Journal of Correctional Education

Report From the European Prison Education Association

A special feature of the conference was that it brought together a range of stakeholders', all of whom have their particular role to play in optimizing the effectiveness of European cooperation in prison education and training as a means of promoting the successful reintegration of offenders. On the basis of this dialogue, it is hoped that the conference will play an important role in identifying emergent trends and needs in the area of prison education and training, and making strategic rec...

United States Department of Education Update

Dr. Gaes' paper did an excellent job of summing up this body of research and putting it into perspective. Since the Roundtable in 2008, Dr. Gaes revisited and expanded his paper which is readily accessible on the web site for the Roundtable at the Urban Institute (See: www.urban.org, and search "reentry roundtable, education").

Andragogical Methods and Readiness for the Correctional Ged Classroom

If adult learning theory techniques were applied in an orientation before placing students in a GED class, some inmates potentially were prevented from forming habits of inattention, resistant behaviors, and inertia, an ethos that blocked cognition (Stromquist, 1993). If the adult was first greeted with respect in the learning environment and became involved in the inquiry with the teacher, a period of reorientation could be necessary. Since the GED program was mandatory, even andragogical ...

Juvenile Correctional Schools: Assessment and Accountability Policies and Practices

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. Results indicated that the majority of students with or without disabilities in JC schools participated in state assessments. The most common basis...

Offender Perceptions On the Value of Employment

[...] there is a need to enhance the quality and quantity of work opportunities available in penitentiaries to develop the emptoyability of offenders. The challenges to providing quality employment programs have been identified as competing demands for program participation (i.e., correctional programs to address criminogenic needs and the correctional plan), penitentiary routines, a desire to earn money through paid prison work, short sentences (less than 12 months), staff attitudes (i.e., ...

Ged Holders in Prison Read Better Than Those in the Household Population: Why?

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 finding, the authors reviewed literature on inmate achievement, conducted a more detailed analysis of the NAAL and GED data bases and surveyed leaders in c...