NCJ Number
121667
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 40 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1989) Pages: 108-114
Date Published
1989
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A major aspect of the rehabilitative process is the teaching of life skills to prison inmates.
Abstract
Most inmates come to prison both uneducated and unskilled. It is thought that by educating inmates, they will be better able to achieve gainful employment once they are paroled and therefore have a greater chance of staying out of trouble. In New York prisons, education programs are made available to all inmates for free. Yet many inmates refuse to attend school. By using data gathered in a survey of 230 inmates incarcerated in Eastern New York Correctional Facility, this study compares the characteristics of those inmates who attend school and those who do not attend school. Demographic characteristics such as age, race, religion, marital status, and previous residence are compared, as well as the number of previous prison sentences served, the length of time served on the present sentence and the length of time to serve before appearing at the parole board, prison disciplinary record, participation in the other prison programs, family support, and attitudes toward both college and employment. This research should be useful to prison administrators interested in maximizing the number of inmates who avail themselves of the potentially-rehabilitating effects of education while incarcerated. It should provide clues to the recruitment of men for high school education, as well as a data-based profile of the current audience for such schooling. 4 tables, 3 notes, bibliography. (Author abstract)