University of Chicago Legal Forum Volume 2018 Article 5 2019 Education, Violence, and Re-Wiring Our Schools Margareth Etienne Follow this and additional works at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf Recommended Citation Etienne, Margareth (2019) "Education, Violence, and Re-Wiring Our Schools," University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 2018 , Article 5. Available at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol2018/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Chicago Unbound. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Chicago Legal Forum by an authorized editor of Chicago Unbound. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Education, Violence, and Re-Wiring Our Schools Margareth Etienne† I. INTRODUCTION Is there a relationship between the education system and the crim- inal justice system? What is the connection between education and criminality? Two theories prevail. Theory I is, simply put, that educa- tion (or school programs) can reduce crime. This common perception is supported by a great deal of research among sociologists and criminol- ogists revealing that better and higher education attainment levels cor- relate with lower criminal behavior. Scholars diverge in their hypothe- ses to explain why this is the case,1 but it is fair to say that education provides opportunities that stem from greater substantive knowledge, hard and soft skills, credentials and greater employment prospects, pro- social attitudes, and positive social networks2 that advance the life pro- spects of young people. With these opportunities, students are less likely to resort to crime for money or social advancement and are more likely to be socialized against the acceptability of resorting to crime.3 In addition to robust evidence of correlation, some scholars argue that they have discovered causal links between education and lower crime levels.4 † Professor of Law and Nancy Snowden Research Scholar, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.