Schools and the Persistence of Neighborhood Violence

• In Event: Communities and Place: Community Perceptions, Education, Violence, and a Public Safety Collaborative

Abstract

This study considers core yet neglected aspects of Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization model, which is that neighborhood inequalities in the extent of poverty and social capital in local schools are highly consequential for neighborhood violence. These expectations are tested by merging school-level data from the Chicago Public Schools (1994-2003) with the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods Community Survey (1995), decennial census data (1990 and 2000), and homicide incidents data (1993-2006). School social capital is assessed with longitudinal survey measures of the extent of trust and collective responsibility among teachers and parents collected during a period of significant educational reform emphasizing school and community relational dynamics. Results affirm that neighborhoods with higher poverty schools experienced more homicides over time, while those where school social capital was increasing experienced significant reductions in homicide over time. Moreover, these associations of school-based measures eclipse those of other neighborhood social process such as collective efficacy, intergenerational closure, and presence of other organizations. These findings suggest that social capital anchored on schools could be essential for understanding how urban communities can mobilize to address violence and potentially a wide range of other problems.

Author

• Nicolo Pinchak, University of Chicago