The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has developed two methods of working with low-literacy students. One is testing for accommodations for GED testing. The other is integrating the STAR literacy program for adult readers.

This article presents findings from a participatory evaluation of alumni groups--Think Tanks--affiliated with the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Think Tanks are cocurricular settings wherein participants develop and apply skills and capacities valuable within and beyond the context of meetings. Data come from nine focus groups convened in…

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about massive change to adult education programs, with many programs either closing or pivoting to virtual instruction almost overnight. Programs in correctional settings, where internet access is less available, appeared particularly hard hit with pandemic closures. In January 2022, the Prison Literacy…

In 2017, a mathematics education intervention in the Doña Ana County Detention Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico, was begun by two retired professors of mathematics as a volunteer project. The program now provides internship and master's thesis opportunities for students in the Department of Criminal Justice at New Mexico State University. The…

Throughout the field of corrections in the United States, the prevalent question in regard to reentry preparation of offenders is, "what works?" With a renewed focus on providing meaningful program opportunities for offenders that enable real and sustained changes for reentry success, which has been partially driven by overcrowded prison…

Much of the public does not realize that incarcerated individuals have the opportunity, and at times are mandated, to participate in adult education programming. Thus, teaching in the corrections setting is something that many people never consider as a career option. There are no undergraduate or graduate majors that can prepare someone to teach…

Despite less than optimal conditions, correctional classrooms provide a unique opportunity to make an impact on a student population often overlooked and avoided. Although there is a great demand for prison educators, attracting and retaining qualified teachers remains a constant challenge for prison school administrators. This mixed-methods study…

Prisons across the United States of America are faced with finding ways to reduce illiteracy rates across adult education. One strategy is to offer reading programs that are based on the science of reading. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine if adults in treatment groups across five midwestern correctional institutions who received a…

Why do inmates participate in educational activities? Is it for the main reasons that individuals belonging to general population do, or do the reasons differ significantly? The present study sought to determine the motives that drive adult prisoners to take part in educational programmes offered in prison. The study took part in Korydallos…

Incarceration costs are high; in Australia, for example, each prisoner costs an average of AUD 115,000 per year. Other countries are also feeling the fiscal pinch of high incarceration costs, and a number of jurisdictions are now closing some of their prisons. Most prison costs are non-discretionary (accommodation, meals, etc.). But some of the…

Most evaluations of the effectiveness of correctional education use the distal outcomes of recidivism and post-release employment as the dependent variables (e.g., Aos et al., 2006; Davis et al., 2013). This synthesis sought to determine the effectiveness of correctional education at improving proximal academic outcomes among incarcerated adult…

Correctional Education English as a Second Language (ESL) literacy programs vary from state to state, region to region. Some states enroll their correctional ESL students in adult basic education (ABE) classes; other states have separate classes and programs. At the Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup, the ESL class is a self-contained…

This guide is designed to help readers take the first steps towards continuing their education, whether that means learning English, working towards a High School Equivalency (HSE), learning an occupation, or building on college credits already earned. This guide walks readers through the process of setting educational goals and getting organized;…

Objective: The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991, 2003) is often used to assess risk of violence, perhaps based on the assumption that it captures emotionally detached individuals who are driven to prey upon others. This study is designed to assess the relation between (a) core interpersonal and affective traits of psychopathy and…

In prison, a man has the opportunity to learn something that is lacking in the world outside: respect. He respects those who respect him, because he has learned the value of respect. Another important opportunity is the chance to get on the education ladder and to earn some self-respect. The author was assessed as "illiterate" when he was jailed…