NCJ Number
89387
Date Published
1982
Length
161 pages
Annotation
This study found that inmates enroll in college courses for self-improvement and to prepare for better free-world jobs, but the hypothesis that inmates enrolled in college courses would have fewer disciplinary incidents than those not enrolled was not supported by the data.
Abstract
A questionnaire was used to obtain motivational data from randomly selected college-enrollee inmates. Eighty-five responses were included in the analysis. The noncollege group consisted of 28 randomly selected subjects who were included in the analysis of disciplinary factors. Black enrollees were primarily motivated in their courses by self-improvement goals, while whites were more interested in better free-world work opportunities. Those inmates involved in long-term college attendance while incarcerated tended to seek self-esteem from college course achievements. Motivation for enrollment was not found to be related to the variables of age, sex, preincarceration education, semester hours completed, good time classification, or number of disciplinary infractions. Disciplinary infractions were classified into fighting, victimless offenses, authority conflict, and 'other.' The expected differences in the number of infractions committed by college enrollees compared to noncollege inmates and as compared between college groups were not realized. Findings suggest that enrollees in college programs may have become involved in more disciplinary infractions after enrolling than before. The appendixes contain the questionnaire and other information related to the study. About 130 bibliographic entries are provided. (Author abstract modified)