NCJ Number
238905
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 63 Issue: 1 Dated: April 2012 Pages: 6-23
Date Published
April 2012
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effectiveness of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program on offenders' participation in educational programs.
Abstract
Educational achievement has been shown to be negatively correlated with recidivism among those released from prison (Nuttall, Hollmen, and Staley, 2003). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a prison art rehabilitation program, Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), on inmate participation in voluntary educational programs. RTA participants were compared to a sample of incarcerated men matched on age, ethnicity, crime, date of entry into prison, time served, and earliest release date. Data analyses revealed that (1)there was a trend towards more RTA participants completing educational degrees beyond the GED while in the custody of the Department of the Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) than those in the comparison group, 2 (2) = 5.465, p=0.65; (2) RTA participants spent about the same proportion of time engaged in GED programs as the comparisons, but less time after joining RTA, F(1,56) = 4.110, p=0.47; and (3) RTA participants who entered DOCS with a high school diploma spent proportionally more time engaged in college programs, but only after joining RTA, than the comparisons, F(1,32) = 5.457, p=0.26. Arts programs may motivate those with long sentences to pursue educational degrees. (Published Abstract)