h e same as t h e r e s u l t s shown i n t h e r e p o r t o f t h e
Hong Kong F e d e r a t i o n o f Youth Groups (1994).
I n sum, as r e f l e c t e d from t h e l i m i t e d l o c a l s t u d i e s ,
i t was found t h a t t h e r e were no g r e a t d i f f e r e n c e s between
t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f dropouts from o u t r e a c h i n g teams and
those o f dropouts i n general.
3•
Causes of the Problem
Concerning the causality of dropping out, some local
studies revealed that dropouts generally had more than one
reason
of
dropping
out
(Hong
Services, 1970; Fung, 1975;
Kong
Council
of
Social
Tsuen Wan District Board,
1985). The research findings suggest that the causality of
dropping out is complicated and needs further empirical
exploration on the issue.
Research findings reflected that in recent decade the
economic factors had no longer exerted a greater impact on
one's decision to dropout (Caritas, 1985) . Two large-scale
studies conducted by Fung (1975) and Hong Kong Council of
Social Services (1970) reported that more than 40% of the
respondents
dropped
difficulties
in
out
family.
of
school
However,
29
under
economic
in recent
studies a
significant
decrease i n
economic-related
factors
that
a t t r i b u t e t o d r o p p i n g o u t was o b s e r v e d (Tsuen Wan D i s t r i c t
Board,
1985;
Caritas,
1985;
Hong
Kong
Playground
A s s o c i a t i o n , 1988 ) •
With
reference
to
the
Hong
Kong
Playground
Association's report of 1988, the causes of dropping out of
outreach clients were related to four aspects.
First, the
I!
school-related factors included
poor relationship with
school personnels and teachers",
"fail to meet academic
standard required" , "being viewed as a problem student'1 and
"difficulty in adjusting to rules and disciplinary life in
school".
Second, the family-related factors were
"poor
relationship with family members'1 and "excessive demand on
academic performance
personal
factors
from parents"•
were
"hope
to
Third,
be
the major
economically
independently", "a feeling that to work leads to a happier
life than to study" and "difficulty in catching up with
academic standard
required"•
Fourth, the
peer-related
factors included "truancy of good friends leading to low
interest in schooling:' and "playing truant occasionally so
as to have more time to stay with peers".
Most of the reasons of dropping out reported in the
above
survey
are
same
to
the
findings
of
the
study
conducted by the Aberdeen Outreaching Team of Caritas in
1985.
In this respect, findings of these local studies
30
c o n c e r n i n g t h e c a u s a l i t y o f d r o p p i n g o u t a r e more o r l e s s
congruent w i t h t h e overseas r e s e a r c h f i n d i n g s
al.,
(Ekstrom e t
1986; Rumberger, 1987; Peck e t a l - , 1989； K r o n i c k &
H a r g i s , 1990) t h a t were d i s c u s s e d i n p r e c e d i n g s e c t i o n s .
4•
Consequences of the Problem
When reviewing the relevant articles and research in
local
setting,
it
was
found
that
there
was
limited
information concerning the consequences of dropping out.
With
reference
to
some
sociological
and
psychological
theories on delinquency and dropping out, in 1990 the Hong
Kong Playground Association carried out a survey on the
relationship
between
development.
Social
dropping
control
out
theory
and
and
behavioural
strain
theory
applied in the study were found to have their respective
strengths and inadequacies in explaining the relationship
between dropouts and their behavioural development.
For
example,
out
the
findings
illustrated
that
dropping
weakened the social control applied from the family and
school
systems
on
the
dropouts.
supported the social control theory
Though
the
findings
in principle,
the
association between dropping out and the extent of social
control was not strong enough to support the hypothesis
that dropping out would lead to the development of one's
behavioural problems
(Hong Kong Playground Association,
1990:27).
31
Moreover, t h e f i n d i n g s o f t h e above s t u d y i n d i c a t e d
t h a t h a l f o f t h e respondents had a f e e l i n g o f b e i n g r e l a x e d
and had b e t t e r changes i n t h e i r b e h a v i o u r a l problems a f t e r
dropping out.
theory
that
To some e x t e n t , i t s u p p o r t e d t h e s t r a i n
dropping
out
will
be
helpful
for
the
p s y c h o l o g i c a l and b e h a v i o u r a l development o f t h e s t u d e n t s .
The
f i n d i n g s i n t h i s a r e a were q u i t e s i m i l a r t o t h e
argument s t a t e d by Wehlage and R u t t e r (1986) ； y e t f u r t h e r
evidence on s u p p o r t i n g t h e t h e o r i e s w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e
r e l a t i o n s h i p between d r o p p i n g o u t and t h e consequences o f
o n e ' s p s y c h o l o g i c a l , mental and s o c i a l development was
recommended (Hong Kong Playground A s s o c i a t i o n , 1990).
As a c o n c l u s i o n , t h e r e a r e a number o f s m a l l - s c a l e
l o c a l s t u d i e s on t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between s c h o o l i n g and
j u v e n i l e delinquency.
But s t u d i e s w i t h a major concern on
s c h o o l dropout p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e o u t r e a c h i n g s e t t i n g a r e
scarce.
local
I t i s w o r th y o f m e n t i o n i n g t h a t f i n d i n g s o f t h e
studies
on
dropping
out
with
regard
to
the
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f d r o p o u t s , c a u s a l i t y and consequences o f
d r o p p i n g o u t a r e q u i t e congruent t o t h o s e o f t h e o v e r s e a s
studies.
Hence, t h e r e v i e w on t h e e x i s t i n g l o c a l and
ov e r s eas l i t e r a t u r e and r e s e a r c h has g i v e n t h e a u t h o r t h e
n e c e s s a r y background i n f o r m a t i o n f o r a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g
o f dropping o u t .
32
工工工A
. N OVERVIEW OF THEORIES OF DEVIANCE
When reviewing the r e l a t e d l i t e r a t u r e and research, i t
was found t h a t d r o p p i n g o u t and d e l i n q u e n c y and d e v i a n c e
are
frequently
exhibited
concomitantly
by
the
i n d i v i d u a l ( E l l i o t t & V o s s , 1974; F i n n , 1 9 8 9 ) .
same
Referring
t o t h e t e r m o f d e l i n q u e n c y , i t can be p e r c e i v e d a s a form
o f d e v i a n c e ( T a y l o r , 1984; T r o j a n o w i c z , 1992) .
Besides,
d r o p p i n g o u t o f s c h o o l can be c o n s t r u e d a s
a form o f
d e v i a n c e (Wehlage & Rutterm, 1986:375) .
t h e o r i e s on
e x p l a i n i n g delinquency
as w e l l
as
Thus
deviance
are often
a p p l i e d on s t u d y i n g t h e drop o u t problem.
There i s a v a r i e t y o f d i s c i p l i n e s s t u d y i n g d e v i a n c e
and
each o f
deviance.
which
carries
different
explanations
of
However, t h e o r i e s on e x p l a i n i n g d r o p p i n g o u t a r e
limited.
Therefore
using
explanations
of
deviance
t h e o r i e s would be u s e f u l f o r t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f d r o p p i n g
out t o a large extent.
an
overview
of
A t the f i n a l p a r t o f t h i s chapter,
some
major
perspectives
or
theories
e s p e c i a l l y t h e s o c i o l o g i c a l t h e o r i e s o f d e v i a n c e w i l l be
made •
1•
Biological Theories
According to the biological theories, there are two
key ways in which the effect of biology on deviance exists.
The
first
is
that
"Youth
may
inherit
genetic
predispositions that make them prone to delinguency”； and
33
t h e second i s that，丨neurological d e f i c i t s c a n p l a y a p a r t
i n d e l i n q u e n c y c a u s a t i o n " ( T r o j a n o w i c z & Morash, 1992:53).
I n many c a s e s no f i r m c o n c l u s i o n s from t h e r e s e a r c h s t u d i e s
c a n be drawn about t h e b i o l o g i c a l e f f e c t on d e v i a n c e .
Indeed, t h e b i o l o g i c a l t h e o r y (McCord, 1958) has l o s t i t s
p o p u l a r i t y s i n c e t h e 1970s (Lam, 1990:39).
2•
Psychological Theories
In explaining deviance, psychological theories are
concerned mainly with motivation and psychological factors
that contribute to an
deviance
or
individual's behaviour
conformity.
The
significant
in
either
distinction
between psychological and sociological theories is that the
psychologists take a more individualistic, specific view of
human behaviour and focus on personal internal factors that
contribute to deviance whereas the sociologists take a more
general perspective, looking at the external environment in
which the individual lives (Trojanowicz, 1992:50).
Albert
Cohen points out that psychological explanations in which
they are not competing answers to the same questions, but
they
give different
explanations
on
the
same
kind
of
behaviour (Trojanowicz, 1992:49 ) •
3•
Sociological Theories
In recent several decades, social and cultural
perspectives on deviance receive more and more attention.
34
As
the
sociological
theories
of
deviance
are
quite
d i v e r s i f i e d , o n l y f o u r most p o p u l a r p e r s p e c t i v e s i n c l u d i n g
t h e c u l t u r a l deviance, s o c i a l c o n t r o l f
o p p o r t u n i t y and
i n t e r a c t i o n i s m p e r s p e c t i v e s w i l l be d e s c r i b e d b r i e f l y here-
3•1
Cultural Deviance Perspective
The cultural deviance perspective (Sutherland, 1937;
Sellin, 1938; Miller, 1958) suggests that deviant behaviour
is learnt from subcultures whose values and patterns of
behaviour are defined as deviant under the current legal
system (Lam, 1990:39). Sutherland,s theory of differential
association is probably one of the most popular theories
of
deviance
differential
in
this area.
association
is
An
important
that
deviant
principle
of
or delinquent
behaviour is learnt in interaction with other persons in
the process of communication.
Miller is one of the most important contributors to
theory of deviance with this perspective.
According to
Miller1s lower-class culture theory, gang behaviour is an
expression
of
a
culture
that
prevailed
in
the
slum
neighbourhoods (Binder et al. , 1988 ).
Hence, the cultural deviance perspective contends that
the socialization in the social environment including the
family, the school, the neighbourhood and peer group is
considered to exert a strong impact on the individuals in
35
developing deviant behaviours.
3•2
Social Control Perspective
The social control perspective (Reiss, 1851； Nye,
1958; H i r s c h i , 1969) suggests t h a t d e v i a n t b e h a v i o u r o c c u r s
when one1 s bond t o s o c i e t y i s weakened o r broken down.
keynote work on t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e i s t h a t o f H i r s c h i .
The
Based
on H i r s c h i 1 s s o c i a l c o n t r o l t h e o r y , t h e i n d i v i d u a l t e n d s t o
commit d e v i a n t a c t when p e r s o n a l and s o c i a l c o n t r o l s f a i l
t o e x e r t p r e s s u r e t o p r e v e n t him/her from b r e a k i n g t h e
r u l e s and norms o f s o c i e t y .
R e f e r r i n g t o t h e dropout problem, some argue t h a t
k e e p i ng s t u d e n t s a t s c h o o l i s an e f f e c t i v e measure t o
reduce t h e r a t e o f j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n c y a s t h e s o c i a l
system i s supposed t o e x e r t c o n t r o l t o p r e v e n t a young
p e r s o n from c o m m i t t i n g d e v i a n t a c t .
Thus d r o p o u t s t e n d t o
have a h i g h e r chance o f c o m m i t t i n g d e v i a n t a c t s when t h e i r
bond t o t h e s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n , i . e . t h e s c h o o l system i s
broken down ( E l l i o t t & V o s s , 1974; Hong Kong P l a y g r o u n d
A s s o c i a t i o n , 1990)•
3•3
Opportunity Perspective
The opportunity perspective (Cloward & Ohlin, 1960)
postulates that society has its cultural goals which are
generally accepted and legitimated by the major sectors of
the society.
The emphasis of this perspective is that the
36
e n v i r o n m e n t a l system produces s t r a i n and f r u s t r a t i o n as a
r e s u l t o f l a c k i n g l e g i t i m a t e a l t e r n a t i v e s t o s a t i s f y needs
(Cloward & O h l i n , 1960:86) ,
behavioural adaptation t o
r e t r e a t i s t subculture.
One o f t h e common forms o f
environmental s t r a i n i s
the
I n t h i s r e s p e c t , dropout can be
viewed as a r e t r e a t i s t a d a p t a t i o n ,
a disengagement from
s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n s c h o o l , and a r e t u r n t o t h e l e s s
f r u s t r a t i n g c o n t e x t o f t h e home and neighbourhood ( E l l i o t t
& V o s s , 1974:30).
On t h e o t h e r hand, based on t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e t h e
i n d i v i d u a l may t u r n t o commit d e v i a n t a c t i f he/she l a c k s
l e g i t i m a t e means t o achieve s o c i a l l y d e s i r a b l e g o a l s .
In
many s o c i e t i e s , e d u c a t i o n i s c o n s i d e r e d a s an e f f e c t i v e
s o c i a l l y a c c e p t a b l e means t o a c h i e v e
some s o c i a l g o a l s
s u c h as g e t t i n g a b e t t e r j o b , h i g h e r s o c i a l s t a t u s and
upward m o b i l i t y . I f t h e i n d i v i d u a l has dropped cmt, he/she
w i l l have a fewer chances o f g a i n i n g t h e d e s c r i b e d c u l t u r a l
g o a l s by s o c i a l l y a c c e p t a b l e means.
I n t h i s way, t h e
s c h o o l dropout may t u r n t o commit d e v i a n t o r even c r i m i n a l
acts.
3•4
Interactionism Perspective
The interactionism perspective emphasizes that
deviance is not a unique quality of an individual; but
rather that it is a quality which resides in an observer^
response to the behaviour of some individuals (Schur, 1971;
37
Becker,1973).
I n o t h e r words, i t s f o c u s i s n o t p l a c e d on
t h e b e h a v i o u r o f t h e a c t o r , b u t on t h e s o c i e t a l r e a c t i o n t o
his/her
behaviour.
labelling
theory
Indeed,
are
the basic
drawn
from
assumptions o f
the
interactionism
perspective.
3.5
C o n c l u d i n g Remarks
I n v i e w o f t h e l i m i t e d scope o f t h i s s t u d y , t h e
preceding sections o f t h i s chapter provides a glance over
some major t h e o r i e s p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e s o c i o l o g i c a l t h e o r i e s
o f deviance.
-It seems t h a t a l l t h e s e t h e o r i e s have
s t r e n g t h s and weaknesses.
their
No s i n g l e t h e o r y o r p e r s p e c t i v e
can f u l l y e x p l a i n t h e i s s u e s o f d e v i a n c e .
W i t h c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e author 1 s r a t i o n a l e s t a t e d
i n the introductory chapter,
t h e l a b e l l i n g t h e o r y and
d i f f e r e n t i a l a s s o c i a t i o n t h e o r y w h i c h a r e based on t h e
interactionism
and
cultural
r e s p e c t i v e l y were s e l e c t e d
t h i s study.
deviance
perspectives
as a n a l y t i c a l perspectives i n
D e t a i l s o f t h e two t h e o r i e s w i l l be p r e s e n t e d
i n the forthcoming chapter.
38
CHAPTER THREE
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
I•
I 一 LABELLING THEORY
FRAMEWORK
Fran the conventional point of view, deviance i s
t h e behaviour o r a c t i v i t y which breaks the s o c i a l and/or
l e g a l code, i t i s t h e d e f i c i t o f an i n d i v i d u a l (whether
physical,
psychological
( B e c k e r , 1963).
that
deviance i s
or
social)
which
commits
i t
However, t h e l a b e l l i n g t h e o r y emphasizes
a
product
of
societal
b e h a v i o u r ( B e c k e r , 1963； L o f l a n d , 1969).
reaction to
I t suggests t h a t
deviance i s not a unique q u a l i t y o f i n d i v i d u a l s , but r a t h e r
t h a t i t i s a q u a l i t y t h a t r e s i d e s i n an o b s e r v e r f s r e s p o n s e
t o the behaviour o f the i n d i v i d u a l s .
I n o t h e r words, i t s
f o c u s i s n o t on t h e b e h a v i o u r o f t h e a c t o r , b u t on t h e
s o c i e t a l r e a c t i o n t o t h a t behaviour (Kronick, 1990:86-87).
I n t h e f o l l o w i n g p a r a g r a p h s , t h e c o n c e p t s from
B e c k e r ' s " O u t s i d e r n (1963), L e m e r t ' s " p r i m a r y and s e c o n d a r y
d e v i a n c e " and Tannenbaum's c o n c e p t o f
n
dramatization of
e v i l " w i l l be q u o t e d s o a s t o s e e how an I n d i v i d u a l i s
f o r m a l l y and i n f o r m a l l y l a b e l l e d i n an i n t e r a c t i o n a l way.
1• Process of Social Definition
From the point of view of the labelling theorists,
deviance and delinquency often involve a process of social
definition.
Howard Becker 1 s comments, widely used to be
39
the
most
important
statement
of
the
orientation
of
l a b e l l i n g theory, express the p o i n t c l e a r l y :
" . . . s o c i a l groups c r e a t e d e v i a n c e by making t h e
r u l e s whose i n f r a c t i o n c o n s t i t u t e s d e v i a n c e , and
by a p p l y i n g t h e s e r u l e s t o p a r t i c u l a r p e o p l e and
l a b e l l i n g them as o u t s i d e r s . From t h i s p o i n t o f
view, deviance i s not a q u a l i t y of the a c t t h e
p e r s o n commits, b u t r a t h e r a consequence o f t h e
a p p l i c a t i o n by o t h e r s o f r u l e s and s a n c t i o n s t o
an " o f f e n d e r " . The d e v i a n t i s one t o whom t h a t
l a b e l has s u c c e s s f u l l y been a p p l i e d ; d e v i a n t
b e h a v i o u r i s b e h a v i o u r t h a t p e o p l e so l a b e l . ”
(Becker, 1963:9)
From such view of deviance, the persons who are
termed as school drop outs are the instances that labels
have been applied successfully to them.
2. Dynamic Process of Social Interaction
At the central tenet of the labelling theory is an
emphasis on process; deviance is viewed not as a static
entity but rather as a continuously shaped and reshaped
consequence of
dynamic processes of social interaction
(Schur, 1971:8).
In fact, the labelling theory has a close
relevance
to
interactionism.
the
theoretical
perspective
of
symbolic
Herbert Blumer, one of the significant
symbolic interactionists, has stated that "the human being
is seen as an active organism in his own right, facing,
dealing with, and acting toward the objects he indicates11
(Blumer, 1969:62). With the mechanism of self-interaction,
the human being has no longer been a responding organism
whose behaviour is a product of what plays upon him from
the outside, the inside, or both.
40
Instead, he acts towards
h i s w o r l d , i n t e r p r e t i n g what c o n f r o n t s him and o r g a n i s i n g
h i s a c t i o n on t h e b a s i s o f t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n (Blumer,
1969:63).
I t i s i n such
way t h a t t h e l a b e l l i n g t h e o r i s t s
adopt t h e t h e o r e t i c a l approach o f s y m b o l i c i n t e r a c t i o n i s m
by e x p r e s s i n g t h e view t h a t an i n d i v i d u a l ' s b e h a v i o u r i s
interpreted
and d e f i n e d i n an i n t e r a c t i o n a l way.
It
i m p l i e s t h a t a p e r s o n behaves and f e e l s about h i m s e l f and
h i s b e h a v i o u r depend s i g n i f i c a n t l y upon how o t h e r s respond
t o him ( S c h u r , 1971: 2 ) .
Based upon t h i s g e n e r a l theme o f t h e i n t e r a c t i o n a l
p r o c e s s , t h e l a b e l l i n g t h e o r y p u t s emphasis on s t u d y i n g t h e
deviant
roles
conceptions .
and
the
development
of
deviant
self-
B u t b e f o r e d i s c u s s i n g how a p e r s o n d e v e l o p s
h i s / h e r d e v i a n t r o l e s and s e l f - c o n c e p t i o n s , i t i s w o r t h y o f
m e n t i o n i n g B e c k e r 1 s s e q u e n t i a l model o f d e v i a n c e .
made
a
clear
distinction
between
s e q u e n t i a l models o f d e v i a n c e :
n
Becker
simultaneous
. . a l l causes
and
do n o t
o p e r a t e a t t h e same t i m e , and we need a model w h i c h t a k e
into
account f o r
the f a c t t h a t patterns
o f behaviour
d e v e l o p i n o r d e r l y sequence" ( B e c k e r , 1963:23) .
Hence, i n
a c c o u n t i n g f o r an i n d i v i d u a l 1 s development o f s c h o o l d r o p out behaviourA
a sequence o f s t e p s , o f
changes i n t h e
i n d i v i d u a l 1 s b e h a v i o u r and p e r s p e c t i v e s s h o u l d be s t u d i e d .
Each s t e p r e q u i r e s e x p l a n a t i o n , and what may o p e r a t e a s a
cause a t one s t e p i n t h e sequence may be o f
41
a certain
degree o f s i g n i f i c a n c e a t another s t e p .
The e x p l a n a t i o n o f
each s t e p i s t h u s p a r t o f t h e e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e r e s u l t i n g
b e h a v i o u r t o be s t u d i e d -
3• Primary Deviance and Secondary Deviance
Labelling theory focuses on the sequential process
through
which
identity.
an
individual
is
given
a
new
deviant
As Becker noted, the first step in most deviant
careers is the commission of a nonconforming act, an act
that breaks some particular set of rules (Becker, 1963:25).
The initial phase of the process begins with the enactment
of nonconforming and even antisocial behaviours that Lemert
(19 67)
called
"primary
deviance11.
Lemert
further
distinguished the primary deviance from secondary deviance,
that are two of the key concepts of labelling theory.
Secondary deviance refers to deviant behaviour that
results from an individual who is involved
in a deviant
role after his/her primary deviance has been identified
(Schur, 1969).
The individual subsequently engages
in
nonconforming or deviant behaviour to fulfil the deviant
role expectations (Lemert, 1967).
Secondary deviance is a
concept central to labelling theory and thus has been the
focus
of most empirical
studies carried
out to
assess
labelling theory (Hay & Downs, 1986).
When applied to deviance such as dropping out,
labelling theory draws special attention to the process
42
t h r o u g h which a d o l e s c e n t s come t o i n t e g r a t e d e v i a n t l a b e l s
into their self-concept.
According t o l a b e l l i n g theory,
t h e persons l a b e l l e d as s c h o o l f a i l u r e s o r p r o b l e m a t i c
s t u d e n t s w i l l o v e r t i m e p e r c e i v e themselves as s c h o o l
f a i l u r e s or problematic students.
Thus o v e r t i m e ( o r a
long period o f time) the l a b e l s a p p l i e d t o adolescents are
adopted by t h o s e a d o l e s c e n t s t o be used i n t h e i r s e l f descriptions
1986) .
(Becker,
1963;
Schur,
1971； Ray
& Downs,
As t h e s e d e v i a n t l a b e l s become i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o
the self-concept,
a deviant i d e n t i t y
i s t h e n formed.
Furthermore, t h i s d e v i a n t i d e n t i t y w i l l s t a b i l i z e and even
increase
the l e v e l s o f
deviant behaviour.
Therefore
l a b e l l i n g t h e o r y argues t h a t n e g a t i v e l a b e l s a p p l i e d t o an
i n d i v i d u a l w i l l cause m a l a d a p t i v e changes i n b e h a v i o u r o r
secondary d e v i a n c e o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l b e i n g l a b e l l e d .
4• Stereotyping and Early Stigmatization
Franklin Tannexibaum (1938) argues that the initial
acts of juvenile delinquency such as breaking windows and
annoying people can be a normal part of adolescentsJ street
life
for
excitement.
activities
serving
as
items
of
play,
adventure
and
However, the larger community may see such
as
a
nuisance,
evil,
or
delinquency.
The
divergence of values make the individual and his/her acts
viewed
as
evil
(Tannenbaum,
1938) .
This
initial
"dramatization of evil’' is overwhelmed by the response to
his/her acts and begins to think of him/herself as the
"type of person" -a delinquent or deviant who would do the
43
same t h i n g s i n t h e f u t u r e .
R e c o g n i s i n g t h e d i r e c t impact
o f l a b e l l i n g p r o c e s s e s , Tannenbaum i n h i s d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e
deviant r o l e that early stigmatization plays i n generating
d e v i a n t careers noted t h a t :
，丨. The p e r s o n becomes t h e t h i n g he i s d e s c r i b e d
as b e i n g . Nor does i t seem t o m a t t e r whether t h e
v a l u a t i o n i s made by t h o s e who would p u n i s h o r b y
t h o s e who would r e f o r m . . . The h a r d e r t h e y work
t o r e f o r m t h e e v i l , t h e g r e a t e r t h e e v i l grows
under t h e i r hands.
The p e r s i s t e n t s u g g e s t i o n ,
w i t h whatever good i n t e n t i o n s , works m i s c h i e f ,
because i t l e a d s t o b r i n g i n g o u t t h e bad
b e h a v i o u r t h a t i t would s u p p r e s s . The way o u t i s
through a r e f u s a l t o dramatize t h e e v i l . ”
(Tannenbaum, 1938:19-20)
The concept of stereotyping, that has long been
important in social psychology, has until recently been
employed in the analysis of deviance.
As Rutbington and
Weinberg (1968:5) have pointed out, deviants are "persons
who are typed socially in a very special sort of way.
are
assigned
to
certain
categories
and
each
They
category
carries with it a stock interpretative accounting for any
persons
subsumed
under
its
rubric.,r
Labelling
theory
asserts that the stereotyping of deviators indeed carries
the labelling effect on the person being stereotyped.
In the book named "Deviant Interpretation1', Ken
Plumer stated that labelling theory can be conceived as "a
perspective whose core problems are the nature, emergence,
applications and consequences of labels” (Downes & Rock,
1979).
In this connection, processes of
labelling are
found to be closely related to the variable, "audience"
44
( i . e . t h e r e a c t o r ) i n t h e c o u r s e o f t h e complex s o c i a l
i n t e r a c t i o n ( S c h u r , 1971:12).
A c c o r d i n g t o Schur (1971),
t h e r e are t h r e e types o f audience.
society
at
large;
another
One
,f
"audience"
audience" i s t h e
comprises
those
i n d i v i d u a l s ( i n c l u d i n g t h e s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r s ) w i t h whom an
i n d i v i d u a l has d a i l y i n t e r a c t i o n and b y whom h e / s h e i s
constantly
,!
l a b e l l e d " i n many ways.
A t h i r d "audience"
i n c l u d e s o f f i c i a l s and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l a g e n t s o f c o n t r o l .
Owing t o t h e l i m i t e d scope o f t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y ,
the
w r i t e r ' s f o c u s was p u t on t h e second t y p e o f a u d i e n c e .
To
b e s p e c i f i c , t h e w r i t e r would c o n c e n t r a t e h e r e f f o r t on
s t u d y i n g how t h e s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r s w i t h whom t h e s c h o o l
d r o p o u t s have f r e q u e n t c o n t a c t
p l a y a r o l e i n the process
of labelling.
R e f e r r i n g t o t h e t h e o r e t i c a l framework o f t h e
labelling
theory
discussed
so
far,
questions
to
be
f o r m u l a t e d under t h e c o n c e p t u a l framework 工 w o u l d c e n t r e on
asking:(i)
What a r e t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and forms o f l a b e l s t h a t
are associated t o the school drop-outs i n the process of
developing the behaviour o f dropping out?
(ii)
(iii)
How and u n d e r what s i t u a t i o n s do l a b e l s g e t a p p l i e d ?
What a r e t h e consequences o f l a b e l l i n g i n r e l a t i o n
t o one!s dropping out?
II.
FRAMEWORK
工工一DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY
Sutherland's differential association theory is
45
generally
formalized
regarded
to
explanation
be
of
the
most
deviant
systematic
behaviour
l i t e r a t u r e r e v i e w ( O r c u t t , 1987: 3 4 2 ) .
and
in
the
As s t a t e d b y Wold
(1986), S u t h e r l a n d ' s d i f f e r e n t i a l a s s o c i a t i o n t h e o r y i s a
learning theory.
association
The c o r e assumptions o f d i f f e r e n t i a l
theory
(Kronick,
1990)
are
presented
as
follows:一
(i)
(ii)
Deviant behaviour i s learned.
Deviant behaviour i s learned i n i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h
o t h e r persons i n t h e p r o c e s s o f cominunication.
(iii)
The p r i n c i p a l p a r t o f t h e l e a r n i n g o f d e v i a n t
b e h a v i o u r o c c u r s w i t h i n i n t i m a t e p e r s o n a l groups .
(iv)
When d e v i a n t b e h a v i o u r i s l e a r n e d , t h e l e a r n i n g
i n c l u d e s not o n l y techniques f o r committing t h e deviance,
which are
sometimes
very
complicated,
sometimes
very
simple, but a l s o a s p e c i f i c d i r e c t i o n o f motives, d r i v e s ,
r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n s , and a t t i t u d e s .
(v)
The s p e c i f i c d i r e c t i o n o f m o t i v e s and d r i v e s i s
l e a r n e d from d e f i n i t i o n s o r i d e a s o f t h e l e g a l codes as
favourable o r unfavourable.
(vi)
The p e r s o n becomes d e v i a n t because o f an e x c e s s o f
definitions
favourable
to
violation
of
law,
over
d e f i n i t i o n s unfavourable t o v i o l a t i o n o f law.
(vii)
D i f f e r e n t i a l a s s o c i a t i o n may v a r y i n f r e q u e n c y ,
d u r a t i o n , p r i o r i t y , and i n t e n s i t y .
(viii)
The
process
of
learning
deviant
behaviour
by
a s s o c i a t i o n o f d e v i a n t and a n t i - d e v i a n t p a t t e r n s i n v o l v e s
a l l of the
mechanisms t h a t a r e i n v o l v e d i n any o t h e r
46
learning•
1 - Deviant Behaviour is Learned in Interaction with Other
People
Differential association theory (Sutherland &
Cressey,
1978)
individual
focuses
comes
behaviour.
to
on
the
engages
Basically,
such
process
in
by
criminal
behaviour
which
or
is
an
deviant
learned
in
interaction with other people, especially intimate personal
groups
(Void,
1986;
Nettler,
1974) -
In
light of
the
characteristics of adolescent stage of life, conformity to
peer influence and close peer association are common social
behaviours in adolescence
studies on gangsf
(Lo, 1991:7).
like Thrashers
Some classical
(1954), Cohen
(1955),
Cloward and Ohlin (1960) argued that peer group influence
as a significant causal factor to juvenile delinquency.
Therefore
in
this
study, much
attention was
drawn
on
studying the outreach clients1 interaction with their peer
group through which their deviant behaviours including drop
out behaviour, truancy, failure to submit homework on time
and other school-related behavioural patterns are learned.
2•
Technical
and
Motivational
Components
of
Deviant
Learning
The core assumption of differential association
theory is that deviant behaviour is learned in the same way
as
any
other
behaviours.
According
to
Sutherland's
differential association theory, the learning of deviant
47
b e h a v i o u r can be p a r t i t i o n e d i n t o two components: one i s a
technical
component
and t h e o t h e r
component.
As
and
DeFleur
is
Quinney
a motivational
point
out,
the
i n i t i a t i o n o f d e v i a n t behaviour n e c e s s a r y depends on t h e
c o n j u n c t i o n o f b o t h o f t h e two components ( O r c u t t , 1987).
2•1
Technical Component of the Learning
When applied in the study of dropping out behaviour,
the technical component can be viewed as the learned skills
including a body of knowledge, a set of techniques related
to the commitment of nonconforming behaviour in school and
survival skills after leaving school.
In this respectr the
technical component constitutes the major content of the
learning of dropping out.
As playing truancy is one of the most common deviant
behaviour
preluding
an
adolescent1s
dropping
out,
the
acquisition of skills and rationalization of such behaviour
is
considered
components
to
be
that play
one
of
a role
the
of
significant
learning
the
technical
drop
out
behaviour.
2•2
Motivational Component of the Learning
Using Sutherland1 s words, the motivational component
refers to the specific direction of motives, attitudes and
definitions toward the commitment of a particular deviant
act.
In a sense, the motivational component is perceived
as the willingness to perform the deviant behaviour, that
plays an
important part on the process of the deviant
48
learning.
As argued by O r c u t t (1987), when e i t h e r o f t h e
two components, t e c h n i c a l and m o t i v a t i o n a l i s n o t p r e s e n t ,
no d e v i a n t / c r i m i n a l behaviour w i l l r e s u l t .
3• Differential Association Varies in Frequency, Duration,
Priority and Intensity
Differential association theory (Sutherland &
Cressey, 1978) states that if individuals associate mostly
with deviants, chances are that they will become involved
in the deviant activity.
mostly with nondeviantsr
become involved
Conversely,
if they associate
chances are that they will not
in deviant activity.
The variation of
frequency, duration, priority and intensity in relation to
the quality and quantity of relationships help explain the
effects of differential association (Trojanowicz & Morash,
1992: 61).
However, it is difficult to test the principles
empirically and measure objectively the "association" and
"priority,
intensity t
duration
and
frequency
of
relationships. Sutherland and Cressey (1978) admitted that
the statement of differential association process is not
precise enough to be proved or disapproved.
pirBSGnt
study th©
author did not aim
at
Thus in the
Gxa-niining* the
association between the quality as well as cjuantity of the
relationships with
the
dev e 1 opment: of
school
drop-out
behaviour, but instead, she would like to study how the
dropouts evaluate their peer group influence in relation to
their drop-out problem.
49
Based
on
the
major
theoretical
perspective
of
d i f f e r e n t i a l a s s o c i a t i o n t h e o r y , q u e s t i o n s t o be asked i n
t h i s area include:
(i)
What a r e t h e g e n e r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and n a t u r e o f
s c h o o l dropouts 1 i n t i m a t e peer group i n terms o f t h e i r age,
s e x , o c c u p a t i o n , s c h o o l i n g and s o c i a l background?
(ii)
What a r e t h e u s u a l p a t t e r n s o f d r o p o u t s ' i n t e r a c t i o n
i n t h e i r peer groups i n c l u d i n g t h e frequency o f c o n t a c t ,
forms o f l e i s u r e a c t i v i t i e s and t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n toward
peers?
(iii)
What a r e t h e i n f l u e n c e s o f p e e r a s s o c i a t i o n e x e r t e d
on one 1 s d r o p p i n g o u t i n c l u d i n g t h e l e a r n i n g o f t e c h n i c a l
and m o t i v a t i o n a l elements o f d r o p p i n g o u t ?
5
0
CHAPTER FOUR
METHODOLOGY
Given t h a t there are l i m i t e d research s t u d i e s t h a t
f o c u s e d on t h e dynamics o f l a b e l l i n g and p e e r i n f l u e n c e s i n
r e l a t i o n t o d r o p p i n g o u t , t h e a u t h o r was n o t a g g r e s s i v e t o
v e r i f y o r e s t a b l i s h any t h e o r y o f e x p l a i n i n g t h e c a u s a l i t y o f
school dropout.
Indeed, t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y i s p r i m a r i l y
e x p l o r a t o r y and q u a l i t a t i v e ; and t h e purpose i s t o i n c r e a s e
t h e a u t h o r ' s f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h t h e d r o p p i n g o u t problem, t o
i d e n t i f y i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r o u t r e a c h i n g s o c i a l work s e r v i c e , and
t o gather information f o r f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n .
Details of
methodology i n c l u d i n g t h e r e s e a r c h d e s i g n , s a m p l i n g method,
i n s t r u m e n t , d a t a c o l l e c t i o n and a n a l y s i s , r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s
and l i m i t a t i o n s o f s t u d y w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n g
sections.
I•
RESEARCH DESIGN
According
to
Cheng
(1982),
there
is
occasionally
a
tendency to underestimate the significance of exploratory
study
and
to
"scientific、
consider
only
experimental
research
as
In this study, a qualitative research design
instead of a representative survey is adopted for two major
considerations.
openness
and
First, a qualitative methodology
flexibility
in
5
1
collecting
allows
information
on
i n d i v i d u a l cases;
and second, t h e
case s t u d y method can
f a c i l i t a t e a more i n d e p t h i n q u i r y t h a n s u r v e y s and e x p e r i m e n t s
especially
where
personal
concerned ( B a b b i e , 1989).
experiences
and
feelings
are
Furthermore, t h e c u r r e n t s t a t e o f
r e s e a r c h s t u d i e s on a d o l e s c e n t s has been seen a s h i f t toward
a d o p t i n g an e c o l o g i c a l approach w i t h a p r o c e s s o r i e n t a t i o n
( P e t e r s e n , 1988).
Because o f t h e n a t u r e o f t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y
w i t h a f o c u s on i n t e r a c t i o n and p r o c e s s , an e x p l o r a t o r y and
q u a l i t a t i v e r e s e a r c h d e s i g n was s e l e c t e d .
工
工
•
SAMPLING METHOD
In designing a concrete plan for this study, with the
assistance given by the four outreaching social work teams of
the
author's
Association,
serving
the
agency,
author
the
collected
Hong
some
Kong
Playground
preliminary
data
concerning the general profile of the four teams1 outreaching
clients with school dropout problem, including the clients!
age,
sex,
occupation,
schooling background.
educational
attainment,
family
and
It was reported that a total of forty-
three active cases (36 males and 7 females) of the agency were
found to be school dropouts during the period from January to
November, 1993.
Due to some practical considerations such as the access
to the target groups and limitations of resources, the author
decided to use a purposive sampling method in this study.
The
t o t a l sample s i z e o f t h e s t u d y was e l e v e n , o c c u p y i n g onef o u r t h o f t h e t o t a l dropout cases s e r v e d by t h e agency as a t
November 30, 1993. I t s h o u l d be mentioned t h a t t h e numbers o f
c a s e s t o be s e l e c t e d from each o f t h e f o u r o u t r e a c h i n g teams
were p r o p o r t i o n a t e t o t h e a c t u a l numbers o f dropout c a s e s
r e p o r t e d b y t h e r e s p e c t i v e teams.
The c h o i c e o f t h e e l e v e n
c a s e s s h o u l d meet t h e f o l l o w i n g c r i t e r i a : 1.
To be an a c t i v e case from one o f t h e o u t r e a c h i n g s o c i a l
work teams o f t h e Hong Kong P l a y g r o u n d A s s o c i a t i o n , t h a t i s a
v o l u n t a r y s o c i a l s e r v i c e agency h a v i n g t h e g r e a t e s t number o f
o u t r e a c h i n g s o c i a l work teams i n Hong Kong.
t h a t updated and supplementary i n f o r m a t i o n
I t was e x p e c t e d
would be sought
from t h e r e s p o n s i b l e outreach workers i f r e q u i r e d .
2.
To meet t h e dropout s t a t u s a s d e f i n e d i n accordance w i t h
the e x i s t i n g education ordinance.
3.
The d a t e o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t 1 s d r o p p i n g o u t was n o t e a r l i e r
t h a n January 1, 1993.
I t was hoped t h a t t h e r e s p o n d e n t ' s
memory o f d r o p p i n g o u t e x p e r i e n c e s would n o t be f a d e d o u t
w i t h i n a reasonable p e r i o d o f time.
4.
The respondent was w i l l i n g t o t a k e p a r t i n t h e case
interview.
I n v i e w o f t h e l i m i t e d sample s i z e and convenience o f
s t u d y , t h e a u t h o r adopted a p u r p o s i v e q u o t a s a m p l i n g i n whicH
h e t e r o g e n e i t y o f r e s p o n d e n t s ' age, s e x r o c c u p a t i o n , f a m i l y and
s c h o o l background was c o n s i d e r e d 5 3
工
工
工
•
INSTRUMENT
Qualitative methods put much emphasis on the indepth
study of individualsA
and respondents are selected for the
specific information that they may contribute to the study
(Peck, 1991) .
With an aid of an interview schedule, open-
ended questions were designed
interview
in the present study.
schedule which was made with reference
conceptual
framework
and
areas
of
concern
The
to the
discussed
preceding chapter enabled the respondents to answer
in
in a
systematic way so that all the necessary information could be
tapped. Besides, the interviewer, i.e. the author had freedom
to make clarification of the questions, to ask for elaboration
and to probe far beyond the answers to the prepared questions
(Babbie, 1986; Strauss, 1987; Cheng, 1992).
Respondents were
asked to recall relevant experiences prior to their dropping
out.
Moreover, the author also put emphasis on what naturally
emerged during the course of case interview.
In order to prepare for a better interview schedule, two
pilot case interviews had been conducted before the study was
conducted.
An
appropriate
interview
wordings
and
schedule
sequence
(Appendix
of
One)
with
questions was
then
refined.
There were five parts of the finalized interview
schedule.
The first part concerned the basic information of
the respondent.
The second part was a broad descriptive
account of the respondent1s experiences in relation to his/her
年
5
dropping out.
The
remaining t h r e e p a r t s
concerned t h e
respondent's experiences o f i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h h i s / h e r school,
p e e r and f a m i l y systems r e s p e c t i v e l y .
on
the
respondent's
experiences
of
Much emphasis was p u t
schooling
and
peer
association.
IV.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
W i t h t h e arrangement made by t h e r e s p o n s i b l e w o r k e r s f t h e
s e l e c t e d cases were i n t e r v i e w e d i n d i v i d u a l l y i n a p r i v a t e room
t o ensure c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y .
Having g o t t h e consent from t h e
r e s p o n d e n t s , a l l t h e i n t e r v i e w s were r e c o r d e d down c o m p l e t e l y .
I n average, each case i n t e r v i e w was c a r r i e d o u t w i t h i n onehour p e r i o d .
The d a t a o b t a i n e d i n each i n t e r v i e w were t r a n s f e r r e d t o
a s c r i p t i n w h i c h t h e whole
including
long
dialogues
process o f
between
the
case
interview
interviewer
and
i n t e r v i e w e e was r e c o r d e d down.
Data a n a l y s i s began w i t h r e a d i n g t h e s c r i p t s o f case
interviews over s e v e r a l times
author
grouped
the
similar
(Peck,
or
1991),
and t h e n t h e
same k i n d o f
data i n t o
c a t e g o r i e s t h a t were developed a c c o r d i n g t o t h e b a s i c concepts
o f t h e two t h e o r i e s d i s c u s s e d i n p r e c e d i n g c h a p t e r •
In this
study the focus of analysis was not merely on collecting or
ordering a pool of data, but on organizing many ideas which
5
5
emerged from t h e a n a l y s i s o f t h e d a t a .
Concerning the p a r t o f
l a b e l l i n g p r o c e s s , t h r e e major c a t e g o r i e s f o r a n a l y s i s were
" p r i m a r y d e v i a n c e " , " n e g a t i v e l a b e l " and " p r o c e s s o f s o c i a l
interaction".
For
the p a r t
of
peer
association,
four
c a t e g o r i e s f o r a n a l y s i s were " n a t u r e o f i n t i m a t e p e r s o n a l
group",
‘‘ i n t e r a c t i o n p a t t e r n o f
peer
groups",
n
learning
p r o c e s s M and "dynamics i n v o l v e d i n t h e l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s o f
dropping out".
S u b c a t e g o r i e s were used when t h e d a t a under
t h e same c a t e g o r i e s c o u l d f u r t h e r be c l a s s i f i e d .
V.
THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The p r e s e n t s t u d y addressed t h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s :
1.
What a r e t h e g e n e r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f s c h o o l d r o p o u t s i n
terms o f t h e i r age, o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s , s o c i a l and f a m i l y
background^ and t y p e o f s c h o o l o f w h i c h t h e y dropped o u t ?
2.
As e v a l u a t e d by t h e d r o p o u t s t h e m s e l v e s , what a r e t h e
m a j o r reasons f o r t h e i r d r o p p i n g o u t ?
3.
What
are
the
characteristics
and
forms
of
labels
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s c h o o l dropouts d u r i n g t h e p r o c e s s o f d r o p p i n g
out o f school?
4.
How,
and under what c i r c u m s t a n c e s do t h e l a b e l s g e t
applied?
5.
what a r e t h e consequences o f l a b e l l i n g i n r e l e v a n c e t o
one1s dropping out o f school?
6.
What a r e t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f s c h o o l d r o p o u t s ' i n t i m a t e
p e e r s i n terms o f t h e i r age, s e x , o c c u p a t i o n , s c h o o l i n g and
5
5
s o c i a l background?
7 • What are the patterns of school dropouts ' interaction with
their peers
including the frequency of
contact,
forms of
leisure activities and expectation toward friendship?
8.
How do school dropouts develop
and
form their
rule-
breaking or discipline problems in school?
And what is the
dynamic process
and
deviant
in which dropouts develop
behaviours
(including
techniques
form their
and
attitudal
elements of the behaviours) through association with their
intimate peers?
9.
What are the implications of research findings for the
outreaching social work service and relevant social policies?
VI•
LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
In sum, this study had the following four limitations
that should be paid attention to:1•
Low generalizability of research findings
When compared to the experimental methodology, case study-
research method has been widely criticized for a
controls,
for
subjectivity
inadequate
in
interpreting
scientific significance
measurement
data
(Cheng, 1992
and
of
its
:42).
lack of
variables,
weakness
in
Based on the
findings of this study, it is indeed difficult to draw any
generalization
of the results to the whole population of
outreach clients with dropout problem in Hong Kong,
However, t h e s t r e n g t h o f a q u a l i t a t i v e approach l i e s i n
i t s power o f g e n e r a t i n g a r i c h p o o l o f i n f o r m a t i o n on a
r e l a t i v e l y complex human s i t u a t i o n .
precise
description
of
the
Though i t does n o t y i e l d
whole
target
population,
a
q u a l i t a t i v e i n v e s t i g a t i o n p r o v i d e s a h i g h q u a l i t y assessment
of
the
situation within i t s
proper
context
and u s e f u l
i n f o r m a t i o n f o r h y p o t h e s i s t e s t i n g and t h e o r y development
( K i a n g , 1992 : 4 0 ) .
2.
E f f e c t s o f S e l e c t i v e R e p o r t i n g and S o c i a l D e s i r a b i l i t y
The d a t a o b t a i n e d r e l i e d h e a v i l y on i n t e r v i e w i n g t h e
d r o p o u t c l i e n t s a s a major s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n .
reporting
and s o c i a l d e s i r a b i l i t y e f f e c t s
Selective
were
l i m i t a t i o n s o f the r e l i a b i l i t y o f t h i s study.
probable
But these
u n d e s i r a b l e impacts c o u l d be m i n i m i z e d as much as p o s s i b l e
s i n c e t h e i n f o r m a t i o n g i v e n by t h e respondents were c o u n t e r checked by t h e i r r e s p o n s i b l e o u t r e a c h s o c i a l w o r k e r s .
3.
Inherent l i m i t a t i o n o f Retrospective Design
A l i m i t a t i o n o f t h e p r e s e n t r e s e a r c h methodology t h a t
should
be
overcome
retrospective design.
in
subsequent
research
was
the
As respondents who dropped o u t o f
s c h o o l were i n t e r v i e w e d a f t e r t h e y had dropped o u t , t h e y might
perceive t h e i r experiences d i f f e r e n t l y since l e a v i n g school;
and t h e i r "here-and-now" s i t u a t i o n s might have c o l o u r e d t h e i r
responses t o d r o p p i n g o u t o f s c h o o l (Dunham and A l p e r t , 1987,
5S
p.48).
T h i s i s an i n h e r e n t l i m i t a t i o n o f t h e r e t r o s p e c t i v e
r e s e a r c h d e s i g n , b u t a l o n g i t u d i n a l d e s i g n seems t o be t h e
o n l y way t o ensure a g a i n s t t h i s t y p e o f b i a s
(Dunham and
A l p e r t , 1987).
4•
Limitations of the Respondents and Researcher
Since the chosen subjects were at a young age and low
educational
level,
it
was
found
that
most
of
them
had
difficulties in describing and expressing their feelings as
well as their experiences freely and exactly.
However, with
the generous support given by the interviewer and adequate
psychological preparation provided prior to the interview, the
respondents' readiness to participate in this study overcome
their inadequacies in this area to a large extent.
Apart from the limitations of the respondents, the
problem
of
interpretation
by
the
researcher
was
limitation of establishing the validity of this study.
also
a
It
is
known that the researcher1s subjectivity of interpreting the
data collected is usually common for qualitative studies than
for traditional research (Peck, 1991).
5 气
、
CHAPTER FIVE
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
《
工
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS
I n t h i s study, a t o t a l o f eleven dropouts who were t h e
a c t i v e c a s e s o f t h e Hong Kong P l a y g r o u n d A s s o c i a t i o n 1 s f o u r
o u t r e a c h i n g teams were i n t e r v i e w e d .
When c o n s i d e r i n g t h e
p r a c t i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s i n engaging outreach c l i e n t s i n
f o r m a l i n t e r v i e w s a s w e l l a s t h e e x p e c t e d numbers o f c a s e s
t o be s e l e c t e d from t h e f o u r teams, t h e a u t h o r , w i t h t h e
a s s i s t a n c e o f h e r teammates, f i r s t engaged s e v e n o u t o f t h e
e l e v e n respondents p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h i s s t u d y from h e r
s e r v i n g team, i . e . , t h e Wong T a i S i n O u t r e a c h i n g Team.
The
r c i n a i n i n g f o u r c a s e s were s e l e c t e d f r o m Tsuen Kwai Team
(one c a s e ) , Mongkok Team (two c a s e s ) / and Wan C h a i & N o r t h
P o i n t Team (one c a s e ) r e s p e c t i v e l y .
To b e g i n w i t h t h e d i s c u s s i o n , i t i s a p p r o p r i a t e t o
have
a
grasp
at
the
general
characteristics
of
r e s p o n d e n t s w h i c h a r e summarized i n t h e t a b l e b e l o w .
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一
I n t h i s s t u d y , f o u r o u t o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s were
f e m a l e , and m a j o r i t y o f the respondents o f aged t h i r t e e n t o
s i x t e e n were unemployed. Only two female r e s p o n d e n t s were
w o r k i n g as
unemployed.
a h a i r - d r e s s i n g a p p r e n t i c e and o t h e r s
were
E i g h t out t h e e l e v e n respondents were l i v i n g
i n p u b l i c h o u s i n g e s t a t e s whereas o n l y two o f them were
l i v i n g i n p r i v a t e - r e n t a l f l a t s and one i n t h e p r i v a t e - o w n e d
unit.
Concerning t h e respondents' f a m i l y background, a l l t h e
respondents except case I were l i v i n g w i t h t h e i r p a r e n t s
and/or s i b l i n g s .
s i n g l e -p a r e n t
Three o f t h e e l e v e n respondents came from
families.
More
than
half
of
the
respondents 1 p a r e n t s had r e c e i v e d p r i m a r y e d u c a t i o n and two
o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s ' p a r e n t s r e c e i v e d no s c h o o l i n g .
case
F
whose
parents
were
respondents f
p a r e n t s were
labour
such as w a i t r e s s ,
factory
jobs
worker.
With
self-employed,
employed i n
to
all
the
some s e r v i c e o r
restaurant
reference
Except
the
captain
and
statistics
c o n c e r n i n g t h e Hong Kong p e o p l e f s monthly h o u s e h o l d income,
h a l f o f t h e respondents 1
f a m i l y income were under t h e
"median" l e v e l .
1
Referring t o the General Household Survey, Populations &
Household T a b u l a t i o n s 1992 (Census and S t a t i s t i c s Department,
1992, p . 3 ) , t h e median monthly household income i n t h e Wan C h a i
d i s t r i c t , Mongkok r Wong* Thi S i n and Tsxibii Wa.n was $15,500,
$10,000, $11,000 and $13,000 r e s p e c t i v e l y . I n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e
a n n u a l i n f l a t i o n r a t e s i n 1993 and 1994 ( s a y , 10% p e r y e a r ) , t h e
median monthly household income for* 1994 i n t h e Wan C h a i ,
Mongkok, Wong T a i S i n and Tsuen Kwai d i s t r i c t was e s t i m a t e d t o
be $18,775, $12,100, $13,310 and $15,730 r e s p e c t i v e l y .
6
2
W i t h r e g a r d t o t h e respondents 1 s c h o o l i n g background f
a l l o f them dropped out o f s c h o o l i n 1993.
F i v e o f them
dropped o u t when t h e y were i n form two r one i n form t h r e e ,
f o u r i n form one and one even i n p r i m a r y s i x .
Four o f the
r e s p ond en ts dropped out from p r i v a t e , grammar s c h o o l s and
a n o t h e r f o u r respondents from subsidized^ graminar s c h o o l s .
B e s i d e s , one o f t h e respondents q u i t t e d h i s s t u d y from a
governmental, graminar s c h o o l .
O n l y one respondent dropped
o u t o f an subsidized^ p r e v o c a t i o n a l t r a i n i n g s c h o o l and one
f r o m a s p e c i a l s c h o o l named H u i Chung S h i n g S p e c i a l S c h o o l .
About h a l f o f t h e cases were opened a s o u t r e a c h c a s e s a f t e r
t h e y had dropped out o f s c h o o l .
I n accord w i t h the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f outreach c l i e n t s
i n g e n e r a l (Hong Kong C o u n c i l o f S o c i a l S e r v i c e s , 1993), i t
was found t h a t m a j o r i t y o f t h e respondents came from lower
socioeconomic s t a t u s f a m i l i e s i n terms o f t h e i r p a r e n t s !
e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l and o c c u p a t i o n , f a m i l y income and h o u s i n g
types.
As r e f l e c t e d i n t a b l e 1, i t i s o b v i o u s t h a t t h e
a u t h o r has t r i e d h e r b e s t t o a c h i e v e a g r e a t e r degree o f
heterogeneity
of
consideration
of
cases
selected
respondents'
s c h o o l i n g backgrounds-
sex,
with
age,
a
thorough
family
and
I t was hoped t h a t t h e r e s u l t s o f
t h e s t u d y c o u l d r e f l e c t a v a r i e t y o f cases w i t h d i f f e r e n t
backgrounds i n t h e o u t r e a c h s o c i a l work s e t t i n g .
The above d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e
d r o p o u t s c o n s t i t u t e d o n l y one p a r t o f t h i s c h a p t e r .
6
3
Tiie
f o c i o f t h i s c h a p t e r were p l a c e d on t h e f o l l o w i n g f o u r
parts.
Based on t h e c o n c e p t u a l framework p r e s e n t e d i n
C h a p t e r T h r e e , p a r t two attempted t o d e s c r i b e t h e dynamic
p r o c e s s i n w h i c h t h e l a b e l l i n g i m p a c t be e x e r t e d on t h e
respondents' dropping out.
P a r t t h r e e concerned t h e peer
a s s o c i a t i o n i n r e l a t i o n t o respondents' dropping o u t .
f i n a l part
consisted of
The
an o v e r a l l d i s c u s s i o n on t h e
a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e two t h e o r i e s s e l e c t e d i n t h i s s t u d y .
工
工
•
1•
LABELLING PROCESS AND DROPPING OUT
Primary Deviance
According to Schur (1971: 24), a working definition of
deviance
"involving
group 1 s
refers
to
the
that
is
viewed
a personally discreditable departure
normative
interpersonal
or
expectations,
collective
丨,isolate”， "treat11,
that
expectation.
departs
and
reactions
"correct"
engaged in such behaviour.
behaviour
behaviour
or
it
that
"punish"
from
as
a
elicits
serve
to
individuals
This definition emphasizes the
from
a
group's
normative
In this way, nonconforming and rule-breaking
behaviours can be viewed as deviant acts since they are
violated
from
a
group's
or
the
society's
normative
expectation.
Labelling theory focuses on the sequential process
through which an individual is transformed or given a new
identity.
The initial phase of the process begins with the
appearance of deviant: behaviours that 3.tb called
6
4
primary
deviance .
The concept o f p r i m a r y d e v i a n c e as a p p l i e d t o
s c h o o l dropout cases draws a t t e n t i o n t o t h e p r o c e s s t h r o u g h
w h i c h an a d o l e s c e n t e x h i b i t s nonconforming o r r u l e - b r e a k i n g
b e h a v i o u r s i n s c h o o l and then comes t o i n t e g r a t e d e v i a n t
l a b e l s into his/her self-concept.
I n t h e t h i r d p a r t o f t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e ^ respondents
were asked about t h e i r s c h o o l i n g e x p e r i e n c e s e s p e c i a l l y
t h e i r i n i t i a l s t u d y and b e h a v i o u r a l problems i n s c h o o l ,
t h a t needed t o be c o r r e c t e d and p u n i s h e d by t h e i r t e a c h e r s .
These
non-conforming o r
rule-breaking
behaviours
were
c a t e g o r i z e d as p r i m a r y d e v i a n t a c t s t h a t were summarized i n
the following table.
I n o r d e r t o enhance t h e f a c e v a l i d i t y
o f t h e c o n s t r u c t , i . e . t h e p r i m a r y d e v i a n c e , the a u t h o r
c o n s u l t e d two t e a c h e r s
l i s t e d i n table
who agreed t h a t t h e b e h a v i o u r s
two were g e n e r a l l y regarded a s r u l e -
b r e a k i n g o r unacceptable b e h a v i o u r s i n t h e s c h o o l s e t t i n g .
Table 2
Forms o f P r i m a r y Deviance o f Respondents
Hx cf (Cases')
Started in
Primary School Secondary School
6 (A,B,C,F,H,K)
4 (A,K,H,J)
Deviant A c t
• No submission of
Homework
1 (J)
.Playing truant
(3 consecutive days
or above within one
week)
3 (E,H,J)
.Poor academic performance (more than
5 subjects failed
in examination)
1 (J)
,Conflict/ quarrel
with teacher
,Hair dyeing
6
5
9 (ArBrCrD.E^.Gr
K,!)
7 (i\,B,C,E,H,K,I)
3 (C,D,E)
2 (E,F)
Table 2 (Cont'd)
6.
7.
8.
9.
Deviant A c t
Primary School
Not b r i n g i n g t e x t 1 (H)
books back t o s c h o o l
frequently
Speaking f o u l l a n g 0
uage t o t e a c h e r
Run-away from home
1 (J)
without parents 1
consent
Sleeping i n class
0
10. Being l a t e f o r
school
Secondary School
2 (D^H)
0
2 (D,E)
4 (A,
6 (A,C,E,
F,H, I )
3 (D,E,H)
T a b l e 2 shows t h a t o n l y a few r e s p o n d e n t s s t a r t e d t o
e x h i b i t d e v i a n t a c t s when t h e y were i n p r i m a r y s c h o o l s .
F o u r r e s p o n d e n t s had t h e h a b i t o f n o t d o i n g homework and
o n l y one o f them p l a y e d t r u a n t when t h e y were i n p r i m a r y
schooling.
However, more s c h o o l i n g and d i s c i p l i n e p r o b l e m s
were o b s e r v e d among t h e r e s p o n d e n t s when t h e y s t a r t e d t h e
secondary s c h o o l i n g .
submission o f
These d e v i a n t b e h a v i o u r s i n c l u d e d : no
homework,
playing truant,
poor
academic
performance, c o n f l i c t w i t h t e a c h e r , s l e e p i n g i n c l a s s , n o t
b r i n g i n g textbooks t o
running
away f r o m home,
language t o t e a c h e r .
truant
school,
was
respondents.
the
most
being l a t e f o r
school,
h a i r - d y e i n g and s p e a k i n g f o u l
Among t h e s e d e v i a n t a c t s , p l a y i n g
common a c t
committed
by
nine
T h i s f i n d i n g s u p p o r t e d t h e common phenomenon
s t a t e d i n many r e l e v a n t r e s e a r c h s t u d i e s and a r t i c l e s t h a t
p l a y i n g truant: i s u s u a l l y t h e p r e l u d e o f dropping o u t .
M o r e o v e r , majo r i t y o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s were v e r y p o o r
i n academic p e r f o r m a n c e . S i x o u t o f t h e e l e v e n r e s p o n d e n t s
had t h e h a b i t o f s l e e p i n g i n c l a s s .
6
6
Four o f them had r u n
away from home w i t h o u t t h e i r p a r e n t s ' consent•
Their run-
away incidents were also known by their teachers as they
used to play truant during the same period.
2.
Negative Label
The
labels
respondents were asked whether
they
found
any
or conceptions imposed upon them after they had
shown some deviant acts in school.
The focus of this part
was put on the respondents' schooling experiences as well
as their perceptions toward the negative labels applied on
them by
their
schoolmates .
described
significant others such
as teachers
and
As some of the negative labels were not
specific
enough, the
context of negative labels
content
as well
as the
given would also be presented
here.
2•1
The Worst Student in Class
Two out of
revealed
that
the eleven respondents
they
were
labelled
(Case C and E)
explicitly
teachers as the worst students in class.
classmates got the messages clearly.
by
their
Thus all of their
But none of them
found that the labels they got had much adverse effect on
their relationships with classmates.
They claimed that
majority of classmates showed empathy toward them and paid
no regard to what their teacliers said.
2•2
The Worst Class in the School
Three out of the respondents (Case E, F, K) reported
that they were described by their teachers as the worst
class in the school both in their academic and behavioural
6
7
performance.
On t h e one hand, t h e t h r e e respondents had
some n e g a t i v e f e e l i n g s more o r l e s s s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o f
c a s e s C and E mentioned above.
On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e y
e x p r e s s e d t h a t t h e i r f e e l i n g s became l e s s p e r s o n a l
direct
as
the
labels
given r e f e r r e d t o
and
a collective
i d e n t i t y which s t i g m a t i z e d t h e respondents as w e l l as t h e i r
c l a s s m a t e s as a whole.
2•3
Rule-breaking Student
Case
A
and
D
found
that
their
school
personnel
including teachers and discipline masters labelled them as
rule-breaking students who did not follow the school rules
and regulations.
Case D quoted an incident as follows:
n
I had just been scolded by my English teacher
for my truancy happened in last week.
The
teacher pointed to me and blamed me for my
frequent rule-breaking and low motivation to
study. She further said that the school would
not like me to stay if 工 c o n t i n u e d t o p l a y t h e
r o l e of a rule-breaking student."
2.4
Trouble-maker
Case Cf D and F had a s i m i l a r f e e l i n g t h a t t h e i r
t e a c h e r s p e r c e i v e d them as a t r o u b l e - m a k e r i n s c h o o l .
They
f o u n d t h a t t h e i r t e a c h e r s d i s l i k e d them and hoped t o g e t
r i d o f them.
his
I n t h e f o l l o w i n g q u o t a t i o n . Case C d e s c r i b e d
relationship with h i s teacher,
from t h a t h i s
own
p e r c e p t i o n toward h i s t e a c h e r 1 s l a b e l s a p p l i e d on him was
a l s o reflected•
"Our teachers asked us to raise questions when we
did not understand in class but when you really
raised questions, they never answered and acted
as if 工 were v e r y i r r i t a t i n g and troublesome. I
found he p i c k e d a t me and t r e a t e d me as a
trouble-maker i n c l a s s . “
6
8
2.5
The A t - r i s k Student
O n l y case G c o n s i d e r e d t h a t she was l a b e l l e d by t h e
d i s c i p l i n e master, a s s i s t a n t p r i n c i p a l and s c h o o l s o c i a l
worker as an a t - r i s k s t u d e n t who needed i n t e n s i v e
c o u n s e l l i n g and s u p e r v i s i o n a f t e r she had p l a y e d t r u a n t
with a
M
badM schoolmate f o r a week. Case G r e p o r t e d t h a t
she had been c o n s i d e r e d as a normal s t u d e n t b e f o r e she
played truant.
She s a i d ,
"The d i s c i p l i n e master and a s s i s t a n t p r i n c i p a l
punished me s e r i o u s l y f o r my t r u a n c y . And t h e
s c h o o l s o c i a l worker o f t e n c a l l e d me t o have
i n t e r v i e w w i t h h e r . They t r e a t e d me as i f 工 were
an a t - r i s k
student
who
needed i n t e n s i v e
s u p e r v i s i o n and c o u n s e l l i n g .
They thought 工
would be a d e l i n q u e n t s t u d e nn t i f t h e y d i d n o t
t r e a t me i n such s t r i c t w a y .
F o r Case G, h e r p e r c e p t i o n toward t h e l a b e l a p p l i e d
on h e r was f u r t h e r c o n f i r m e d by h e r t e a c h e r s f punishment
i n c l u d i n g r e q u e s t i n g h e r t o copy words o f
工
” never p l a y
t r u a n t a g a i n " i n f i v e - t h o u s a n d t i m e s , p o s t i n g h e r name on
t h e c l a s s ' s n o t i c e board, and p r o h i b i t i n g h e r from k e e p i n g
c o n t a c t w i t h t h e schoolmate w i t h whom, she p l a y e d t r u a n t .
2.6
D e l i n q u e n t Student
Case J was t h e o n l y respondent who dropped o u t o f
s c h o o l a t t h e l o w e s t form o f c l a s s as he q u i t t e d from
s c h o o l a t t h e f i r s t term o f p r i m a r y s i x .
He r e p o r t e d t h a t
some o f h i s t e a c h e r s viewed him a s a d e l i n q u e n t s t u d e n t who
a s s o c i a t e d c l o s e l y w i t h t h e t r i a d members o u t s i d e s c h o o l .
Another two r e s p o n d e n t s , Case C and E a l s o had t h e
same p e r c e p t i o n o f b e i n g l a b e l l e d a s d e l i n q u e n t guys by
6
9
t h e i r teachers.
Case E t o l d h e r s t o r y as f o l l o w s :
"Some o f my t e a c h e r s a s w e l l a s my c l a s s m a t e s
wondered why 工 used t o a s s o c i a t e w i t h t h e bad
guys.
From t h e i r p o i n t o f v i e w , t h e y t h o u g h t
t h a t 工 were a d e l i n q u e n t g i r l who smokes,
a s s o c i a t e s w i t h t r i a d members and p a r t i c i p a t e s i n
delinquent a c t i v i t i e s .
I know, a l l o f them
w i s h e d meM t o drop o u t o f s c h o o l as e a r l i e r a s
possible O v e r a l l , e i g h t out o f t h e eleven respondents noted
that
their
teachers
and
classmates
c o n c e p t i o n s o r b i a s toward them.
had
some
pre-
To be s p e c i f i c , t h e y
f o u n d t h a t t h e s e p r e - c o n c e p t i o n s were n e g a t i v e l a b e l s i n
n a t u r e . The l a b e l s a p p l i e d on them were m a i n l y due t o t h e
appearance o f t h e i r d e v i a n t o r r u l e - b r e a k i n g b e h a v i o u r s i n
school.
I n t h i s s t u d y , o n l y t h r e e respondents had no s u c h
f e e l i n g o f b e i n g l a b e l l e d a l t h o u g h t h e y committed t h e r u l e breaking behaviours i n school.
Concerning the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f the l a b e l s a p p l i e d
on t h e r e s p o n d e n t s , t h e l a b e l s s u c h a s " t h e w o r s t s t u d e n t
i n class",
" t h e w o r s t c l a s s i n school丨:，丨丨rule-breaking
s t u d e n t " and " d e l i n q u e n t s t u d e n t " were g i v e n o r a l l y and
e x p l i c i t l y by t h e respondents' teachers i n c l a s s .
And t h e
o t h e r two l a b e l s i n c l u d i n g " t h e a t - r i s k s t u d e n t " and
" t r o u b l e - m a k e r " were r e c e i v e d i n d i r e c t l y b y t h e r e s p o n d e n t s
who g o t s u c h i m p r e s s i o n o f b e i n g l a b e l l e d t h r o u g h t h e i r
d i r e c t and f r e q u e n t c o n t a c t w i t h t h e t e a c h e r s c o n c e r n e d .
7
0
3•
3•1
Process of Social Interaction
Respondents' Attitudes/ Feelings toward Negative
Labels
Deviance
is perceived
not
as a static
entity but
rather as a continuously shaped and reshaped product of
dynamic processes of social interaction (Scour, 1971: 8).
During the interaction process, the respondents' attitudes
or responses toward others1 negative labels v/ere supposed
to cause secondary deviance of the respondents； and a t t h e
same
time
some
self-labels
concerning t h e i r
learning
a b i l i t i e s and s c h o o l performance were formed.
In this
s e c t i o n , t h e p a t t e r n s o f t h e respondents { r e a c t i o n s toward
n e g a t i v e l a b e l s a p p l i e d on them would be d i s c u s s e d .
" F e e l i n g o f b e i n g watched"
Case G r e p o r t e d t h a t she had a s t r o n g f e e l i n g t h a t she
was b e i n g watched a f t e r she had been l a b e l l e d a s an a t - r i s k
student.
She s a i d ,
"When t h e a s s i s t a n t p r i n c i p a l f o u n d t h a t I
lunc hed w i t h t h a t g i r l ( t h e r e s p o n d e n t ' s b e s t
schoolmate who was i d e n t i f i e d a s t h e bad
s t u d e n t ) , she o r d e r e d me t o buy l u n c h box b a c k t o
school instead o f going outside t o lunch w i t h t h e
g i r l . I f e l t I was b e i n g watched and t r e a t e d a s
i f I were a p r i s o n e r .
工 had no freedom and no
f r i e n d s d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d . 工u n d e r s t o o d t h a t 工
s h o u l d be p u n i s h e d f o r my t r u a n c y .
But I d i d
doubt why t h e t e a c h e r s r e s t r i c t e d me f r o m making
f r i e n d w i t h whom 工 l i k e d . The t e a c h e r s were s o
a u t h o r i t a t i v e t h a t 工 c o u l d r ^ t argue w i t h them.“
As Case G f o u n d t h a t she was h e l p l e s s , she adopted t h e
d e f e n s e mechanism t h a t she s l e p t i n c l a s s a l l t h e t i m e and
withdrew
herself
from
participating
7
1
in
the
school
activities .
"A f e e l i n g o f b e i n g p i c k e d a t by t e a c h e r s "
S i x out o f t h e e l e v e n respondents had t h e same f e e l i n g
o f b e i n g p i c k e d a t b y t e a c h e r s . A l l o f them had no remorse
f o r t h e i r wrongdoings, however, t h e y complained t h a t t h e i r
t e a c h e r s found f a u l t w i t h them d e l i b e r a t e l y and e x e r c i s e d
u n f a i r and even unreasonable punishment on them.
Case
C complained o f h i s t e a c h e r s who e x e r c i s e d t h e
u n f a i r punishment on him s i n c e he found t h a t he used t o
r e c e i v e more h a r s h punishment as compared t o h i s c l a s s m a t e s
who made t h e same k i n d o f f a u l t .
Case H had a s i m i l a r d e s c r i p t i o n ,
" I found my t e a c h e r s had b i a s toward me and t h u s
t h e y found f a u l t w i t h me f r e q u e n t l y .
I felt 工
was b e i n g n e g l e c t e d and l o o k e d down upon by my
teachersThe s i g n i f i c a n c e o f my p r e s e n c e
p r o v i d e d them w i t h chances o f making f u n o f me•”
Furthermore, i t
was found t h a t o t h e r n e g a t i v e f e e l i n g s
s u c h as i n f e r i o r i t y
and f e e l i n g s o f b e i n g i n s u l t e d and
bullied
were
commonly
associated
with
respondents 1
p e r c e p t i o n o f b e i n g p i c k e d a t by t h e i r t e a c h e r s .
"A f e e l i n g o f b e i n g immune f r o m f e a r "
As m a j o r i t y o f t h e respondents were p o o r b o t h i n t h e i r
conduct and academic performance, t h e y were o f t e n p u n i s h e d
and s c o l d e d by t h e i r t e a c h e r s f o r t h e i r wrongdoings.
They
expressed t h a t t h e y had n e g a t i v e and u n p l e a s a n t f e e l i n g s
7
2
toward t h e i r l a b e l s o r comments g i v e n t o them, however,
most o f t h e respondents r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e y became immune
from f e a r toward punishment over t i m e .
Case C p a i n t e d a
r e a l i s t i c p i c t u r e as f o l l o w s :
" G r a d u a l l y , I began h a v i n g no f e e l i n g toward what
my t e a c h e r s s a i d and a c t e d on me. Perhaps 工 had
much r i c h e x p e r i e n c e s o f b e i n g punished. I f e l t
iimnune from f e a r toward t h e i r words and
behaviours . "
"A f e e l i n g o f disappointment"
The
respondents
were
asked
to
evaluate
their
r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t e a c h e r s when t h e y r e c o g n i z e d t h e l a b e l s
a p p l i e d on them.
One o f t h e respondents. Case C e x p r e s s e d
h i s f e e l i n g s as f o l l o w s :
n
I was v e r y d i s a p p o i n t e d when my t e a c h e r s r e a c t e d
i n t h a t way. Because i t was t h e y who encouraged
us t o ask q u e s t i o n s i n t h e f i r s t p l a c e .
工 had
t a l k e d t o my f a t h e r about i t f o r s e v e r a l t i m e s .
He t o l d me t o t o l e r a t e u n t i l I completed f o r m
t h r e e . But indeed, a t t h a t t i m e 工 had a s t r o n g
f e e l i n g o f b e i n g p i n n e d on my h e a r t when I knew
my t e a c h e r s 1 m i s c o n c e p t i o n toward me. n
No n e g a t i v e f e e l i n g s generated
I t was n o t e d t h a t two o u t o f t h e e l e v e n respondents
(Case A & B) e x p r e s s e d t h a t t h e y had no n e g a t i v e f e e l i n g s
toward t h e i r t e a c h e r s 1 l a b e l s as t h e y c o n s i d e r e d t h a t t h e y
d e s e r ved t o g e t t h e l a b e l s .
teachers
were
They thought t h a t t h e i r
good-hearted
and
hoped
improvement on t h e i r s c h o o l i n g performance.
7
3
them
to
make
Case B gave h i s comments on t h i s s i t u a t i o n as f o l l o w s :
工
” thought 工 deserved t o have t h e l a b e l s as t h e y
c o u l d remind me o f my own f a u l t s . I t i s my d u t y
t o show r e s p e c t t o my t e a c h e r s because t h e y a r en
good-hearted and h e l p me c o r r e c t my wrongdoings.
3•2
Secondary Deviance
Secondary
theory.
deviance
is
a
key
concept
of
labelling
It refers to deviant behaviour that results from
a person becoming involved in a deviant role (Scour, 1971).
As argued by Lemert (1967), a person subsequently performs
deviant act to fulfil the deviant role expectations imposed
by others particularly /the significant others.
Results in
this area were summarized in the table below:
Table 3
Forms of Secondary Deviance of Respondents
Form of Secondary Deviance
1. Deliberately talking and
playing in class
2. Overt confrontation with
teachers
3. Sleeping in class
4. Unresponsive and inattentive in class
5. Playing truant frequently
6. Other rebellious acts
(e.g. breaking school rules
deliberately)
No. of Respondents (Case)
2 (D,E)
2 (C,J)
5 (D,F,G,H,I)
3 (DyE'F)
9 (A,B,C,D,E,H,I,J,K)
2 (C,F)
As reflected in table 3, it was found that the common
forms of secondary deviance were "sleeping in class" and
"playing truant"•
Though some forms of secondary deviance
reported were same as those of primary deviance, it was
reported that the intensity and frequency of such deviant
acts became higher.
As
an
example.
Case
K
7
4
described
his
behavioural
changes a f t e r he was l a b e l l e d a s t h e s t u d e n t o f t h e w o r s t
c l a s s i n the school.
He s a i d ,
工
‘
丨 knew 工 was i n t h e w o r s t c l a s s . Ah I No m a t t e r
how good 工 w a s , 工 c o u l d do n o t h i n g t o improve my
grades i n e x a m i n a t i o n . Thus I s l e p t a l l t h e t i m e
i n c l a s s even I was n o t t i r e d . N e e d l e s s t o s a y ,
I was t h e n s e n t t o see t h e d i s c i p l i n e m a s t e r a s
my t e a c h e r blamed me f o r i m p o l i t e n e s s , i . e .
s l e e p i n g i n c l a s s . However,工 changed n o t h i n g a t
a l l • I still slept in class since then.“
I n t a b l e 3 , i t was worthy o f n o t i n g t h a t two k i n d s o f
secondary d e v i a n c e seemed t o v a r y a c c o r d i n g t o t h e s e x o f
t h e respondents.
F o r t h e male r e s p o n d e n t s . Case C and J ,
t h e y e x h i b i t e d t h e more a c t i v e and a g g r e s s i v e b e h a v i o u r s
when i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h t h e i r t e a c h e r s .
They r e p o r t e d t h a t
t h e y c h a l l e n g e d and even c o n f r o n t e d
openly i n c l a s s .
t h e i r teachers
Case C s a i d ,
n
I found t h a t my t e a c h e r s l o o k e d down upon me and
p i c k e d a t me, b u t t h i s w o u l d make me more
r e b e l l i o u s . 工 would s t a n d them f o r a w h i l e b u t
would f i g h t back i f t h e y c o n t i n u e d t o t r e a t me
badly.
I had a b i g q u a r r e l w i t h t h e E n g l i s h
teacher i n c l a s s . "
For t h e female respondents
secondary
deviance
i n d i r e c t i n nature.
unresponsive
and
were
(Case D, E , F ) , t h e i r
relatively
more
passive
They r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e y u s e d t o be
inattentive i n
class
and
showed
i n t e r e s t i n a n s w e r i n g what t h e i r t e a c h e r s a s k e d .
instance.
Case
D
and
revealed t h a t
she
no
For
t a l k e d w i t h her
c l a s s m a t e s s i t t i n g nearby a l l t h e t i m e i n c l a s s b u t she
r e p l i e d n o t h i n g when h e r t e a c h e r s c a l l e d h e r name.
The a b o v e . f i n d i n g s seemed t o su g g e st t h a t m a l e s used
7
5
t o e x h i b i t more a c t i v e and o v e r t d e v i a n t b e h a v i o u r s than
females d i d .
T h i s o b s e r v a t i o n was q u i t e congruent w i t h t h e
s o c i a l norms t h a t males are supposed t o be more a c t i v e and
a g g r e s s i v e i n many a s p e c t s o f 1i f e as compared w i t h t h e
females .
Moreover,
two respondents
(Case Cf
F)
showed
some
r e b e l l i o u s b e h a v i o u r s t h a t were p e r c e i v e d as a k i n d o f
secondary d e v i a n c e .
Case C r e p o r t e d t h a t he d i d n o t f o l l o w
h i s t e a c h e r s ‘ i n s t r u c t i o n s d e l i b e r a t e l y and n e v e r brought
t h e t h i n g s t h a t t h e t e a c h e r s a s s i g n e d him t o b r i n g f o r
class.
Case F a l s o p o i n t e d o u t t h a t she c o n t i n u e d t o
d i s p l a y d e v i a n t b eh avi ours d e l i b e r a t e l y , i n c l u d i n g d y e i n g
hair,
shortening the
school dress
and b e i n g l a t e f o r
school.
3•3
Respondents1 Self-labels
As labelling theorists emphasize on the interactive
process in which an individual develops his/her deviant
identity over time, in this part of study the respondents
were asked to describe their self-labels that were supposed
to reflect their self-descriptions and self-esteem during
the labelling process.
工
” am such a k i n d o f s t u d e n t t h a t y o u t h i n k 1 n
Three o u t o f t h e e l e v e n r e s p o n d e n t s (Case C, E , F) had
a s i m i l a r s e l f - l a b e l t h a t t h e y were p e r f o r m i n g t h e r o l e s
expected by t h e i r t e a c h e r s .
Case C d e s c r i b e d t h e d e t a i l s
7
6
of
a quarrel w i t h h i s teachers
and t h e n r e c a l l e d h i s
u n p l e a s a n t e x p e r i e n c e s as f o l l o w s :
" A f t e r t h e q u a r r e l , 工 t h o u g h t 工 were s u c h a k i n d
o f t h e bad s t u d e n t o f whom y o u ( r e f e r r i n g t o h i s
t e a c h e r ) t h o u g h t 丨 So w h a t ? 工 knew i t was
m e a n i n g l e s s t o make any changes o f m y s e l f i n
class.丨丨
A n o t h e r r e s p o n d e n t . Case F had t h e s i m i l a r i d e a t h a t
she was t h e k i n d o f p e r s o n whom h e r t e a c h e r s d e s c r i b e d .
Moreover, Case E d e s c r i b e d h e r s e l f a s a " d e l i n q u e n t g i r l
對
(念
j
)•
She added that,
n
I knew that all of them including my teachers
and classmates thought that 工 was g o i n g t o be a
d e l i n q u e n t g i r l some d a y . B u t I thought>I d a r e d
do any bad t h i n g s w h i c h 工 l i k e( d f
/ ¾ )工
d i d n ' t mind how t h e y p e r c e i v e d me i n s u c h way. ! !
Though Case E s t r e s s e d t h a t she d i d n o t mind how o t h e r
people
thought
of
her,
as
reflected
from her
facial
e x p r e s s i o n and t o n e used i n t h e i n t e r v i e w , i t was n o t e d
t h a t she was s e n s i t i v e and c o n c e r n e d a b o u t h e r images.
However, h e r d e n i a l and subsequent r e b e l l i o u s b e h a v i o u r s
made h e r t a k e up h e r d e v i a n t i d e n t i t y i n s c h o o l .
，|P r o b l e m - s t u d e n t ”
Four
described
out
of
the
themselves
respondents
as
problem
(Case
A,
students.
C,
D,
The
F)
term,
， , problem s t u d e n t " was t h e i n i t i a l d e s c r i p t i o n a p p l i e d on
them by t h e i r t e a c h e r s , however, t h e r e s p o n d e n t s u s e d i t
as
a s e l f - l a b e l s i n c e they gradually integrated the l a b e l s
into their self-concept.
F o r example. Case C s a i d ,
n
I knew I. was on t h e b l a c k l i s t a s e v e r y b o d y
p e r c e i v e d me a s a p r o b l e m s t u d e n t .
My c o n d u c t
7
7
was poor and
frequently.丨 ，
I
broke t h e s c h o o l r e g u l a t i o n s
Case A a l s o d e s c r i b e d h i m s e l f as a problem s t u d e n t who
was o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o have l o n g c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h t h e
d i s c i p l i n e master a f t e r he had done something wrong i n t h e
school.
''Dropout v . s . Pushout H
P r i o r t o t h e i r dropping out o f s c h o o l , f o u r o u t o f t h e
e l e v e n respondents (Case C, D, H, G) had an i d e a t h a t t h e y
p r e f e r r e d t o be a dropout t o a p u s h o u t .
Case H e l a b o r a t e d
h i s t h i n k i n g as f o l l o w s :
n
工
knew t h a t some o f my t e a c h e r s wanted t o push
me o u t o f s c h o o l . They d i d eager t o f i n d f a u l t
w i t h me and t h e n g o t chances t o f o r c e me l e a v e
t h e s c h o o l . But I d e c i d e d t o be a dropout r a t h e r
t h a n a pushout.
I d i d n ' t want t o be a pushout
who w i l l have t h e p o o r e r r e p u t a t i o n as
compared
t o a dropout."
When t h e f o u r respondents were asked t o d e s c r i b e
more o f t h e m s e l v e s , a l l o f them e x p r e s s e d t h a t t h e y had
a s s i g n e d themselves
a s e l f - l a b e l t h a t t h e y would be
dropout sooner o r l a t e r .
a
Although they agreed t h a t the
l a b e l was i m a g i n a r y a t t h a t t i m e , i t b r o u g h t d i f f e r i n g
degrees o f impact b o t h on t h e i r b e h a v i o u r s and t h i n k i n g .
Case G i l l u s t r a t e d h e r p o i n t o f v i e w c l e a r l y a s f o l l o w s :
"When 工 had an i d e a t h a t I would be a d r o p o u t
someday",
I
began t o h a v s
3- f e e l i n g o f
h e l p l e s s n e s s and tended Ht o g i v e up make any
e f f o r t s on my coursework.
C o n v e r s e l y , Case F had a q u i t e d i f f e r e n t p o i n t o f v i e w
7
8
i n t h i s aspect.
She s a i d t h a t she p r e f e r r e d t o be
pushout t o a dropout when she was s t i l l a s t u d e n t .
added t h a t
she
went
a
She
on t o d i s p l a y d e v i a n t b e h a v i o u r s
d e l i b e r a t e l y i n o r d e r t o make h e r t e a c h e r s p u s h h e r o u t o f
school.
She s a i d ,
" I f t h e s c h o o l pushed me o u t , my p a r e n t s w o u l d
have no excuse t o persuade me c o n t i n u e my s t u d y
i n t h e s c h o o l . I f I dropped o u t v o l u n t a r i l y
t h e y would t r y t h e i r b e s t t o b r i n g me back t o t h e
school.”
4 . Summary
Based
on
the
above
discussion,
the
respondents'
r e a c t i o n s and p e r c e p t i o n s toward o t h e r s 1 l a b e l s a p p l i e d on
them d i d e x e r t v a r y i n g degrees o f impact on t h e appearance
of
their
secondary d e v i a n c e -
During the
interactive
p r o c e s s , t h e r e s p o n d e n t s ' s e l f - l a b e l s were formed and t h u s
p l a y e d a p a r t i n shaping t h e i r s e l f - i m a g e s , t h a t i n t u r n
r e i n f o r c e d o t h e r s r p e r c e p t i o n imposed on them.
During the i n t e r a c t i v e process o f l a b e l l i n g i n the
s c h o o l s e t t i n g , r e a c t i o n s from t h e r e s p o n d e n t s 1 s i g n i f i c a n t
others p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e i r teachers
and s c h o o l m a t e s d i d
e x e r t d i f f e r i n g degrees o f i n f l u e n c e on t h e r e s p o n d e n t s '
a t t i t u d e s and f e e l i n g s toward t h e i r self一esteem, and t h e i r
subsequent d e v i a n t b e h a v i o u r s
as w e l l
as s e l f - l a b e l s
p r e p a r e d them p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y t o be a d r o p o u t .
I n a sense,
t h e d r o p p i n g o u t b e h a v i o u r c a n be v i e w e d a s an extreme form
of
secondary
involved
in
deviance,
a
deviant
implying that
role
of
thsiriSBlvGS ficoin t h s s c h o o l systsin.,
7
9
the
totally
Lik©
respondents
withdrawing
3. vicious一cycle.
t h e respondents丨 m o t i v a t i o n and i n t e r e s t i n s t u d y would be
d e c r e a s e d g r a d u a l l y depending on
in
which
the
respondents
t h e i n t e r a c t i v e dynamics
fulfilled their
deviant" r o l e expectations o f others.
"worst"
or
Furthermore, the
above f i n d i n g s suggest t h a t t h e l a b e l l i n g r e p r e s e n t s an
i n t e r a c t i v e process t h a t culminates over time,
However,
based on t h e above d i s c u s s i o n , i t s h o u l d be a d m i t t e d t h a t
t h e d i s t i n c t i o n between t h e r e s p o n d e n t s ' p r i m a r y d e v i a n c e
and secondary d e v i a n c e was n o t c l e a r enough t o c o n f i r m t h e
direction of
causality
between d e v i a n t b e h a v i o u r s
and
l a b e l s applied.
工工工•
DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION AND DROPPING OUT
In this part of study, findings concerning the nature
and
interaction
patterns
of
the
respondents'
intimate
personal group, the content and process of the deviant
learning
particularly
the
dynamics
relating
to
the
respondents' ideas favourable as well as unfavourable to
dropping out will be discussed in details.
1.
Nature
of Intimate Peer Group
Many studies found that peer group influence is on the
increase when the child is moving toward adolescence (Mok,
1985) .
In this respect, an adolescent1s intimate personal
group generally refers to his/her peer group.
In this
study, the author put emphasis on studying the nature and
interaction patterns of respondents' peer groups so as to
8
0
b u i l d up
a background f o r h e r t o understand
respondents
learned
their
deviant
or
how t h e
rule-breaking
b e h a v i o u r s through i n t e r a c t i o n i n t h e i r p e e r g r o u p s .
Table 4
Case
A
Nature o f Respondents' I n t i m a t e P e r s o n a l Groups
Type o f
Peers
Sex
Group S i z e
No. o f
Dropout I n s i d e
Classmate
Neighbour
2
2
Friend
(Known i n V i d e o
Games C en tr e)
P r i m a r y Schoolmate
:
M
F
Gang
M
Schoolmate
F
Classmate &
Schoolmate o f
H i g h e r forms
Gang
:
Gang
；
Schoolmate
3
Around 20
10- 1 5
M & F
M mainly
& a few F s
Same as
above
15 - 20
15-20
7-8
0
I
Gang
10
6-7
[
Gang
10- 1 5
4-5
J
Gang
15 - 20
6-7
<
Gang
Around 20
3-4
Remarks :
The term o f "gang" r e f e r s t o t h e n a t u i : a l group
i n the outreach setting i n which metibers of
the group generally have the sane tx i a d
of
background and exhibit
deviant o r delinquent behaviours
I n t a b l e 4, i t
respondents
was noted t h a t t h r e e o u t o f t t
ib e l e v e n
ha.d. had two i n t i m a t G p e r s o n a l group s b e f o r e
t h e y dropped o u t o f s c h o o l .
When t h e y asked t o
t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h t h e two p e e r groups, Cas<
8
1
evaluate
A and E
c o u l d i d e n t i f y which group had a g r e a t e r impact on t h e i r
d a i l y l i f e p a r t i c u l a r l y i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e i r dropping out.
B o t h o f them c o n s i d e r e d t h a t they had a g r e a t e r degree o f
a f f e c t i v e involvement and frequency o f c o n t a c t w i t h t h e
p e e r s o u t s i d e t h e s c h o o l system.
Except Case G, a l l t h e respondents were a c q u a i n t e d
w i t h a c e r t a i n number o f p e e r s who had a l r e a d y dropped o u t
of
school.
The respondents 1
i n t i m a t e p e r s o n a l groups
i n c l u d e d t h e i r c l a s s m a t e s , p r i m a r y schoolmates, neighbours
and gangs known i n t h e housing e s t a t e s nearby.
With regard
t o t h e n a t u r e o f t h e "gang", t h e respondents r e p o r t e d t h a t
t h e s e groups had t h e t r i a d background and conunitted v a r y i n g
degrees
of
delinquent
or
deviant
behaviours
such
as
d e s t r o y i n g t h e p u b l i c p r o p e r t i e s , gang f i g h t i n g , r u n n i n g
away from home and f r e q u e n t s t a y i n g o v e r n i g h t o u t s i d e .
Almost h a l f o f t h e respondents ( f i v e cases) a d m i t t e d t h a t
some o f t h e i r p e e r s had c r i m i n a l r e c o r d s .
I t s h o u l d be
observed t h a t almost a l l t h e respondents r e p o r t e d t h a t
m a j o r i t y o f t h e i r p e e r s were poor o r v e r y poor i n t h e i r
s t u d y and e x h i b i t e d v a r i o u s k i n d s o f d i s c i p l i n e problems i n
school.
2•
2.1
Interaction Pattern of the Peer Groups
Frequency of Contact
All the respondents reported that they used to meet
their peer after school for several hours.
Majority of the
respondents (eight cases) used to play with their peers on
weekends and stayed overnight with peers without parents‘
8
2
consent on h o l i d a y s .
11
" t u n g ting
(
)
Using t h e i r slang, i t
.
was named
I n s h o r t , a l l t h e respondents spent
almost a l l o f t h e i r l e i s u r e time w i t h t h e i r p e e r s t o g e t h e r .
2•2
Meeting Place & Leisure Activities
Six out of the respondents reported that they used to
meet their peers at the parks which located either nearby
their schools or living places. On many occasions, majority
of the respondents spent most of their leisure
at the parks.
time idly
They liked to smoke, loiter and chat there.
Two female respondents. Case E and F passed their time
with their schoolmates aimlessly at the shopping centres.
Case A and 工 used t o have b r e a k f a s t w i t h t h e i r schoolmates
a t t h e f a s t - f o o d shops such as MacDonald and Cafe 1 De C o r a l
before t h e i r lessons started.
Case B , C and K o f t e n met
t h e i r peers o u t s i d e t h e s c h o o l e n t r a n c e , a t t h e b i l l i a r d
c l u b and f o o t b a l l p i t c h a f t e r s c h o o l r e s p e c t i v e l y -
As Case C f s f a m i l y members r e t u r n e d home l a t e , he used
t o i n v i t e h i s p e e r s t o come t o h i s home and c h a t t e d t h e r e
a f t e r s c h o o l f o r a few h o u r s .
Case A and H r e p o r t e d t h a t
t h e y met t h e i r p e e r s a t t h e v i d e o games c e n t r e s f i r s t and
t h e n d e c i d e d where t o go.
O n l y Case D s a i d t h a t t h e r e was
no f i x e d p l a c e wliBrB h e r p e e r s g a t h e r e d t o g e t h e r .
The
p l a c e where t h e y met depending on what k i n d o f l e i s u r e
a c t i v i t i e s bs csxried out.
She t o I d t h a t t l i s y h s d l o t s o f
8
3
activities
including ice-skating,
shopping,
e a t i n g and
karaoke s i n g i n g .
I t i s worthy o f n o t i n g t h a t Case K r
G and J
had
v a r i o u s k i n d s o f h e a l t h y r e c r e a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s s u c h as
swimming, c y c l i n g , f i s h i n g , p l a y i n g badminton and t a b l e t e n n i s w i t h t h e i r p e e r s on h o l i d a y s .
However, o c c a s i o n a l l y
Case A, C and J i n v o l v e d i n some u n d e s i r a b l e a c t i v i t i e s
s u c h as gang f i g h t i n g and c o l l e c t i v e t r u a n c y w i t h t h e i r
peers.
2.3
Respondents' E x p e c t a t i o n Toward t h e i r P e e r Groups
The respondents were asked about t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n
toward t h e i r p e e r groups. I t was hoped t o r e f l e c t t h e
i n t e n s i t y o f t h e respondents 5 a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h s u c h peer
groups t o some d e g r e e .
F i v e o u t o f t h e res pondent s (Case
A , B, H, J , K) c o n s i d e r e d t h a t t h e i r p e e r s t o be playmates
w i t h whom t h e y s p e n t t h e i r l e i s u r e t i m e .
Three o u t o f t h e
f i v e respondents (Case B , C , J ) s t r e s s e d t h a t t h e y seldom
s h a r e d t h e i r i n n e r f e e l i n g s and p e r s o n a l a f f a i r s w i t h t h e i r
peers.
Case J s a i d ,
n
I t r e a t e d them as playmates w i t h whom 工 seldom
t a l k e d about my p e r s o n a l a f f a i r s and i n n e r
feelings.
工 found most o f them were nont r u s t f u l . Thus 工 used t o m u t t e r i n f r o n t o f t h e
m i r r o r when I was r e a l l y i n a bad mood."
Though t h e t h r e e respondents e x p r e s s e d t h a t t h e y had
reservation t o reveal t h e i r personal a f f a i r s t r u l y t o t h e i r
p e e r s / i t was n o t e d t h a t t h e y s p e n t most o f t h e i r t i m e
a f t e r s c h o o l w i t h p e e r s and p a r t i c i p a t e d a c t i v e l y i n t h e
8
4
group's a c t i v i t i e s .
a
sense o f
Moreover, t h e y r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e y had
b e l o n i n g n e s s t o t h e group
and
shared the
h a p p i n e s s o f members on many o c c a s i o n s .
I t was found t h a t Case C was a s p e c i a l case who shared
a q u i t e d i f f e r e n t e x p e c t a t i o n toward t h e f u n c t i o n o f h i s
p e e r group.
He a s s e r t e d t h a t h i s a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h peers
c o u l d p r o v i d e him w i t h p r o t e c t i o n a g a i n s t b e i n g a t t a c k e d
and b u l l i e d
background.
by h i s
schoolmates
with different
triad
However, he r e v e a l e d t h a t he seldom d i s c l o s e d
h i s p e r s o n a l a f f a i r s w i t h p e e r s s i n c e he had been b e t r a y e d
b y some o f h i s p e e r s i n t h e p a s t .
On t h e c o n t r a s t , t h e r e was a t o t a l l y d i f f e r e n t p i c t u r e
d e s c r i b e d by t h e female r e s p o n d e n t s .
Case G s a i d t h a t she
expected t o have t h e happy t i m e w i t h p e e r s and added t h a t
she t r e a t e d h e r p e e r s as good companions.
Another t h r e e
female cases t r e a s u r e d t h a t t h e y always s h a r e d and t a l k e d
e v e r y t h i n g which t h e y l i k e d w i t h p e e r s . I t i s o b v i o u s t h a t
when compared w i t h male respondents, t h e female respondents
g e n e r a l l y had a h i g h e r e x p e c t a t i o n toward t h e i r p e e r s i n
the
aspect
of
sharing
personal
feelings
and p r i v a t e
affairs.
I n sum, majority o f the respondents r e f l e c t e d t h a t the
major a t t r a c t i o n s t o make them j o i n and s t a y i n t h e i r p e e r
groups W63CG duB t o
3. sense o f bGloncfingrisss t o t h e giroup -
B e s i d e s , t h e y regarded t h e i r p e e r s a s playmates who shared
8
5
t h e happiness o f t h e i r peers and s t a y e d w i t h them when t h e y
f e l t lonely.
However, h a l f o f t h e respondents r e v e a l e d
t h a t on some o c c a s i o n s t h e y had i n t e r p e r s o n a l c o n f l i c t s
when i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h some o f t h e i r p e e r s .
reported
that
they
did
nothing
to
But a l l o f them
cope
with
their
i n t e r p e r s o n a l problems as t h e y found t h e s e c o n f l i c t s had no
g r e a t impact on t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h t h e i r p e e r groups .
3•
3•1
The Learning Process
Technical Component of the Learning
As playing truant is one of the most common deviant
behaviours preluding a student1s dropping out, in this part
of study the respondents were asked about their experiences
of playing truant with consideration to the context
which the truancy took place.
in
Other related knowledge and
skills of the schooling and discipline problems would also
be explored.
Experience of Truancy
Six out of the eleven respondents revealed that they
used to play truant with their intimate peers on the same
day.
When they were asked about how they started the habit
of playing truant at the very first beginning, three of
them said that such an idea of playing truant was initiated
by their peers.
Case 工 s a i d ,
n
I f o r g o t who asked me t o p l a y t r u a n t w i t h him
a t t h e f i r s t b e g i n n i n g . U s u a l l y , when my f r i e n d s
c a l l e d me t o p l a y t r u a n t , 工 would f o l l o w them
without objection.
工 know i f 工 r e a l l y went t o
s c h o o l a l o n e on t h a t d a y , 工 would t h i n k o f them
and wondered what t h e y were d o i n g a t t h a t t i m e - - .
8
6
S i n c e i h e n 工 had a f e e l i n g o f 1 Sum Sze Sze 1 (心
/么、汝)to p l a y t r u a n t w i t h them whenever 工 d i d n ' t
want t o a t t e n d c l a s s . n
Case D r e c a l l e d t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f h e r f i r s t - t i m e
t r u a n c y and a d m i t t e d t h a t h e r d e c i s i o n t o p l a y t r u a n t was
g r e a t l y i n f l u e n c e d by h e r p e e r g r o u p .
She s a i d ,
"One day when 工 had b r e a k f a s t w i t h my b e s t
schoolmates a t t h e f a s t - f o o d shop, one o f my
schoolmates proposed t o p l a y t r u a n t and p l a n n e d
t o have some outdoor a c t i v i t i e s on s u c h b e a u t i f u l
day.
Some o f us d i d n o t r e p l y ; some o f u s
i n c l u d i n g I s a i d t h a t we had no p r e f e r e n c e a t a l l
( 楚 、 f l l 言萬)and were w i l l i n g t o f o l l o w t h e
g r o u p ' s d e c i s i o n . W i t h o u t f u r t h e r d i s c u s s i o n , we
p i c k e d up o u r bags and l e f t t h e shop i m m e d i a t e l y .
Indeed, no one e x p l i c i t l y announced t h e f i n a l
decision o f playing truant a t the spot.”
O b v i o u s l y , Case D as w e l l a s some o f h e r p e e r s i n t h e
group were e a s i l y dominated b y t h e group atmosphere.
Case A and J e x p r e s s e d t h a t i t was t o o d i f f i c u l t t o
s a y who i n i t i a t e d t h e i d e a o f p l a y i n g t r u a n t .
They found
t h a t t h e i r h a b i t o f c o l l e c t i v e p l a y i n g t r u a n t was d e v e l o p e d
naturally
a s most o f t h e i r p e e r s had l o s t t h e i r i n t e r e s t
i n study.
Case B a l s o r e v e a l e d t h a t he u s e d t o p l a y t r u a n t w i t h
h i s c l a s s m a t e s and s p e n t t i m e w i t h them a t t h e v i d e o games
c e n t r e s and b i l l i a r d c l u b s .
I n order t o minimize h i s
t e a c h e r ' s d o u b t s , he u s e d t o have compromises w i t h h i s
peers
on
presenting
some
good
reasons
for
their
nonattendance•
Based
on
the
above
findings,
8
7
it
is
difficult
to
conclude
that a l l
the
respondents
learned the
truant
behaviour through i n t e r a c t i o n i n t h e i r peer groups.
half
of
the
respondents
reported
that
they
had
As
the
e x p e r i e n c e s o f p l a y i n g t r u a n t alone b e f o r e t h e y l e a r n e d t o
play truant c o l l e c t i v e l y .
However, t h e f i n d i n g s suggest
t h a t some o f t h e respondents used t o exchange t h e i r i d e a s
of
f i n d i n g excuses f o r t h e i r nonattendance w i t h t h e i r
p e e r s ; and o n l y a few o f them, i n c l u d i n g Case D and G
started
their
initial
truant
behaviour
through
the
i n t e r a c t i o n i n t h e i r peer groups o b v i o u s l y .
O t h e r B e h a v i o u r a l and D i s c i p l i n e Problems i n t h e Sc hool
Setting
Other t h a n t h e commitment o f p l a y i n g t r u a n t , two o u t
o f t h e respondents (Case A , K) r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e y exchanged
t h e i r experiences o f cheating i n examination w i t h t h e i r
p e e r s and cheated i n examination, w i t h t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f
their
classmates
personal
groups.
who
were
members
However,
Case
B,
of
F
their
intimate
and
G behaved
d i f f e r e n t l y a l t h o u g h t h e y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e p e e r s who
used t o
cheat i n
examination.
All
of
them
showed
r e s e r v a t i o n t o i m i t a t e t h e i r peers, behaviours f o r t h e i r
own r e a s o n s .
Case B s a i d t h a t i t
was meaningles s t o g e t a
h i g h mark by c h e a t i n g i n examination; Case F t h o u g h t t h a t
h e r t e a c h e r s would doubt h e r good r e s u l t s i n e x a m i n a t i o n as
t h e y were aware o f h e r f r e q u e n t s l e e p i n g i n c l a s s .
Case G
a d m i t t e d t h a t she was a f r a i d o f b e i n g b e a t e n b y h e r p a r e n t s
when t h e y g o t t o know h e r c h e a t i n g i n e x a m i n a t i o n .
8
8
Moreover, m a j o r i t y o f t h e respondents l e a r n e d t h e i r
u n d e s i r a b l e b e h a v i o u r s from t h e i r p e e r s . F o r i n s t a n c e , a l l
t h e respondents found t h a t t h e i r p e e r s p l a y e d a s i g n i f i c a n t
r o l e on i n f l u e n c i n g t h e i r l e a r n i n g o f smoking.
Case 工
said,
" B e f o r e 工 g o t a c q u a i n t e d w i t h them,工 n e v e r
smoked. One day some o f my p e e r s i n t h e
group encouraged me t o smoke, I a c c e p t e d
t h e i r i n v i t a t i o n and s t a r t e d t o smoke
afterwards.丨：
In the school setting,
students
who a r e
t e a c h e r s f o r t h e i r smoking w i l l be - p u n i s h e d .
known by
Among t h e
r e s p o n d e n t s , seven o u t o f them were known by t h e i r t e a c h e r s
f o r t h e i r smoking b e h a v i o u r and had been i d e n t i f i e d as
problem s t u d e n t s .
Two
respondents.
Case
E
and
F
learned
knowledge o f how t o dye t h e i r h a i r from t h e i r p e e r s .
the
Four
respondents r a n away from home upon i n v i t a t i o n by t h e i r
peers.
Two female r e s p o n d e n t s . Case D and G who r a n away
f r o m home f o r more t h a n one week ( i n c l u d i n g p l a y i n g t r u a n t
during the
samG
psiriod)
reported
that
their
deviant
b e h a v i o u r was i n i t i a t e d by one o f t h e i r b e s t p e e r s i n s t e a d
o f com m i tti ng s u c h b e h a v i o u r w i t h t h e whole g r o u p .
These
f i n d i n g s seemed t o s u g g e st t h a t most o f an a d o l e s c e n t ' s
d e v i a n t bBh^vioui"s a r e l e a r n e d i n
B- group s e t t i n g , b u t on
some o c c a s i o n s h e / s h e i d e n t i f i e s w i t h one s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r
w i t h whom he/she has a c l o s e r a f f e c t i v e bond.
8
9
3• 2
Motivational Component: of the Learning
3-2-1
n
Ideas favourable to dropping out
To enjoy life with more freedom and fun!"
Seven out of the respondents had a similar thinking
that they would enjoy their life with more fun and freedom
when they dropped out of school.
Case B used the words,
"freedom without restriction" ( j|^
) to describe the
life of his three best friends who had already dropped out.
Case E also had a similar idea.
She said,
"When I saw my friend who were dropouts enjoyed
their life freely and had nothing to be worried,
I did admire them very. much. n
Case F revealed that this idea was further evidenced
when
she
had
much
grievance
enforced in her school.
of
the
strict
discipline
Besides, both Case I and J said
that they hoped to have more free time to play with their
peers if they dropped out.
Though each of the seven respondents who had such
idea had his/her individual interpretation, all of them
expressed that such thinking was developed through frequent
contact
with
their
peers
who
had
been
a
dropout.
Similarly, all of the seven respondents said that it was
the most dominant thinking when they made the decision of
dropping out.
"Don't waste the time and moneyI"
Two respondents (Case E and H) said that they didn't
want to waste their time and money when they had
9
0
lost
i n t e r e s t i n study.
Case E and H l e a r n e d such i d e a from her
f a t h e r and h i s e l d e r s i s t e r r e s p e c t i v e l y .
Their family
members s t a r t e d t o send the message t o them when t h e y
became worse i n t h e i r study
and b e h a v i o u r a l problems;
a p p r o x i m a t e l y i n s i x months p r i o r t o t h e i r d r o p p i n g o u t .
"The E d u c a t i o n Department c o u l d do n o t h i n g t o f o r c e me back
t o school,M
M a j o r i t y o f t h e respondents r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e y knew
t h e y might v i o l a t e t h e e x i s t i n g e d u c a t i o n o r d i n a n c e i f t h e y
dropped out w i t h o u t t h e completion o f form t h r e e .
However,
a l l o f them thought t h a t t h e E d u c a t i o n Department c o u l d do
n o t h i n g t o f o r c e them back t o s c h o o l .
Case E s a i d ,
" I t i s unnecessary t o concern w i t h t h e E d u c a t i o n
Department. Nothing would happen when t h e t i m e
passed. There a r e l o t s o f dropouts i n Hong Kong.
工 d o n ' t b e l i e v e t h a t t h e government w i l l have
s u f f i c i e n t manpower t o f o l l o w up each c a s e . "
Case E s a i d t h a t she l e a r n e d such i d e a from h e r s o called nbigb r o t h e r " 〔
t h r e e respondents h e l d t h e s i m i l a r i d e a t h a t t h e p r e s e n t
law r e p r e s e n t s an u n r e a l i s t i c w a r n i n g .
Their thinking i n
t h i s aspect was confirmed by knowing t h a t a l l o f t h e i r
pBBirs who w03c 0 ciiro p o u t s wgitb f ir 0C f irorti b e i n g caught by tlie
E d u c a t i o n Department.
I t
should
respondents
t)G
insntxonBd
reported that
thst
311
of
the
f oux*
t h e y would r e c o n s i d e r t h e i r
d e c i s i o n o f d r o p p i n g o u t i f t h e y knew t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t
would s n f o r e s t h e e d u c a t i o n ordinance•
9
1
工
"
am s t i l l young,
工 would have chances t o c o n t i n u e s t udy
whenever 工l i k e d . ”
Case G expressed that when she made the decision of
dropping out, she thought that she would have chances to
continue study whenever she liked.
She said that she often
shared this idea with her best schoolmate.
"Doing homework and preparing for examination are quite
hard for me.”
Case A and H expressed that they did not like to do
homework
and
prepare
for
examination
when
they
were
students of the primary school - They found that studying
was too hard for them to stand for.
Case H said,
，
，
I
n the past I thought that studying was the most
difficult job in the world.
However, when I
started to work,工 see t h e t r u e p i c t u r e .
To
work, indeed i s h a r d e r t h a n t o s t u d y . ”
From Case H 1 s sentenc es , i t i s c l e a r t h a t he r e g r e t t e d
t o h i s d e c i s i o n o f d r o p p i n g o u t . B u t a t t h a t t i m e when he
made t h e d e c i s i o n o f d r o p p i n g o u t , he regarded h i s d r o p p i n g
o u t as a side一way f o r him t o escape from d o i n g t h e h a r d
work i n school•
"Don't like to get up early for class I"
Four out of the respondents expressed that they did
not
like to get up early for class.
their sleeping
It was mainly due to
late and a feeling of tiredness
following morning.
in the
As they reflected , the reason for
their sleeping late was related to the fact that they often
9
2
p l a y e d w i t h t h e i r peer groups a t n i g h t and came home l a t e
a f t e r school.
" I can f i n d a 1ob though 工 am under t h e age o f 15•”
Two female respondents
could f i n d
a
j ob as
(Case D,
E) s a i d t h a t t h e y
a h a i r -d r e s s i n g a p p r e n t i c e a f t e r
d r o p p i n g out though they were under t h e age o f f i f t e e n .
They r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e y had many female f r i e n d s aged under
f i f t e e n who c o u l d f i n d a job as a h a i r - d r e s s i n g a p p r e n t i c e .
Thus t h e y had t h e same motive t o work and planned t o f i n d
a b e t t e r j o b when they reached t h e age o f f i f t e e n .
3.2.2
Ideas unfavourable t o dropping o u t
“ T o g e t a j o b e a s i e r i f I complete form t h r e e . “
Majo r i t y o f t h e respondents had t h e common i d e a t h a t
t h e y c o u l d g e t a j o b e a s i e r i f t h e y completed form t h r e e .
F i v e out o f t h e n i n e respondents agreed t h a t t h e a t t a i n m e n t
o f form t h r e e s t a n d a r d i s t h e
b a s i c academic requirement
o f f i n d i n g a j ob i n t h e s o c i e t y .
H a l f o f t h e respondents r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e y l e a r n e d
s u c h i d e a through c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h t h e i r p e e r s .
They
found some o f t h e i r peers who had no s p e c i a l v o c a t i o n a l
s k i l l s and knowledge had n o t y e t been employed.
Case C,
E , F and J added t h a t they were o f t e n reminded o f t h e i d e a
by t h e i r f a m i l y members when t h e y e n t e r e d t h e secondarys c h o o.l I t
seemed t o suggest t h a t one o f t h e s i g n i f i c a n t
s o u r c e s o f an a d o l e s c e n t ' s l e a r n i n g o f a s p e c i f i c i d e a came
from h i s / h e r f a m i l y p a r t i c u l a r l y h i s / h e r p a r e n t s .
I t 1 s too hard.”
"X d o n ' t l i k e g o i n g t o work.
9
3
Three o u t o f t h e respondents s a i d t h a t t h e y understood
t h a t w o r k i n g i s harder as compared t o s t u d y i n g .
Case G
e x p r e s s e d t h a t she d i d hope t o c o n t i n u e s t u d y as she found
w o r k i n g be v e r y hard and d u l l .
She got t h e i d e a from
s h a r i n g w i t h her mother's past working experience.
" L i f e w i l l be v e r y d u l l as dropouts have t o o much t i m e t o
spend• u
Case B and C expressed that they knew the life after
dropping
out would be very
dull
as
their
dropped out had too much time to spend.
friends who
Case C said,
丨
工
‘ saw some o f my peers who had dropped o u t were
i d l e a l l t h e day. They s a i d t h a t t h e y d i d n o t
know how t o spend t h e i r t i m e i n a more
i n t e r e s t i n g way.
Not a l l o f your f r i e n d s w i l l
accompany you when you a r e f r e e . "
Case B and C t o l d t h a t t h e y d e l a y e d t h e i r d r o p p i n g out
as t h e y wondered what t h e y c o u l d do i f t h e y had t o o much
l e i s u r e t i m e t o spend.
M
To f i n d a c o m f o r t a b l e j o b w i t h b e t t e r p r o s p e c t • “
Three respondents thought t h a t t o have f o r m t h r e e
standard
would
be
very
helpful
for
comfortable j o b w i t h b e t t e r prospect.
t h a t t o have
a higher
them t o
find
a
Case C and H s a i d
academic q u a l i f i c a t i o n w i l l be
h e l p f u l f o r them t o f i n d a j o b o t h e r than t h e manual one
t h a t has l i m i t e d work p r o s p e c t .
They r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e y
l e a r n e d such i d e a m a i n l y from t h e i r p a r e n t s .
O v e r a l l , w i t h regard t o the motivational component o f
t h e l e a r n i n g of, d r o p p i n g o u t , i t s h o u l d be n o t e d t h a t a l l
t h e i d e a s t h a t wers f a v o u r a b l e t o d r o p p i n g o u t e x c e p t t h e
9
4
idea of
don t waste t h e time and money" were l e a r n e d and
r e i n f o r c e d by t h e respondents 1 i n t i m a t e p e e r s .
However f
most o f t h e i d e a s u n f a v o u r a b l e t o d r o p p i n g o u t s u c h as
working i s too hard", ” f i n d i n g a comfortable j o b w i t h
b e t t e r prospect’丨 and " g e t t i n g a j o b e a s i e r i f I complete
form t h r e e "
were l e a r n e d from t h e r e s p o n d e n t s ‘
family
members p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e i r p a r e n t s .
4•
Dynamics Involved in the Learning Process of Dropping
Out
As argued by Differential Association theory, the
critical
dynamic
involved
in
the
learning
of
deviant
behaviour is the existence of an excess of his/her ideas
favourable over unfavourable to committing the deviant act.
In
the
following
table,
a
list
of
the
respondents'
favourable and unfavourable ideas concerning dropping out
will be presented.
Table 5
Respondents' Ideas Favourable and Unfavourable
to Dropping Out
Favourable Ideas
Case
Unfavourable Ideas
A
3./ C ^ G / f
1
B
c
1,3,4
C
a
1,2,3
D
a,f ,g
4
1
E
F
a,。，！
2
H
bA 0, f
1/4
I
a
1
J
a
1
K
c, f
1,2
9
5
Remarks :
F a v o u r a b l e Ideas :
a n r e f e r s t o "To e n j o y l i f e o f more freedom and
fun";
b" r e f e r s t o " D o n ' t waste t h e t i m e and money"；
c " r e f e r s t o ''Education
Department c o u l d do
1
nothing'
;
dM r e f e r s t o U 1 would have chances t o c o n t i n u e
s t u d y whenever I l i k e " ;
e H r e f e r s t o "Doing homework and p r e p a r i n g f o r
,
丨g
me";
r e f e r s t o ' U s h a r d f o r me t o g e t up e a r l y
for class";
r e f e r s t o " I can f i n d a j o b even
though I ' m
under t h e age o f 1 5 n .
U n f a v o u r a b l e Ideas
"1" r e f e r s t o "To g e t a j o b e a s i e r i f I complete
form three"；
M M
2 r e f e r s t o n I dor^t l i k e g o i n g t o work. I t ? s t o o
hard";
丨’3" refers to 丨,Life w i l l be v e r y d u l l a s d r o p o u t s
have t o o much t i m e t o spend"•；
M
4" r e f e r s t o f!To f i n d a comfort:able j o b w i t h b e t t e r
prospect".
I n terms o f t h e numbers o f i d e a s , m a j o r i t y o f t h e
respondents
had
rnore
ideas
that
unfavourable t o dropping o u t .
were f a v o u r a b l e
over
Referring t o the findings
o f p r e c e d i n g s e c t i o n s , i t s h o u l d be n o t e d t h a t m a ] o r i t y o f
t h e i d e a s u n f a v o u r a b l e t o d r o p p i n g o u t were t r a n s m i t t e d
m a i n l y from t h e respondents 1
f a m i l y members e s p e c i a l l y
t h e i r p a r e n t s - I t seemed t o s u g g e s t t h a t t h e respondents
p a r e n t s s t i l l performed t h e r o l e o f b e i n g a s i g n i f i c a n t
s o c i a l c o n t r o l agent who
instilled
and c u l t u r a l norms t o them.
learning of
ideas
B e s i d e s / t h e respondents
favourable
the interaction i n t h e i r
t h e dominant s o c i a l
peer
96
t o dropping o u t through
groups
reflected
that
s u c h i d e a s were t h e s u b c u l t u r e s p r e v a i l i n g i n t h e i r peer
groups.
Furthermore, as shown i n t a b l e 5, t h e two common i d e a s
f a v o u r a b l e t o dropping o u t , namely, " t o e n j o y l i f e w i t h
more freedom and f u n " and ” i t ' s hard f o r me t o g e t up e a r l y
f o r c l a s s " were q u i t e i n a c c o r d w i t h t h e l i f e p a t t e r n s o f
o u t r e a c h c l i e n t s i n general• Based on the author's previous
working experiences, most of the outreach clients were
found to have less interest in participating some formal or
structured activities and a higher degree of identification
with
their
intimate
ordinary youth.
majority
of
peer
groups when
the
respondents
assigned
to the two
making a decision of dropping out.
was
technical
found
as
to
the
In this respect, it was more likely that
considerable weighting
peers
compared
to
well
have
as
an
a
higher
and
ideas concerned when
And the attachment to
important
motivational
effect
on
the
components
of
the
respondents' learned behaviour.
IV.
DISCUSSION ON THE APPLICATION OF LABELLING THEORY
AND DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY
In
this
study
labelling
theory
and
differential
association theory were used as conceptual perspectives for
the
understanding
of
dropping
out
in
relation
to
influences of labelling process and peer association.
the
The
author did not attempt to make a comprehensive evaluation
on the applicability of the two theories on explaining the
9
7
c a u s a l i t y o f dropping out.
As a l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s , she
would l i k e t o make a b r i e f d i s c u s s i o n on t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f
these
two
theories
including
their
usefulness
and
l i m i t a t i o n s i n t h i s p a r t of study.
1.
A p p l i c a t i o n o f L a b e l l i n g Theory
I n t h i s study the t h e o r e t i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e o f the
l a b e l l i n g t h e o r y found t o be v e r y u s e f u l f o r t h e aut hor t o
examine t h e impact o f l a b e l l i n g p r o c e s s i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e
appearance
of
respondents 1
problems i n s c h o o l .
including
the
schooling
and
behavioural
I t s major t h e o r e t i c a l assumptions
interactional
process
through
adolescent i s given a deviant i d e n t i t y ;
d e v i an ce r e s u l t e d from o t h e r s 1
which
an
t h e secondary
reactions
toward one { s
p r i m a r y d e v i a n c e seemed t o be supported by t h e f i n d i n g s o f
t h i s study.
As l a b e l l i n g t h e o r y emphasizes on t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f
s y m b o l i c i n t e r a c t i o n and
adverse e f f e c t s o f t h e l a b e l s
a p p l i e d on an i n d i v i d u a l , t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f
theoretical
p e r s p e c t i v e s o f l a b e l l i n g t h e o r y h e l p e d t h e a u t h o r t o have
a
deeper
understanding o f
how
some
outreach c l i e n t s
developed t h e i r d e v i a n t i d e n t i t y i n s c h o o l , t h a t p l a y e d a
p a r t on l e a d i n g them t o drop o u t o f s c h o o l .
Moreover, t h e l a b e l l i n g t h e o r y concerns much about: t h e
s o u r c e s and c o n t e x t o f t h e l a b e l s a p p l i e d on an i n d i v i d u a l #
I n t h i s s t u d y "the r e l a t i o n s h i p s between o u t r e a c h c l i e n t s
9
8
and t h e i r s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r s p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e i r t e a c h e r s
and schoolmates were examined.
However. some l i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e
t h e o r y have a l s o been seen i n t h i s s t u d y .
there i s
F i r s t of a l l ,
a l a c k o f s u f f i c i e n t evidence f o r i t s
majo r
p r o p o s i t i o n t h a t l a b e l s cause changes i n o n e ' s b e h a v i o u r .
As l a b e l l i n g r e p r e s e n t s an i n t e r a c t i v e p r o c e s s i n w h i c h t h e
impact
of
negative
direction of
labels
causality
accumulates
between
the
over
time,
outreach
the
clients'
d e v i a n t b e h a v i o u r s and l a b e l s g o t c o u l d n o t be t r a c e d out
c l e a r l y i n t h i s s t u d y . To be s p e c i f i c , an o b s t a c l e t o t h e
application
of
the
theory
was
the
d i s t i n g u i s h i n g the primary deviance
deviance.
difficulties
in
from t h e secondary
S i n c e t h e respondents had been i n v o l v e d i n a
d e v i a n t i d e n t i t y f o r a p e r i o d o f t i m e , i t would be q u i t e
d i f f i c u l t f o r them t o i d e n t i f y t h e sequences o f o c c u r r e n c e
o f t h e i r deviant behaviours.
Furthermore,
some
self-labels
may
r e c o g n i z e d by t h e respondents t hems elves .
self-concept
not
be
fully
And t h e r o l e o f
as w e l l as s e l f - e s t e e m i n t h e l a b e l l i n g
p r o c e s s i s a l s o t o o a b s t r a c t t o be examined.
2.
A p p l i c a t i o n o f D i f f e r e n t i a l A s s o c i a t i o n Theory
Similar
to
the
association
theory
int6ira.ction.
To
labelling
puts
emphasis
theory,
on
the
differential
process
and
3. 1 airg'Gir e x t e n t , t h e majoir t h G o i r G t i c s l
9
9
perspectives
of
differential
association
theory
are
c o m p a t i b l e t o t h e s o c i a l l e a r n i n g t h e o r y , t h a t emphasizes
the
r o l e m o d e l l i n g and l e a r n i n g o f
d e v i a n t behaviour
t h r o u g h i n t e r a c t i o n i n i n t i m a t e p e r s o n a l groups .
In
this
association
study,
theory
understanding o f
the
application
helped
how t h e
the
of
author
differential
have
a
better
dynamics o f peer a s s o c i a t i o n
e x e r t e d t h e impact on some o u t r e a c h c l i e n t s 1 l e a r n i n g o f
d r o p p i n g out behaviour as w e l l as o t h e r r e l a t e d b e h a v i o u r a l
problems i n s c h o o l .
B e s i d e s , t h e examination o f t h e respondents'
ideas
f a v o u r a b l e and u n f a v o u r a b l e t o dropping o u t found t o be
v e r y h e l p f u l f o r t h e author t o know more o f t h e i n f l u e n c e
of
peer
association i n
relation to
the
respondents s
l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s o f dropping o u t .
The d i f f e r e n t i a l
association
theory
seems t o
be
a p p e a l i n g because i t s t r e s s e s t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f p e e r s i n
a d o l e s c e n t development and s u b c u l t u r e s (Ng & Cheung, 1987;
Warr
&
Stafford,
1991).
However,
there
are
some
l i m i t a t i o n s when a p p l y i n g t h e t h e o r y i n t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e
d e v i a n t behaviour such as d r o p p i n g o u t .
F i r s t , the theory
i s open t o be c r i t i c i z e d as i t cannot be t e s t e d e m p i r i c a l l y
(Matsueda, 1982; T a y l o r e t a l . , 1984; Agnew, 1991)-
Its
major t h e o r e t i c a l c o n s t r u c t s i n c l a i d i n g an excess o f i d e a s
f a v o u r a b l e o v e r u n f a v o u r a b l e t o committing t h e d e v i a n t act；
1 0 0
and t h e frequency, d u r a t i o n , p r i o r i t y and i n t e n s i t y o f
associations
encounter
lots
of
difficulties
in
o p e r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n . Though a q u a l i t a t i v e methodology was
employed i n t h i s s t u d y , t h e author d i d n o t attempt t o make
f u r t h e r a n a l y s i s on these a s p e c t s mentioned above.
Second, t h e i n t e r a c t i v e e f f e c t s
among t h e v a r i o u s
i d e a s f a v o u r a b l e and unfavourable t o dropping out seemed t o
be v e r y c o m p l i c a t e d when t h e frequency, d u r a t i o n , p r i o r i t y
and
intensity
Therefore, i t
of
was
such
associations
quite d i f f i c u l t f o r
were
the
studied.
author t o
d e s c r i b e s p e c i f i c a l l y t h e impact o f peer a s s o c i a t i o n i n
r e l a t i o n t o respondents' l e a r n i n g o f d r o p p i n g o u t .
Finally,
in
this
study
the
author
found
the
d i f f e r e n t i a l a s s o c i a t i o n t h e o r y c o u l d n o t c l e a r l y say about
t h e mechanisms through which t h e d e v i a n t b e h a v i o u r , f o r
i n s t a n c e , t h e d r o p p i n g out b e h a v i o u r was t r a n s m i t t e d
i n t h e respondents' i n t i m a t e p e e r groups•
In brief, the two theories discussed above have their
own strengths and weaknesses.
The difficulties in applying
the two theories on explaining the issue of dropping out
were also the limitations of this study with regard to its
interpretation of
findings.
However, the two theories
provided the author with a useful tool to analyze the
findings of this study systematically-
^S)l
CHAPTER SIX
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
I n t h e f i r s t s e c t i o n o f t h i s c h a p t e r , some r e l a t e d
i s s u e s which have n o t been mentioned i n t h e main f i n d i n g s
o f t h i s s t u d y w i l l be d i s c u s s e d b r i e f l y -
These i s s u e s t h a t
need f u r t h e r d i s c u s s i o n i n c l u d e d : adjustment problems i n
form one; p r e c i p i t a t i n g e v e n t s o f
dropping o u t ; s e l f -
e v a l u a t i o n a f t e r dropping o u t and f u t u r e p l a n n i n g .
The
second p a r t o f t h i s chapter concerned t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r
o u t r e a c h i n g s o c i a l work s e r v i c e ; and c o n c l u d i n g remarks
i n c l u d i n g suggested areas f o r f u r t h e r s t u d i e s w i l l be made
a t t h e end o f t h i s c h a p t e r .
I.
RELATED ISSUES
1• Adjustment Problems in Form One
In this study seven out of the respondents revealed
that they encountered adjustment problems particularly the
learning difficulties resulted from the change of teaching
language in English and new curriculum in form one.
Their
initial adjustment problems in study caused them lose their
interest in study. Majority of them revealed that they had
frustration and
feelings of
inferiority when they were
blamed for being poor in their academic performance.
Besides, four respondents revealed that they felt very
dul 1
and
schooling.
lonely
when
thsy
stsxted
tliGiir
sscondBiry
But their feelings of loneliness and boredom
1 0 2
disappeared
just
after
several
days
when
they
were
a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e i r schoolmates. T h i s i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e
r e s p o n d e n t s had a s t r o n g need t o a s s o c i a t e w i t h o t h e r s
and
c o u l d a d j u s t t o t h e new environment when t h e i r a f f e c t i v e
needs were s a t i s f i e d .
2•
Precipitating Events
As discussed in preceding chapters, dropping out
usually represents a developmental and cumulative process.
However,
it
should
be mentioned
that
there
were
some
precipitating events which stimulated and confirmed one1s
decision of dropping out.
In this study six out of the
eleven respondents reported that there were some incidents
that precipitated their dropping out.
The events included
"family economic stress", "big quarrel with teacher", "hard
feelings
associated
with
teacher's
punishment“
and
" c o n f l i c t w i t h f a m i l y members丨、
When t h e s e events wers examined i n d e t a i l s , i t was
n o t e d t h a t t h e s e e v e n t s , i n d e e d were n o t v e r y s t r e s s f u l and
damaging, and t h e e x p e r i e n c e s o f t h e s e e v e n t s were n o t new
t o the respondents.
Concerning t h e impact o f t h e e v e n t s ,
t h e author observed the f o l l o w i n g p o i n t the
r es p o nd en ts
concerned
The r e a c t i o n s o f
reflected
that
they
were
handicapped i n managing t h e i r sudden and n e g a t i v e f e e l i n g s
associated w i t h these
events.
Four
out o f
the s i x
r e s p o n d e n t s a d m i t t e d t h a t t h e y were t o o i m p u l s i v e and
radical
to
handle
their
interpersonal
1 0 3
problems
with
teachers o r parents.
It
seemed t h a t t h e respondents
t r e a t e d t h e i r dropping out b e h a v i o u r as
unpleasant
experiences
and some o f
a r e l i e f from
them used i t as
a
f i g h t i n g back t o t h e a u t h o r i t a t i v e f i g u r e s such a s t h e i r
p a r e n t s and t e a c h e r s -
3•
Self-Evaluation after Dropping Out
The respondents were asked to make a brief self-
evaluation on their thinking and behavioural changes after
dropping out.
Majority of the respondents expressed that
they had a certain degree of changes in their thinking and
behavioural patterns.
In contrast to their usual thinking,
four of the respondents found that their relationships with
peers had been changed as they recognized their life with
peers being very dull and meaningless.
And they thought
that they became more mature in thinking than before.
For
instance, some of them realized that earning money is a
hard job and thus they have a better control of spending
their inonBy on the things they needed the
respondents
exhibited
overnight
more
reported
that
undesirable
outside
with
after
behaviours
peers,
Howeverr half of
dropping
such
committing
out
as
they
staying
delinquent
activities and maintaining less contact with faiiiily menibsrs
than before -
Moreover, four of the respondents regretted their
decision of dropping out.
It was mainly related to the
fact that they had not been employed since they dropped
1 0 4
out.
Most o f t h e respondents found t h a t t h e i r l i f e became
d u l l and a i m l e s s .
O v e r a l l , a few of the respondents evaluated t h a t they
had p o s i t i v e changes i n t h e i r t h i n k i n g and b e h a v i o u r a f t e r
dropping out.
C o n v e r s e l y , h a l f o f t h e respondents r e p o r t e d
t h a t t h e i r b e h a v i o u r a l problems were d e t e r i o r a t e d a f t e r
t h e y had dropped o u t .
4•
Future Planning
Six out of the respondents revealed that they planned
to work and the other five respondents had no specific plan
at the time of their dropping out.
of
time
(at
least
After a certain period
six-month time after dropping out),
almost all of the respondents had developed their future
plans at the time of this study being conducted.
Four out
of
to
the
six
respondents who
changed their mind.
initially
planned
work
At the time of interview, these four
respondents expressed that they preferred continuing their
study to working.
The other two respondents decided to
find a job when they attained the age of fifteen.
On the other hand, the respondents who had no specific
plan at the time of dropping out had formulated their own
plans after a period
of time.
Three out of the five
respondents planned
to study again;
respondents
to
planned
receive
training.
1 0 5
some
and
the other
formal
two
vocational
A t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e a l l respondents had t h e i r own
f u t u r e p l a n s , however, i t
was f o r e s e e a b l e t h a t majo r i t y o f
them would encounter v a r y i n g degrees o f d i f f i c u l t i e s i n
g e t t i n g a s u i t a b l e j o b o r f i n d i n g a s c h o o l placement.
With
t h e a s s i s t a n c e and s u p p o r t o f o u t r e a c h workers, i t i s hoped
that
all
of
the
respondents
could
overcome
their
d i f f i c u l t i e s and s t a r t a new page o f t h e i r l i f e .
工
工
•
IMPLICATIONS FOR OUTREACHING SOCIAL WORK SERVICE
1•
Early Identification and Prevention of the Problem
As reflected from the findings of the study, about
half of the respondents1
rooted
in
their
early
study and behavioural problems
schooling.
Hence,
early
identification of potential dropouts will have a greater
chance of helping them solve their study and behavioural
problems .
Since outreach social workers have direct and close
contact with youths-at-risk in their natural settingf it is
recommended
outreach
workers
to
strengthen
their
coordination and cooperation with the school personnel and
related professionals such as school social workers in the
district so as to prepare for and update a checklist of
identifying the potential dropouts or students-at-risk as
soon as possible.
It is believed that a wider community
network can facilitate a better collaboration by which the
professionals concerned can get the updated and accurate
picture of th© probl©m of dropping out in ths district -
1 0 6
2• Support and Empathy Shown to the Teaching Profession
Labelling
associated
interactive
theory
with
emphasizes
deviant
processes
the
behaviours
whereby
an
and
social
meanings
focuses
on
individual's
the
self
definition is influenced by other's reaction to his/her
deviant
behaviour.
The
labelling
effect
become
more
considerable when sources of the negative labels come from
his/her
significant
others.
In
the
school
setting,
teachers are generally perceived as students1 significant
others who are in charge of the authority to apply any
labels on their students.
As maj ority
of potential
dropouts exhibit varying
degrees of study and behavioural problems, their teachers
would feel disappointed and even frustrated when handling
this group
of
students.
On
some occasions, teachers'
reactions may be oversensitive and tend to use negative
labels on students.
to
the
opposite
of
However, the applied negative labels,
the
teachers'
original
good
will,
eventually reinforce the negative behaviours of some of the
students.
The process then goes as a vicious cycle.
Under such circumstance, empathy and support given to
the part of teachers becomes very important.
that
if the teachers1
It is hoped
frustration can be recognised and
shared, the teachers may find it easier to accept those
deviant youths and potential dropouts
1 0 7
in the class and
hence decrease i n tendency t o use such n e g a t i v e l a b e l s on
students.
More s h a r i n g meetings between o u t r e a c h s o c i a l
w o r k e r s and t e a c h e r s a r e recommended t o be h e l d s o t h a t t h e
t e a c h e r s can have a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f d e v i a n t y o u t h s
and hence e v e n t u a l l y more empathy f o r them.
3. Helping C l i e n t s t o Minimize the E f f e c t o f L a b e l l i n g
As r e v e a l e d from t h e case a n a l y s i s , i t
was found t h a t
n e g a t i v e l a b e l l i n g on s t u d e n t s w i t h c e r t a i n degree o f
s c h o o l i n g and b e h a v i o u r a l problems was somewhat i n e v i t a b l e .
The s t u d e n t s might r e c e i v e n e g a t i v e l a b e l l i n g from many
s o u r c e s : t e a c h e r , p a r e n t s and schoolmates.
I f t h e ego
s t r e n g t h o f t h e s e s t u d e n t s was s t r o n g enough, t h e y c o u l d
a p p r a i s e such o t h e r p e r s p e c t i v e s s o t h a t , c o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e
n e g a t i v e e f f e c t s o f t h o s e l a b e l s would have m i n i m i z e d .
The
s i t u a t i o n can be b e s t i l l u s t r a t e d by two c a s e s i n t h i s
study.
label
The two c a s e s , A and B, c o u l d c o n s i d e r t h e n e g a t i v e
of
"problem
student"
from
other
perspectives,
t h i n k i n g t h a t t h e i r t e a c h e r s d i d so o n l y o u t o f good w i l l ,
so
that
they
were
not
unhappy
about
the
labels.
Subsequently, t h e n e g a t i v e e f f e c t s o f l a b e l s a p p l i e d were
minimized.
4 . N e u t r a l i z a t i o n o f Group C o n t r o l i n Y o u t h f s P e e r Group
I n t h i s studyi t
was n o t e d t h a t o u t r e a c h c l i e n t s s p e n t
most o f t h e i r l e i s u r e time w i t h t h e i r p e e r s and t h e i r
attitudes
as w e l l
as behavioural
pattBrns are e a s i l y
l e a r n e d and inutustlly r e i n f o r c e d , t h r o u g h i n t e r a c t i o n with.
1 0 8
t h e i r peers.
As o u t r e a c h s o c i a l workers have chances t o
i n v o l v e i n t o t h e i r c l i e n t s 1 group a c t i v i t i e s and observe
t h e group dynamics, i t argues t h a t o u t r e a c h workers have t o
n e u t r a l i z e group i n f l u e n c e so as t o r e l e a s e n o n - c o n f o r m i s t s
from t h e p r e s s u r e s e x e r t e d on them by o t h e r members on t h e
group (Lo, 1993) .
Meanwhile, o u t r e a c h s o c i a l workers can
provide t h e i r c l i e n t s with s e l f - a s s e r t i v e t r a i n i n g i n order
t o h e l p them r e s i s t a g a i n s t t e m p t a t i o n o f p l a y i n g t r u a n t
and committing o t h e r r u l e - b r e a k i n g b e h a v i o u r s i n s c h o o l .
工工• CONCLUDING REMARKS
In
this
understanding
behaviour.
study
of
some
the
author
outreach
has
got
clientsT
a
better
dropping
out
Dropping out of school is not an "end product"
of an adolescents1 failure in his/her study, howeverA it is
an interactive process in which involves various kinds of
dynamic forces.
Indeed, the causality of dropping out is
multi-dimensional
cumulative.
and
the
process
of
dropping
out
is
In this study, only two significant aspects,
namely, the effects of labelling and peer association in
relation to an adolescent's dropping out were examined.
Results of the study seemed to suggest that the effects of
labelling exerted upon an adolescents by his/her teachers
play
a
considerable
descriptions.
part
on
shaping
his/her
self-
Moreover, the findings seemed to support
that adolescents' dropping out behaviours are learned and
reinforced throiigti interaction in his/her peer group.
1 0 9
As t h i s s t u d y i s e x p l o r a t o r y i n n a t u r e , t h e r e a r e
s t i l l a l a r g e room f o r improvement b o t h i n t h e r e s e a r c h
d e s i g n and a n a l y s i s o f t h e d r o p p i n g out b e h a v i o u r .
Many-
i n t e r e s t e d a r e a s such as t h e i n t e r a c t i v e e f f e c t s between
t h e l a b e l l i n g p r o c e s s and peer a s s o c i a t i o n i n r e l a t i o n t o
d r o p p i n g o u t ; p a r e n t a l c o n t r o l and s u p e r v i s i o n r e l a t e d t o
o n e ' s d r o p p i n g o u t ; need assessment o f a s c h o o l dropout;
and c o p i n g s t r a t e g i e s
and h e l p - s e e k i n g b e h a v i o u r o f
dropout a r e recommended t o have f u r t h e r e x p l o r a t i o n -
1 1 0
a
APPENDIX ONE
INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
PART A
Background I n f o r m a t i o n o f Respondent
1.
Age
2 . Sex
3.Occupation
5.
Who a r e l i v i n g w i t h you?
7.
Educational attainment o f parents
8.
T o t a l income o f f a m i l y
9.
F i n a l d a t e o f your d r o p p i n g o u t o f s c h o o l :
6.
4.
Accommodation
Oc c upat ion o f p a r e n t s
10. The c l a s s i n which you l a s t a t t e n d e d :
11• Type of school from which you dropped out:
i)
Governmental /
Subsidized
/ Private
ii) Grammar/ Technical/ Pre-vocational training school/
Others
12. Case opened on:
PART B
1.
(month)/
(year)
Overall Comments On Dropout Experience
When did you first have the idea of dropping out of
school?
Why did you have the idea?
And what finally made
you decide to continue your study?
2.
Was there any precipitating event that confirmed your
decision of dropping out?
3.
What reason ranked first in your decision to drop out
from school?
What were the second and third influential
reasons?
4.
At the point of your decision to drop out, with whom
did you speak and from whom did you seek help?
5.
At the point of your decision to drop out, did you have
any future plan for yourself?
1 1 1
Did you find whether there
w a s
/
w e r e
s i g n i f i c a n t changes i n your l i f e a f t e r y o u r
dropping out?
6 * D i d you t h i n k you were r i g h t i n l e a v i n g s c h o o l a t t h e
t i m e you d i d ?
A t p r e s e n t , how do you e v a l i i a t e y o u r a c t o f
dropping out o f school?
PART C
1•
S cho o l E x p e r i e n c e s
Primary School
1.1
What did you like and dislike
in particular about
going to school when you studied in primary school?
1.2
Was/ Were there
any
significant
changes
in
your
academic performance during P.5 and P.6 period?
1.3
How about your conduct evaluated by teachers during
the same period?
2•
Secondary School
2.1
When you just promoted to F.l, did you encounter any
adjustment problems at that time?
2.2
When did you notice that you had study problems that
disturbed you?
2.3
To
In what aspects?
describe
the
To what degree?
relationship with
your
teachers
(including discipline teachers and school personnels):
-
What were your overall comments on your relationship
with your teachers?
一
most?
一
Had you e v e r been punished by your t e a c h e r s o r g o t
c o n f l i c t s w i t h them?
t o him/her/them?
F o r what reasons?
How d i d you r e a c t
What were y o u r immediate f e e l i n g s ?
1 1 2
D i d you f i n d
一
l a b e l s c o n c e r n i n g you?
How d i d you r e a c t ?
What k i n d s o f c o n c e p t i o n i f any?
Any e f f e c t s on you ( p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y ,
e m o t i o n a l l y and b e h a v i o u r a l ) ?
2.4
To d e s c r i b e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h y o u r c l a s s m a t e s /
schoolmates:
-
What k i n d s o f images c o n c e r n i n g you?
一
What were y o u r f e e l i n g s / a c t i o n s i n response t o t h e i r
p e r c e p t i o n s o r a t t i t u d e s toward you?
2.5
How about y o u r p a r e n t s 1 r e a c t i o n o r comments on your
academic and b e h a v i o u r a l performance a t s c h o o l ?
What were
your f e e l i n g s o r reactions?
2.6
O v e r a l l , how d i d you d e s c r i b e y o u r s e l f when you were
s t i l l studying?
PART D Peer Group E x p e r i e n c e s
(Focusing on respondent 1 s peer experiences p r i o r
t o t h e i r a c t o f dropping out o f school)
1.
When you were s t u d y i n g , what k i n d ( s ) o f p e e r group w i t h
whom you a s s o c i a t e d most o f t e n ?
How f r e q u e n t d i d y o u meet
together?
What k i n d s o f a c t i v i t i e s
Where d i d you meet?
d i d you and y o u r p e e r s i n t e r e s t e d i n ?
What were y o u r
e x p e c t a t i o n s toward y o u r p e e r s ?
2.
Have you e v e r t a l k e d w i t h your p e e r s about y o u r s t u d y
problems and s c h o o l l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s ?
3.
As you know,
r e l a t e d problems?
4.
how many o f y o u r f r i e n d s had s c h o o l What were t h e i r problems?
Had you e v e r p l a y e d t r u a n t / cheated i n e x a m i n a t i o n /
1 1 3
/ f a i l e d t o submit homework on t i m e / b r o k e n s c h o o l r u l e s /
a r r i v e d home l a t e a f t e r s c h o o l o r committed o t h e r school—
r e l a t e d problems w i t h your p e e r s o r schoolmates t o g e t h e r on
t h e same day(s)？
Who i n i t i a t e d t h e i d e a ? I f t h e i d e a was
n o t from you, what was your i n i t i a l response t o s u c h an
i d e a ? F i n a l l y , why d i d you f o l l o w / n o t f o l l o w t h e i r i d e a ?
How d i d your p e e r s r e a c t t o y o u r response?
5.
What were y o u r p e e r s ' a t t i t u d e s toward b r e a k i n g t h e
school r u l e s e . g .
truancy?
Had you e v e r
shared t h e
experiences o f breaking the school r u l e s , i n c l u d i n g the
c o n t e x t , t e c h n i q u e s and knowledge o f a s p e c i f i c d e v i a n t
a c t w i t h your peers?
6.
How many o f y o u r peers were s c h o o l dropouts?
At that
p o i n t o f t i m e , what were t h e i r reasons o f dropping o u t o f
s c h o o l and t h e i r a t t i t u d e s / f e e l i n g s toward t h e i r own d r o p o u t behaviour?
What were y o u r feedbacks o r responses t o
t h e i r dropping out?
1,
D i d you and your p e e r s make any
comments on t h e
f o l l o w i n g statements?
i ) "To complete form t h r e e w i l l be b e n e f i c i a l t o o n e ' s j o b finding-
，
丨
i i ) "Nothing would be done b u t j u s t a f e e l i n g o f boredom i f
a teenager dropped o u t from s c h o o l . n
iii)
"Dropping o u t o f s c h o o l w i l l v i o l a t e t h e e x i s t i n g
education ordinance."
iv)
Any o t h e r statements c o n c e r n i n g d r o p p i n g o u t t h a t
impressed you most?
8.
When you c o n s i d e r e d o r d e c i d e d n o t t o c o n t i n u e your
1 1 4
s t u d y , d i d y o u seek a d v i c e s from y o u r p e e r s ?
s a y o r do?
PART E
1.
What d i d they
How d i d you r e a c t t o t h e i r responses?
Family Experience
U s u a l l y , who were s t a y i n g a t home when you r e t u r n e d
home from s c h o o l ?
2.
D i d you s t a y away from home o r s t a y a t home most o f t h e
t i m e besides a t t e n d i n g school?
3•
Had you shared with your family members particularly
your parents over your school life experiences and study
problems when you were studying?
4.
Did you know what was your parents1 expectation toward
your study?
5.
Did you notice that your parents and siblings made any
comments
or
held
any
ideas
concerning
your
academic
performance (including your conduct at school) when you
were studying?
6.
How did you react to their comments or responses?
7.
To what extent did your family members especially your
parents attribute to your drop out decision?
1 1 5
m
/、
"
7
118 /：.
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