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.

A widely cited Emory University study found that while 76% of incarcerated Americans return to prison within five years, that rate drops to 55% for those who take high school classes, 30% for those who complete vocational training, and 13.7% for those who complete an associate degree. Community colleges play a key role in ensuring that people…

Numerous offenders are incarcerated in the United States. Many of these offenders will eventually be released without receiving any additional education or vocational training. The purpose of this mixed-method research study was to explore the lived experiences of (31) offenders who completed a GED/Vocational correctional education program,…

Discussions surrounding incarcerated juveniles, education programs, and recidivism are difficult to find. In fact, gathering data is incredibly difficult in juvenile facilities because of high turnover rates and difficult of obtaining permission to conduct studies in juvenile facilities (Calderone, Bennett, Homan, Dedrick, & Chatfield, 2009;…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine the relationship between teachers' perception of lead teacher/principal's leadership style and student academic achievement in the areas of GED attainment, WorkKeys certification attainment, and vocational certification attainment in the Palmetto Unified School District…

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…

The 2000s saw a change in South Africa's Department of Correctional Services' theorising about adult education's potential to shift incarcerated men's thinking about their future in a proactive way. The plan was to advance active citizenship in the incarcerated. As such, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) introduced holistic, integrated…

Using all Arkansas correctional releases from 2005-2016 of adults who at intake lacked high school diplomas or GEDs, the authors examined how correctional education and its moderating factors affect recidivism (N = 32,174) and post-release employment (N = 40,667). Completion of GED and vocational programs were associated with financially viable…

Nearly all incarcerated adults will eventually be released to reenter communities and rebuild their lives. The literature indicates half of re-entering adults return to prison within five years and recidivism is higher for adults with low education attainment. The aim of this paper is to add to existing knowledge on incarcerated adult…

The purpose of this quantitative, pretest-posttest causal-comparative with control condition study was to examine if there was a difference in misconduct, as measured by reduction in occurrences of disciplinary infractions while incarcerated. General strain theory of criminal behavior provided the theoretical context for this study. The Arizona…

In this response article, the author agrees with Jacobson that the labeling of individuals as "hard to serve" is unfortunate and misdirected in that it suggests that these students are somehow deficient and are the problem rather than identifying complex systemic issues that make some adult education programs necessary in the first…

The new Minnesota Standard Adult High School Diploma program has evolved into a viable secondary credential option within the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC). This competency-based credential broadened the scope of instruction to include digital literacy and work readiness, providing hope and opportunity for individuals struggling to…

Despite the widespread popularity of mindfulness as a wellness intervention strategy across educational levels, its proponents are susceptible to countering the intended area of improvement. This article recounts the cumulative reflections of an educator and his attempts to implement mindfulness into high school classes at the Los Angeles County…

On Dec. 21, 2020, Congress lifted the 26-year ban on federal student aid--specifically, the Pell grant--for those who are incarcerated. The decision came after a long push for prison reforms that included calls for a greater emphasis on rehabilitation, reducing prison populations, and making prison sentences less harsh. New England has long been a…

To date, the large body of literature on the provision of education in prison has received the most empirical attention and has produced mixed results; however, there is some evidence that indicates participation in vocational or academic programming is related to modest reductions in recidivism after release. For those receiving correctional…