Social constructing of teenage deviation in secondary schools

The author discusses the constructivist approach in sociology of deviant behavior. In the article the process of constructing teen-age deviation at secondary schools is considered. The results of a survey of secondary school teachers and psychologists are presented. It is argued that there is a trend in both groups to regard as deviant any behavior that does not conform to the official rules. At the same time some differences between teachers and school psychologists in defining deviation have been found in the study. Thus class tutors tend to be less tolerant towards teen-agers’ sexual contacts and alcohol consumption in comparison with school psychologists. Representatives of these two professional groups focus on different forms of deviant behavior and stress different causes of such behavior. The author argues that the results of the survey allow us to evaluate the utility of the constructivist approach in sociology of deviant behavior. Some restrictions of this approach are singled out. Nevertheless, it is noted that constructivist methodology can be more relevant for the study of deviant behavior than positivist methods.