Novice prison teachers experience confusion and disorientation--culture shock--when they go to teach in prison because teaching and prison cultures collide. The stages of acculturation associated with culture shock are predictable and so are the identities and experiences of teachers who are positioned by the cultural dynamics of prison teaching.…

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of adult prisoner presentations on juvenile delinquents. The study involved twenty-four students incarcerated in a low security facility for male adolescents. Two adult male prisoners and a guard from a minimum-security federal prison came to the juvenile correctional facility to talk with …

If correctional education aims to transform individuals and bring about change, we need to consider the whole person who comes with human needs, emotions and attitudes. In order to expand our approach, alternative programs should be explored. A somewhat unusual but very promising approach to address offenders' human needs is the use of animals in …

To examine the perception of instructors who teach in prison college programs, two studies were conducted, the first in 1993 and the second in 2003. Three areas of measurement were included in the survey instrument sent to professors working in the Ball State University's Prison Program, Muncie, IN. The first measurement was that of instructors'…

In this update, Linton discusses the role of educational programs within correctional institutions. These programs normally receive varying degrees of support from state to state, but two exceptions are the federally administered Life Skills for State and Local Prisoners Program and the Grants to States for Workplace and Community Transition…

The issue of recidivism among federal, state, and local offenders released from custody has made it to the front burner of government and public policy analysts after a decade of building and filling correctional facilities. In this paper, the author, a County Sheriff, discusses his joint effort with the St. Francis House Moving Ahead Program in…

In this article, Bates, the Inmate Programs Manager of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Tampa, Florida, describes her office's Life Skills Project, a comprehensive program that has significantly enhanced three existing programs by adding extensive life skills components. The added life skills modules reinforce the importance of…

In this article, the author, Program Administrator of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) Project New Attitudes in Clearwater, Florida, describes the project. The PCSO is the country's largest law enforcement agency, providing law enforcement services to over 400,000 of its residents who reside in the unincorporated areas of the county and…

In this article, the author describes the San Francisco Sheriff's Department (SFSD) Life Skills for Prisoners Program. The program was designed to enhance and expand the Resolve to Stop the Violence Project, which had operated successfully for three years in the San Francisco County Jail as a restorative justice program. The mission of SFSD is to…

In this article, the author describes the Lifeskills for Women program of the Shelby County Division of Corrections (Memphis, Tennessee). The program offers strategies and approaches to reversing faulty cognitive systems and behavioral patterns of incarcerated women preparing for community reentry. First implemented in 1997, and subsequently…

This paper presents updates on the recent activities of the European Prison Education Association. The main activity of the Association during the quarter has been the biennial conference, "Challenges for European Prison Education: Let's make the changes together," which was held in Sofia, Bulgaria. The conference was open to prison educators…

There is a growing national movement in corrections embracing offender reentry. In a very brief period of time, innovative and ambitious initiatives have been launched at all levels of government and by untold groups and community organizations to build more effective responses to the myriad of challenges presented by reentry. The International…

The number of female prisoners continues to grow in the United States, yet most examinations of how to increase reintegration and reduce recidivation focus on the needs of the predominantly male prisoner population. As a result, prison education programs and post-release environments often leave women unprepared and facing special risks. This…

Job Fairs have taken on an increasingly important role in correctional education and transition programming. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has been instrumental in promoting mock job fairs in all federal prison facilities. The focus of this research project was to understand how widespread the use of job fairs is in state prisons and correctional…

This paper describes the "Think Exit at Entry" program that has become the guiding principle for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). The Georgia DJJ believes that the transition process begins the day the youth enters the system and continues well after release from the institution. Literature points the need for transition planning…