Many educators view the process of education as transformative. This transformation is important in all classrooms, but it takes on added importance in prison classrooms. The education that inmates receive in prison can mean the difference between the doorway of freedom with a productive future and the revolving door of recidivism. For many prison…

This article reports the results of a Participatory Action Research (PAR) study conducted by a university faculty member and two incarcerated college graduates in Indiana. The research team designed and piloted a service-learning program specifically aimed at college-level inmates in a maximum security prison. This qualitative study used…

Providing post-secondary education in correctional settings has emerged as one of the best ways to reduce recidivism, save taxpayer dollars, and promote post release employment and community reintegration. While a number of studies exist, this paper argues persistent challenges connected to research design, data collection, and the communication…

Participation in postsecondary programs in correctional settings is low, despite evidence of positive outcomes and national emphasis on postsecondary education to meet labor market demands. Research related to implementation of correctional education programs has focused on adult basic and secondary education programs while less is known about…

Formerly incarcerated adolescents with disabilities face additional barriers to a successful transition to adulthood when released from the youth correctional facility often with societal expectations of transitioning directly to adulthood. Employment and post-secondary enrollment may serve as protective factors and reduce the likelihood of future…

While inmates are the subject of many outlets of popular media and research, this population is rarely, however, studied in any depth. Most forms of media overlook the rehabilitative efforts made by inmates. This study attempts to evaluate education as a form of rehabilitation and identify the struggles faced by inmates while trying to finish…

Post-Secondary Correctional Education (PSCE) programs have been offered in United States penal facilities for half-a-century. The primary determinant of these program opportunities has been funding availability. With the exclusion of prisoner-students from participating in the Pell Grant financial aid program, approximately half of the existing…

In this column, Linton provides updates on the various programs of the U.S. Department of Education. Among other things, he discusses the matter of restoring federal financial aide eligibility to certain offender populations, currently under study in Congress, and that Congress also is continuing a rare substantive discussion of issues related to…

Post-Secondary Correctional Education (PSCE) programs have been offered in United States penal faculties for half-a-century. The primary determinant of these program opportunities has been funding availability. With the exclusion of prisoner-students from participating in the Pell Grant financial aid program, approximately half of the existing…

The relationship of post-secondary correctional education (PSCE) and recidivism has been widely studied with various, idiosyncratic results. A meta-analysis of ten years of existing studies was conducted to synthesize a portion of the past research. This study demonstrates, using relevant studies reported from 1990 - 1999, that there is a positive…

Two post-secondary correctional educators discuss how they have enhanced the rehabilitation of a diverse population of adult male offenders, including whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, by incorporating diversity initiatives into their instruction and curricula at two correctional facilities in Northwest Indiana. One way…

Responses from 44 of 51 state directors of correctional education indicated that access, quality, success, and state commitment in postsecondary educational programs for inmates significantly decreased after the elimination of Pell Grant eligibility. The future condition of postsecondary correctional education may not be significantly different.…

Review of research on postsecondary correctional education in three periods (1945-1967, 1970s-1980s, 1990s) indicates the following: (1) most was limited to establishing statistical associations between education and recidivism without examination of causation; (2) many studies failed to distinguish participant categories; and (3) many failed to…

Key areas that have influenced the growth in prison education include the rise of public and community colleges, the liberal arts curriculum, and implementation of federal funding systems such as the Pell Grant program. These same areas, especially the ban on inmate use of Pell Grants, may have influenced its recent constriction as well. (Contains…

A meta-analysis of studies from correctional departments in New York, Texas, Maryland, Ohio, and North Carolina as well as Bureau of Justice Statistics data showed lower recidivism rates for participants in the following: General Educational Development preparation, high school completion programs, academic and vocational education, and…