Educational Programs

What are Educational Programs?

Education programs intend to promote educational achievement by allowing individuals to gain their high school equivalency, new skills or prepare them to seek higher education. Very often paired with employment programs.

Why are they important for ex-offenders?

Lack of educational achievement, coupled with employment, is one of the ‘Central Eight’ risk factors for criminal offending

Prison inmates are on average less educated than the general population[1]

  • Only 43% of prisoners report having the equivalent of a high school education before entering prison.[2]
  • In 2003, 19% percent of prisoners reported receiving their high school equivalent while incarcerated

Prison inmates have lower rates of literacy than the general population[3]

  • Roughly 3% of the prison population is considered not literate[4] meaning they cannot read or write in English or Spanish

Promising Practices of Educational Programs

Most education programs for prisoners/ex-offenders exist within the prison, however, some programs exist within the community but are generally a part of employment programs

Education experience should differ from previous experiences, help the individual to better understand their circumstances and motivate them to learn[5]

Positive reinforcement

  • Program participation should reduce the possibility to incur infractions or count as positive behavior[6]

Education should be included as part of casemanagement plans[7]

Types of Education Programs

Literacy

Programs which bring individuals up to an adult reading and writing level whether English is their first or a secondary language

Vocational

Programs which teach a specific labor market-based skill set

  • Vocational programs must be based on potential future employment opportunities so that prisonersobtain marketable skills. This may mean that the skills/trades taught vary considerably by region and may need to be changed relatively often.

Adult Basic Education (ABE)

Programs which help individuals to meet high school equivalency requirements and receive a General Educational Diploma Certificate (GED)

  • ABE programs are required by law for all individuals entering the prison system who do not have a high school equivalency[8]

Postsecondary/College-level

Programs that help individuals to obtain a college-level education either by supporting enrollment in a formal college or university or by adapting college-level courses for ex-offenders to promote successful completion

Measureable Outcomes

Short-Term

Increased literacy rate for prisoners/ex-offenders

  • Inmates who participate in high school equivalency or vocational courses while incarcerated report a higher literacy capacity than those who do not[9]
  • Inmates who receive their high school equivalency while incarcerated have a higher literacy rate than those who entered with their high school equivalency[10]

Increased employment potential of former prisoners

  • Provide more prospects for employment with greater potential for growth
  • Correctional education has been shown to increase post-release employment[11]
  • One study found that over a three year period, those who had completed education programs in prison had higher earnings than those who did not[12]

Long-Term

Reduced Recidivism

  • In general, GED/high school equivalency courses and postsecondary education programs have a greater effect on reducing recidivism than in-prison work programs[13]
  • One meta-analysis found that individuals who participated in postsecondary education programs while incarcerated reduced their risk of reincarceration 1.74 times[14].
  • Prison education programs were found to significantly reduce rates of rearrest and reincarceration[15]

Barriers to Outcomes

General

Perceptions of education

  • Previous negative experiences with education
  • Individuals may be well below the grade level they last completed
  • Individuals may not be literate
  • Not recognizing the value of formal education
  • Impatience with the learning process
  • Poor self-esteem regarding learning

Untreated mental illness

Untreated substance abuse or dependence

Institutional Programs

Consistent participation and completion of programs

  • Unpredictability of release dates
  • Punishments such as segregation
  • Conflicting work schedules

Community Programs

  • Conflicting work, family or release requirement schedules
  • Lack of preparation for traditional school environment
  • Unreliable transportation
  • Cost of continued education

Resources

Community Partnerships for Adult Learning:

Literacy Information and Communication System:

U.S. Dept. of Education-Correctional Education:

U.S. Dept. of Labor- Employment and Training Administration:

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Prepared by Megan FosterApril 2013

[1]Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (1994). The psychology of criminal conduct. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing.

[2]Greenberg, E., Dunleavy, E., & Kutner, M. (2007). Literacy Behind Bars: Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy Prison Survey. Washington, DC: National Center on Education Statistics.

[3]Greenberg, Dunleavy, & Kutner, 2007

[4]Greenberg, Dunleavy, & Kutner, 2007

[5]Anders, A., & Noblit, G. W. (2011). Understanding Effective Higher Education Programs in Prisons: Considerations from the Incarcerated Individuals Program in North Carolina. Journal Of Correctional Education, 62(2), 77-93.

[6]Anders & Noblit, 2011

[7]Anders & Noblit, 2011

[8] Missouri Dept. of Corrections website 2013

[9]Greenberg, Dunleavy, & Kutner, 2007

[10]Greenberg, Dunleavy, & Kutner, 2007

[11]Gaes, G. G. (2008). The Impact of Prison Education Programs on Post-Release Outcomes. Lanham, MD: Correctional Education Association.;

Lockwood, S., Nally, J., Ho, T., & Knutson, K. (2012). The Effect of Correctional Education on Postrelease Employment and Recidivism: A 5-Year Follow-Up Study in the State of Indiana. Crime & Delinquency, 58(3), 380-396.

[12]Steurer, S. J., & Smith, L. G. (2001). Education reduces crime: Three state recidivism study. Lanham, MD: Correctional Education Association.

[13] Wilson, D. B., Gallagher, C. A., & MacKenzie, D. L. (2000). A Meta-Analysis of Corrections-Based Education, Vocation, and Work Programs for Adult Offenders. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 37(4), 347-368. doi:10.1177/0022427800037004001

[14]Wilson, Gallagher, & MacKenzie, 2000

[15]Steurer & Smith, 2001; Gaes, 2008; Lockwood, Nally, Ho, & Knutson, 2012