Conferences are an ideal opportunity for correctional educators to share experiences and discuss policy. Papers and publications provide the opportunity to open up debate about the philosophy of prison education and develop ideas to further enhance the practice. There have been a number of publications and conference papers from various sources…

The purpose of this study is to understand the importance of programs, tools and resources in correctional education programs, as perceived by students. Data for this study was gathered from a survey of all students (n=281) enrolled in educational programs at the Kentucky State Reformatory during a one month period of 2004. This includes all…

The purpose of this article is to connect theories Austin MacCormick discussed in his 1931 book "The Education of Adult Prisoners" with examples from modern correctional education practice. The author began teaching an institutional plumbing class in 2000, equipped with an undergraduate degree in elementary education and a master's degree in…

This article explains and analyzes the practical application of the Socratic method in the context of inmate education, and identifies core critical thinking elements that emerge from four transcribed Socratic discussions with prison inmates. The paper starts with a detailed examination of the stages of the Socratic method as practiced by the…

Delinquent youths' proclivity to return to school after release from placement in a juvenile residential institution has been significantly discouraged before their 18th birthday. Often, years of poor education performance and failure, discipline issues, neighborhood and family debilitation, older age, adjudication stigmatization, and other…

This particular lesson was developed for Cognitive Skills I, a central course in cognitive restructuring at the Mt. Olive Correctional Center. In this lesson the author developed a series of classroom activities to allow students to examine and assess current beliefs they possess, and to understand how these beliefs--whether judged rational or…

Recent information on the incidence and types of language and communication problems experienced by female delinquents and the relation they have to emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) indicate a contribution to the problems these girls have encountered in social and academic situations. Pragmatics (i.e., use of language in interpersonal…

The Department of Education hosted a rare "technical training" for State correctional education directors and data managers this spring titled "Making Data Work for You." Forty-eight States participated. This was a welcome opportunity for face-to-face contact with correctional education administrators from across the U.S. More than ten States…

It has just been announced that the 11th European Prison Education Association (EPEA) International Conference will take place in Dublin, Ireland from the 13th to 17th June 2007. Further details and an application form will be available in September 2006. Regular updates will be available at www.epea.org.

Nine women, representing a range of ages, ethnic identities, and educational levels, who were completing detention sentences in a halfway house setting in the Midwest were interviewed to gain insight into their perceptions of education. The researcher found that the women consistently spoke about what makes a teacher "good". Some of the…

This article profiles Elizabeth Gurney Fry, an English prison reformer, social reformer and philanthropist. Born on May 21, 1780, into a wealthy and prominent Quaker family in Norwich, England, Elizabeth Gurney was the third of twelve children born to John and Catherine Gurney. As Elizabeth was growing and struggling with the meaning of her life,…

Dr. Miriam Van Waters was the superintendent (warden) of the Massachusetts Reformatory for Women at Framingham for twenty-five years. She has the distinct honor of holding that position the longest. In 1949, she rose to national prominence when the new Massachusetts Commissioner of Corrections, under allegations of lax administrative policies,…

This article presents some of the latest news about the United States Department of Education. Secretary Margaret Spellings assigned an expanded role for correctional education to The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) effective October 1, 2006. The correctional education direct grant programs currently in the Department's Office of…

Research shows that those who are incarcerated, as a whole, have come from difficult past environments. This leads to having a different way of learning than most others who have had successful educational experiences. Because of this, my research project focused on exploring storytelling/narrative, as a teaching strategy, and how it influences…

The current paper provides a description of instructional approaches for teaching mathematics to secondary students with learning disabilities (LD) and emotional disturbance (ED) within juvenile correctional schools. Recommendations for math instruction are based on a comprehensive review of the literature and examples are provided from an urban…