Research suggests that intervening in the lives of children with an incarcerated parent to preserve and strengthen positive family connections can yield constructive societal benefits in the form of reduced recidivism, less intergenerational criminal justice system involvement and the promotion of healthy child development (Christian, 2009). Since…

As funding has become available through the Second Chance Act of 2007, many correctional facilities have developed new educational programs in an effort to ease the transition from prison to community. Many new programs are developed based on the belief that incarcerated individuals are a special and unique population of student. The present…

The goal of this study was to determine whether adult students incarcerated at a large correctional facility in New England use the provided scientific calculator appropriately when taking the Official GED Practice Test in mathematics. 13 students were interviewed after taking a practice test and asked for their strategy for solving each problem.…

The North Carolina Workplace and Community Transition Youth Offender Program (YOP), recently renamed the Incarcerated Individuals Program (IPP), has proven to be effective in terms of its growth and expansion, the support of education directors across the correctional facilities, university collaboration, student evaluations, and a low recidivism…

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…

Researchers have rarely examined post-release employment among offenders during a period of economic recession. However, studies on employment issues among post-release offenders have showed that released offenders would likely have a higher unemployment rate due to their inadequate education and job skills (Batiuk, 1997; Harlow, 2003; Vacca,…

Research in correctional education has focused on examining outcomes for participants and identifying principles and guidelines that reflect best practice. Relatively few studies have focused on postsecondary education programs and fewer still have sought to relate program implementation to student outcomes to inform program design and improve…

The educational experience for an inmate is part of an ethos of personal restriction. Within the social and physical restriction of prison, the research assessed the extent to which andragogical treatment could influence inmate mood and behavior in the classroom. The need to improve inmate readiness for the Federal Bureau of Prisons mandatory GED…

This study focused on school-level approaches to assessment and accountability policies and practices. A national random sample of 131 (34.22%) principals from juvenile correctional schools for committed youth (JC) responded to a mail and on-line survey. No statistically significant differences existed between respondent and nonrespondent schools.…

Given the histories of employment instability of the offenders entering correctional systems, enhancing an offender's vocational skills is an important need to address prior to their reintegration into the community. The purpose of the current research was to examine offender perceptions of the value of employment and crime, obtained as part of a…

The National Adult Literacy Survey, conducted by the U.S. Department of Education in 1992 and 2003, included federal and state prisoners. One finding of the 2003 survey was that prisoners with a GED scored higher in reading skills than persons in the general population with the equivalent education. In an attempt to explain that unexpected…

This study utilized a sample of 159 inmates from a small Northwest Indiana correctional facility to examine the educational attainment and literacy proficiency of the inmates. The 3rd edition of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-3) was used to assess the spelling, reading and arithmetic achievement of the inmates. Overall the results of this…

This study evaluates the efficacy of the Parenting from Prison curriculum which was implemented across Colorado correctional institutions. Parenting from Prison is a skills-based program that aims to strengthen family relationships and promote positive behaviors by increasing parental knowledge about risks, resiliency and developmental assets. A…

Research confirms that students with disabilities (e.g., emotional and behavioral disabilities, learning disabilities, and developmental delays) are overrepresented in correctional facilities across the United States. The literature suggests several reasons for the overrepresentation of students with disabilities in the correctional system: (a)…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the writing skills of incarcerated males and to examine differences in these skills based on age and race. All participants (n=115) were male, so gender was not analyzed. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics as well as a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). Results indicated wide…