ABSTRACT
126 elementary school teachers were interviewed in respect to their concepts of school failure and antisociality. According to their opinions antisociality finds its expression especially in the following behaviour: delinquent and/or destructive actions against others or the state, deliberate disturbance of social peace and order in a society, and criminality. The main causes of school failure are seen in intellectual-emotional development retardation, social isolation, rejection of a child by its parents, insufficient maturity for education hereditary mental retardation and lack of intelligence. The teachers' appraisal of antisociality and school failure are largely influenced by implicit theories, by which "the antisocial" and "the school failure" are regarded as deficit personalities. The teachers are aware of the overrepresentation of children from fringe groups and low social classes among antisocial or educationally failing pupils, they do, however, not realistically recognize the respective causal relations. In difference to other social control agents, their judgements nearly deny that school failure may also be caused by teachers.
