NCJ Number
152538
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 74 Issue: 4 Dated: special issue (December 1994) Pages: complete issue
Editor(s)
G F Vito
Date Published
1994
Length
82 pages
Annotation
Five articles discuss various aspects of access to, components of, and the outcomes of inmate educational programs.
Abstract
The first article examines the successes and problems of a functional literacy program for jail inmates in Jefferson County (Louisville) Ky. The author focuses on identifying significant structural, organizational, and personnel issues involved in planning, developing, and initiating such a program. Another article analyzes the functional literacy education for jail inmates in Hillsborough County, Fla. This program uses computer- assisted instruction for basic literacy education and GED preparation. Participants made statistically significant gains in knowledge during 6 weeks of instruction. The third study examines the prison behavior and postrelease recidivism of more than 14,000 inmates released from Texas prisons in 1991 and 1992. Comparisons were made between participants and nonparticipants in prison education programs on a variety of behavioral outcomes. The fourth article presents a study designed to test the hypothesis that there is an association between the method of participation (mandatory or voluntary) in a prison literacy program and academic achievement. No such association was found, however. The fifth study found that female inmates had less access to educational programs than male inmates in two Japanese prisons studied, and that the educational programs offered the female inmates tended to reflect gender-role stereotypes. Tables and references accompany each article.