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http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10964-016-0592-1&domain=pdf
Web End = J Youth Adolescence (2016) 45:24752478 DOI 10.1007/s10964-016-0592-1
BOOK REVIEW
Christopher A. Mallett: The School-to-Prison Pipeline: A Comprehensive Assessment
New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company, 2016, 222pp, ISBN: 9780826194589
Amanda Mankovich1
Received: 12 October 2016 / Accepted: 13 October 2016 / Published online: 18 October 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
The School-to-Prison Pipeline by Christopher A. Mallett is a comprehensive assessment that explains how the educational system condemns certain groups of adolescents to a cycle of punitive action in the juvenile justice system. The pipeline is a chute for at-risk students into the juvenile justice system. In his assessment, he focuses on several themes: school discipline strategies, school policies, and promoting positive behaviors in school, as well as research on punitive vs. rehabilitative reactions. Some groups of students are more at risk for more punitive responses: minorities, low SES level, and individuals with mental disorders. Once in the pipeline, many of these students nd it hard to escape as they are not offered the proper support. Furthermore, the author concludes that zero-tolerance policies, which are often the rst resort, are disproportionately geared toward these students. In searching for solutions to this dilemma, the author reviews several supportive and rehabilitative models, demonstrating that deviant behavior is less likely in these schools than in more punitive schools. Research and analysis chart the characteristics that result in deviant behavior, nding that disciplinary measures enforce criminal behavior. Mallet addresses college students, the juvenile justice system, and school policy-makers and administrators, recommending that administrators and teachers assume a more constructive prevention and rehabilitation route to end the school-to-prison pipeline. Generally, Mallets argument is compelling but it suffers due to a slow, pedantic start.
Chapter One offers a thorough foundation explaining the pitfalls of school policies. Schools have various policies and practices intended to criminalize students instead of help them. This approach is ultimately detrimental to the students education. Mallett (2016, p. 1) denes the school-to-prison pipeline as school pathways to the juvenile justice system. Rather than a rehabilitative approach, the school-to-prison pipeline perpetuates criminalization through harsh policies that reinforce that students are trouble-makers. In this way, criminalization is self-fullling, moving students to adopt a felonious identity. According to the pipeline, this justies harsh punishments. It...