The existing set of social expectations that view success in schooling as a prerequisite to success in life creates enormous pressures for school personnel, students, and families. The restricted number of tertiary education institutions and stringent assessment procedures result in a large number of school failures. High levels of youth unemployment exacerbate the already difficult situation in which far too many students are classified as losers before they begin their adult lives. Politically, educational systems and various aspects of schooling have been used as scapegoats for wider social problems, usually with some degree of blame also attached to families. Sociopathological accounts of deviant behavior have two major implications for schooling. First, the tendency for schools to turn inward and focus on the curriculum and disciplining rather than outward toward closer links with the immediate community is problematic. Second, attempts to turn outward highlight the extent to which schools are removed from the reality of social existence with the immediate community and reinforce the futility of school-based attempts to solve wider social problems. In both situations, the potential is present for the development of high levels of alienation among teaching personnel, to the detriment of students. The need for a radical reappraisal of the role of schooling in contemporary Australian society is emphasized as well as the importance of promoting a higher level of appreciation of relationships between schools and delinquency and crime. 10 references