Research Topic: Integration of Rehabilitation in the Juvenile System
The Research topic, “ Integration of Rehabilitation in the Juvenile System ,” has been the subject of research and debate for a very long time. Nonetheless, the elements of rehabilitation and the Juvenile system have mainly been studied from an ethnographic perspective; thus, for decades, the focus has been primarily on incrimination and even on reducing the number of delinquents, whereas the rehabilitative and therapeutic aspects have been ignored (Krisberg, 2005). From this perspective, the research topic contains specific elements that are essential to the sociological dimensions aligned with the qualitative methodologies of research. As such, unless we understand why these hindrances are there and what role rehabilitation can play, we as social workers cannot even think of bringing a positive change in the juvenile justice system, let alone bring major reforms or benefit delinquents and related households.
What are the socio-economic backgrounds of delinquents in the sample, and how did they get involved in the juvenile justice system ??
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What are the socio-economic backgrounds of delinquents in the sample, and how did they get involved in the juvenile justice system ??
What do you believe are the reasons that led up to your delinquency and why did you engage in delinquent behavior ?
Conceptualizing how each of the various factors of rehabilitation interplays with the delinquents, social workers, and the juvenile system in America will fundamentally be attained through a close study using a qualitative approach as the discussions in the subsequent sections will show.
Preliminary research indicates that the focus of incrimination and ways to reduce the population of juvenile systems has overlooked a fundamental aspect of the very purpose that the juvenile; to rehabilitate offenders and deviants. This gap in the literature, existing intentionally or otherwise, validates the purpose of this study. Notably, to show how through the integration of rehabilitation programs in the juvenile systems will not only help to reduce the population of deviants in the American society but also, how in the long term, it will re-define the role of the juvenile system (Piquero & Steinberg, 2010). Primarily, the outcome of this study will help construct a formidable plan on how to make the juvenile system as part of the solution to the problem of delinquency that makes them exist in the first place in society as opposed to the current system that solely focuses on the strategic ways to reduce the population in the juvenile systems without understanding the various ways to address the root cause of the increase of deviant behavior in society. The different methodological approaches that this research adopts mainly align with the structural, functional theory, which in my view holds the key to fully understanding the social dynamics of the delinquency and the specific constructs that motivate the behavioral patterns that do not conform to the acceptable norms and values of mainstream society.
Research Methodological Designs
Method 1: Phenomenological Research Theory Methodology
To truly understand the social dynamics of deviant behavior and why evidence indicate disparities across different ethnic groups in the US, Creswell ( 2013) notes the identification of commonalities in the perception of those who have lived the experience creates a more profound understanding of the social problem and the best approaches to find solutions to the phenomenon. The phenomenological approach helps to extract first-hand information (Vagle, 2018). That is, from delinquents inside and outside the juvenile system on their views on the existence or lack therein of the deviant-centered rehabilitation programs in the juvenile system and their possible impacts on the system. More so, the methodology introduces different principles of philosophy, psychology, and education very valuable towards an accurate evaluation of the response of the sampled participants (Neubauer et al., 2019). More so, help answer the Research Question, “ What are the socio-economic backgrounds of delinquents in the sample and how did they get involved in the juvenile justice system ?” Ultimately, the methods will ensure the acquisition of meaningful data relevant to the research on the socio-cultural dynamics of the delinquents that will help to inform an evidence-based rehabilitation program that incorporates the unique causal agents in their background. The methodology will generate knowledge about specific socio-cognitive elements that consciously or unconsciously influence the behavior of deviants in a manner essential to the construction of the best rehabilitation intervention strategies that genuinely work; either universally or to a specific ethnic group in the American society.
Method 2: Grounded theory Research Methodology
The study’s design also intends to test and hypothesize the accuracy of various theories applied and proposed to help deal with the problem of delinquency and the attainment of an improved juvenile system in American society. To achieve this goal, it is very imminent t the research to use a Grounded methodology approach to assess and evaluate the Research Question, “ How do rehabilitation intervention strategies in the Juvenile system impact experiences of black juvenile delinquents in the system and their families ?”
Through the use of open-ended interview questions with delinquents in the systems, Observations of the changes in the behavior of sampled focus groups subjected to rehabilitation programs and the study of available text and peer-reviewed materials on studies of the overall impact of rehabilitation on the delinquents, the researcher will formulate accurate theories on the phenomenon based on the Ground Theory methodology. In essence, reveal the existing shortcoming of the current theories and the various ways that the American Juvenile system may develop rehabilitation frameworks that achieve an actual change of behavior. Data analysis should be concurrent as the process of collection is continuing through coding, as the figure below shows.
The fluidity of the approach will help to uncover new theories that will help construct theories based on actual, pure data untainted by preconceptions and biases of researchers until saturation, which means the researcher arrives at the same theory several times, over and over again (Rahman, 2016). In summation, the methodology will be essential to help the research produce data-grounded theories; theories which are the direct result of the data that the researcher collects on the impact of rehabilitation on the juvenile system
Method 3: Narrative methodology
The social relations and personal experiences dimensions of the delinquency problem in the American society necessitates the incorporation of a technique that carefully examines the personal narratives or stories of the delinquents about their transformation that led them to engage in deviants act. The narrative methodology, in acknowledgment of this truth, is the third methodology that will answer the Research Question, “What do you believe are the reasons that led up to your delinquency and why did you engage in delinquent behavior?”. The methodology will help to construct a narrative-based analysis of the various causal agents in the life of the delinquents that the rehabilitation programs must overcome to fully rehabilitate the delinquents through re-conditioning their cognitive understanding and interpretations of the value or rather the importance a new paradigm shift in their behavioral pattern.
Data collection for this methodology will be through the open-ended questions and moderated focus group meetings with the deviants. In more precise terms, it will be the umbrella of social constructionism that will help the research further understand the context of delinquency. The data analysis for the method will be done through a thematic analysis to identify the points in their life when the deviants detached from the moral and value constructs of society. Therefore, as a result, help to find ways to re-attach them to society through rehabilitation programs and other interventions in the mainstream American Juvenile system.
References
Krisberg, B. (2005). Reforming Juvenile Justice. Retrieved 2020, from Prospect.org: https://prospect.org/special-report/reforming-juvenile-justice/
Neubauer, B. E., Witkop, C. T., & Varpio, L. (2019). How phenomenology can help us learn from the experiences of others. Perspectives on Medical Education , 8 (2), 90-97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-019-0509-2
Piquero, A. R., & Steinberg, L. (2010). Public preferences for rehabilitation versus incarceration of juvenile offenders. Journal of Criminal Justice , 38 (1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2009.11.001
Rahman, M. S. (2016). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches and Methods in Language “Testing and Assessment” Research: A Literature Review. Journal of Education and Learning , 6 (1), 102. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v6n1p102
Vagle, M. D. (2018). Phenomenological Research Methodology. Crafting Phenomenological Research , 71-84. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315173474-9
Vassilieva, J. (2016). Narrative Methodology. Narrative Psychology , 127-156. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49195-4_5
