This article reports that the 11th European Prison Education Association International Conference will take place in Dublin, Ireland from June 13 to June 17, 2007. The conference, which was titled "Learning for Liberation," will focus on the exploration of what adult education can offer prison/correctional education. This article also presents the…

The need for English as a Second Language (ESL) programs is growing in many correctional populations. Little information for correctional educators regarding effective practices for non-native speakers of English is available. Although concerns that exist for the mainstream correctional education population are similar to those for ESL students,…

Incarceration is an anxiety- and depression-inducing experience. These states are maximal at prison intake, when the offender is struggling to adjust to dramatic changes in daily life. At intake, offenders undergo a wide array of assessments, many of which determine the services and treatment that they will receive. In the Commonwealth of…

This article highlights several issues related to the collection of post-release outcome data in the evaluation of correctional education programs and identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the different methods of collecting data related to recidivism, employment/earnings, and further education/training. The use of traditional follow-up in…

Although many correctional education studies have identified various treatment programs as being effective for reducing recidivism, few, if any, of these studies appear to be above reproach when assessing their methodological vigor. This paper highlights the shortcomings in the current post-treatment quasi-experimental design primarily used to…

An action research project was undertaken by a GED instructor at a rural county jail. A survey tool was developed to determine if the perceived needs of the students were being met by the educational and rehabilitative programs currently offered to them. Data from the survey were grouped into four domains: perceived inmate need, attitude toward…

The main activity of the European Prison Education Association over the last number of months has been organizing the 11th EPEA conference in Dublin, Ireland in 2007. Application forms to attend the conference (13th-17th June 2007), are available to download at www.epea.org. Applications can be submitted online or by regular mail. The closing date…

This update reports on the activities of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), which includes the implementation of the new Perkins Vocational Education Act passed by the 109th Congress and signed by President Bush on August 12, 2006. There is also significant activity in preparation for the scheduled reauthorization of the Adult…

Based on an examination of the earnings records of ex-offenders released from Virginia correctional institutions from fiscal year 1999 to 2003, this article provides an industrial profile testing the presumption that most ex-offenders are only able to find employment in low-level occupations, with low rates of job retention, and limited customer…

Moderate physical activity provides substantial health benefits for individuals not only in fitness, athletic, and health organizations, but also for individuals who struggle with addictions and behaviors in correctional programs. The purpose of this pilot study is to examine the relationship between physical activity and offender attitudes. The…

Recognizing that a solid pre-trial drug intervention program is a vital first step in educating first-time offenders about the seriousness of drug abuse and criminal behavior, staff at the Intervention Program for Substance Abusers in Montgomery County, Maryland's Department of Correction and Rehabilitation decided that better strategies were…

Vocational education programs show promise for reducing recidivism, measured most typically through re-arrest and re-incarceration data, among adult offenders. Yet, such programs for women in U.S. correctional facilities have more often provided training in gender-stereotyped and lower-paid professions when compared to vocational programs in men's…

In this update, Linton describes the Life Skills for State and Local Prisoners Program and discusses why this reentry program has been successful. This program competitively funds three-year demonstration projects that provide life skills instruction in either state correctional facilities or jails. Both state and local correctional systems are…

This paper is the first of regular reports on the activities of the European Prison Education Association (EPEA). As many correctional educators may be unfamiliar with the EPEA, this article will outline some details about the history and policies of the organization.

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…