Competitiveness in Schools and Delinquency

Some theories to explain the relationship between school failure and delinquency are examined. It is argued that it is the condition of status deprivation through being given a low rank on the status hierarchy of the school that leads to delinquency. Policies of equality of opportunity achieve a reordering of children on the hierarchy, but leave the hierarchy itself intact. Delinquency may be part of a more general pathology which arises from competitiveness in schools.