How Poor Education, Dropouting Of School And The Environment Can Lead To Deviant Behavior
Deviant behavior can be described as unaccepted behavior devoid of moral values. These values and norms that a deviant (person with deviant behavior) possesses can either be acquired formally through the learning process. They can also be determined by environmental factors such as peer pressure, media, mentors, etc. Poor education denies a growing person the opportunity to make life out of learning. It therefore gives the persons an alternative of earning a living through criminal activities.
When a poorly educated person meets with a harsh environment coupled with unemployment and other social-economical factors, their behaviors start to deviate from normal. HOW POOR EDUCATION AND NOT FINISHING SCHOOL COMBINED WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT CAN PUT CHILDREN AT A HIGHER RISK FOR DEVIANT BEHAVIOR Deviant behavior is first brought by lack of family values . A family plays a very significant role in reforming a person’s character. Institutions of learning also play a role in teaching people what is good and what is bad; what ought to be done and what ought not be done etc.
Incorporated in the syllabi of most education systems are theological studies. These gives out a lot of biblical teachings which if followed by an individual he/she would be unlikely to develop deviant behaviors. For instance, in the Biblical teaching, we learn that murder is morally wrong. When Cain killed Abel, he got a punishment from God. Also learnt is the fact that patience pays the same way Job was patient after suffering from a long time of sickness. The teaching here is that if one is suffering and does not have any hope, chances are that he might develop a deviant behavior.
This then brings out the need to finish school and be able to get such biblical teachings. Teachers in schools are not only trained on how to disseminate education but also on how to mould the behavior of a child. A person’s behavior is for instance, greatly determined by the kind of teaching both from parents and teachers at a tender age. If one did not attend school or got inadequate education, their chances of growing defiantly get enhanced. He would not be able to co-operate and work well with others because these values can only be learnt in schools.
Teachers in schools administer punishment against deviant behaviors, a factor that can discourage a child against misbehaving. Schooling also enables one to socialize freely with peers/people. This socialization is important as it inculcates self personality in a person. They realize the need consult when in problems. One with poor education or has just dropped out of college will miss this opportunity of freely mixing with others. As they grow they would tend to do things independently. Any piece of advice directed to them is likely to be welcomed by deviance.
Without the acquisition of full knowledge, there are quite a number of values that a person may not learn. And lack of these norms lead a person into deviance. These are norms like communication skills, thinking positively and ability to solve problems amicably. A person who has dropped out of school may employ mediocre methods to solve problems. In most cases, they do not adhere to the laid down rules and principles. They instead use force and physical confrontations to drive their points home. With the environmental challenges that they meet as a result early school drop outs, such people grow defiantly.
This is because they missed the element of positive thinking learnt in schools. Poor education also makes one fall short of appreciating self as well as reality of the environment. This in the end frustrates and stresses them to the extent that they resort to drug abuse and alcoholism to relieve the stress and frustration. All these happen because school drop-outs do not have self efficacy. This is a scenario whereby one does not recognize / appreciate his worthness/ usefulness. As a result, they are not always happy people. They tend to dislike those who have better jobs and who are better placed in society.
By doing so, they violate the societal norms and values. What children learn from their surrounding environment has a very strong correlation to the behavior they develop. A family especially the parents, play a pivotal role in determining what their offsprings would be like. If they solve their problems amicably and soberly, then the children would grow in the same way. They would in future tend to listen and accommodate the views of their colleagues, elders, their own spouses as well as their own children. But consider a family where the only solution to problems is divorce, separation i. e.
there is no time for conflict resolution, so will the child develop a deviant behavior. Growing persons meet all sorts of environmental factors which will determine their behaviors in one way or the other. One of these factors is neglect. Neglect refers to that condition where children usually suffer as result of their parent’s actions. Within this definition of neglect are elements like sexual abuse, injuries (physical) and also abandonment. Statistics show that in America for instance, one million youths are abused every year. The ratio of boys sexually abused is one boy for every ten. For girls, it is one for every three.
Sexual abuses can lead to such deviant behaviors such as stress, aggressiveness and low esteem. They become aggressive because they see everybody as the cause of their problems. They have a low self esteem because they see themselves as being different from others . Another environmental factor that can lead to deviant behavior is peer influence. An individual person is not born a criminal or with any other form of deviant behavior . These are moulded with the people one associates with as birds of the same feathers flock together. His/her surrounding environment is full of peers (people of almost equal age).
Peers entice their colleagues behave in the same way as them. Peers incite into the violation of social values and breed behaviors like drug addiction and alcoholism. According to Edwin H. Sutherland in his book of Differential Association Theory, when individuals interact, they learn so much from each other. They communicate in ideas as well as symbols. When these ideas and symbols become favorable to an individual, certain defiance behavior would be inculcated in e. g. criminology peer pressure also makes the deviants to justify their deviant behaviors by not being guilty.
They tend to deny any injury caused to a victim by alleging no one can be hurt through crime. They also deny the victim as they believe that the victim was not injured, rather he obtained the rightful force. Peer groups also make the deviants not to recognise the laws of the land. Instead, they would tell you to appeal to a higher power. But whether a person would be influenced by peers will greatly depend on his / her level of education. Unlike the educated, the uneducated stand as the more vulnerable group to be indulged to these deviant behaviors.
The media is another social agent that can favorably or unfavorably determine one’s behavior. The television for instance, presents different programs with different messages. But these should not be emulated unless they rhyme with moral values and norms. Some of these programs are just comedies. If one was poorly educated, he/ she may interpret these comedies to be reality shows. Some behaviors may be shown in these programs like aggressiveness of the actors, pride and dressing provocatively. Too much media can therefore make one easily acquire these deviant behaviors. Through the media again, companies advertise their products.
The mode of advertisement characterized by cultural memes can significantly contribute to deviant behavior. This is because cultural memes tend to deteriorate societal norms and values. When one has not finished School, he/she is left with a lot of idle time ahead of him/her. This is the time the person starts engaging himself/herself in certain social evils that are unacceptable in society. Deviant behavior refers to any behavior that is not generally acceptable within the values of a given people and society. It is due to idleness that people take drugs, alcohol and involve themselves with all forms of promiscuity.
Learning institutions also offer important behavior building programs through discussions on behaviors like drug usage/abuse . Here, important information on the dangers of such drugs that normally culminates into deviant behaviors by experts in the field. These workshops are used even to the highest educational levels like colleges and universities. They have greatly contributed in the relaxation / stagnation of deviant behavior. It is therefore inevitable for one to reach these high levels of education if reduction of deviant behavior is anything to go by. Poor education makes one not to appreciate his rights.
He would not even know when his rights have been infringed /violated. The environment is full of numerous agents of rights violations. It comprises of sadists and opportunists. There are people who like mis (using) / exploiting others for their own self interests. Majority of these are the politicians who incite the youth and entice them with money to engage in social injustices like violence. This in actual sense amounts to deviance as these are social conflicts not compatible with the values and norms of any modern society. CONCLUSION Institutions of learning mould behavior through education.
And it is only through education that one can get to learn good moral values and norms. It is through education that one can also learn on how to live with society. Poor education therefore deprives one a lot of moral teachings and the opportunity to enjoy a peaceful co- existence with the rest in society. It does also not allow one to appreciate the environmental needs and challenges that greatly determine one’s behavior. Because of inadequate education, the environment becomes a harsh place to live in. One then resorts to alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual immorality and other sorts of deviant behavior in order to relieve the pressure.
