This article reports findings from an impact study of a 2-year postsecondary academic program offered in state prisons. Outcomes examined for participants during their 1st year of participation include performance on a standardized test of critical thinking skills, credit acquisition, achievement motivation, educational aspirations, personal…

Scope and method of study. This inquiry, using survey and interview techniques, demonstrated both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. In this study, effective teacher traits related to successful classroom structure in the correctional environment for adult students with a wide variety of issues, problems and learning difficulties…

Early resistance theorists analyzed working class students' oppositional behavior at a time of high availability of viable jobs in manufacturing. They argued that oppositional behavior constituted a rejection of middle class culture motivated by an implicit understanding of the myth of meritocracy. But times have changed. This paper seeks to…

Numerous research studies have demonstrated the economic value of investing in effective early education and intervention programs that cognitively, socially, and emotionally prepare low-income children at risk of school failure for success in school. School readiness prevents or reduces needless public spending, starting with K-12 special…

The purpose of this study was to explore with key members of the Pilot Reintegration Education Program (PREP) Advisory Committee, the characteristics of their interagency process and how they perceived that these factors contributed to accomplishing the common objective of providing a smooth and effective transition for students between release…

Suspension increases the likelihood of a student being expelled, dropping out, and being incarcerated, a phenomenon dubbed the "school to prison pipeline". One less punitive model of discipline that is gaining popularity worldwide is "restorative justice". Though restorative justice is now being used in the US to address racial…

The educational experience for an inmate is part of an ethos of personal restriction. Within the social and physical restriction of prison, the research assessed the extent to which andragogical treatment could influence inmate mood and behavior in the classroom. The need to improve inmate readiness for the Federal Bureau of Prisons mandatory GED…

Research confirms that students with disabilities (e.g., emotional and behavioral disabilities, learning disabilities, and developmental delays) are overrepresented in correctional facilities across the United States. The literature suggests several reasons for the overrepresentation of students with disabilities in the correctional system: (a)…

Recognizing the unprecedented proliferation of prisons in the United States, Blackout Arts Collective (BAC), a grassroots organization working to empower communities of color through the arts, education, and activism, launched a national tour--"Lyrics on Lockdown (LOL): Slamming the Prison Industrial Complex." As a BAC member, I participated in…

Giroux (2003) indicated that the prison industry has become a major economic industry with many states spending more money on prison reforms than on educational reforms. Juvenile delinquent behavior should be punished but fair treatment and equal rights for all human beings under the rule of law is paramount to punishment. Casella (2001) indicated…

As prison populations soar at unprecedented rates, the need for high quality education behind bars has never been greater. Prison education programs are the vehicle for reform and may be the solution to curtailing an ever-growing prison population. Yet, as the public sector increasingly contracts with the private sector for prison management,…

Although research has demonstrated education programs are an effective way of reducing recidivism, little has been done to investigate the role of prison administrators in supporting such programs. State Chief Correction Officers (CCOs) from the 50 states and one from the District of Columbia were invited to complete surveys concerning…

This report explores mentoring as a tool for supporting the successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals within the context of a larger reentry strategy--in this case, the "Ready4Work" model. "Ready4Work" was a three-year national demonstration designed to address the needs of the growing ex-prisoner population and to test the…

Problems associated with poor quality parent-child relationships are compounded for incarcerated girls. Using attachment theory as a framework, the present qualitative study examined how 18 incarcerated adolescent girls made meaning with regard to their parents' drug use. We found that 8 of the 18 girls used drugs with their parents as a…

This article is based on the sociological analysis of the experiences and perspectives of five young men making the transition out of one state's end-of-the-line maximum security juvenile correctional facility and attempting to reenter the community as emerging adults. As part of a larger ethnographic study of violent offenders in a cottage, these…