Prison education

Prison education, also known as Inmate Education and Correctional Education, is a broad term that encompasses any number of educational activities occurring inside a prison. These educational activities include both vocational training and academic education. The goal of such activities is to prepare the prisoner for success outside of prison and to enhance the rehabilitative aspects of prison.

Educational programs offered inside prisons are typically provided and managed by the prison systems in which they reside. Funding for the programs are provided through official correctional department budgets, private organizations (e.g. colleges, nonprofits, etc.), and the prisoners or their families, if the prisoner is pursuing education through a correspondence program. Educational opportunities can be divided into two general categories: academic education and vocational training.

Academic education usually is provided in the form of GED or literacy classes. These free classes assist the prisoner in learning to read, write, and perform basic mathematical computations. This is especially important in a correctional setting because, compared to the general population, prisoners are an under-educated group – who maintain less than 5th grade proficiency in reading and writing – coming from a culture of poverty, with few skills for handling everyday tasks, and little or no experience in a trade or career. Hence, many require significant remedial help before they can attend more advanced educational classes. Academic education in prison is to prepare the prisoner to take the official GED tests – the official high school diploma equivalent – and to hopefully further their education with more advanced studies.

After the student earns a GED, they are then usually offered the opportunity to further their education through in-prison programs. This continued education is coined Adult Continuing Education in the federal prison system and is also free to participants. These are courses which are led by inmate-instructors and encompass any number of topics. For example, at FCI-Petersburg, the Education Department offers Writing and Publishing, Personal Finance, Spanish, Basic Math, Legal Basics, and more.

There is growing support for better reentry strategies and other means of lowering recidivism rates by bringing higher education back to prisons.

College level education is also offered. In-person college-level programs offered through partnerships with local colleges and universities is the most effective, Due to funding and staffing concerns the most used form for teaching college courses in prison is through mail correspondence.

Education helps with the most onerous obstacle to keeping out of prison—finding gainful employment. Legitimate employment is the basis for other requirements on the outside, including the ability to pay for housing and food. Holding a degree or certificate is a boost to these effort. Pell funding holds an added potential of making religious programming, study, and training more widely available. The expansion of religious programming is a boon for prison culture since involvement in religion is associated with positive outcomes for prisoners, including lower recidivism, improved self-esteem, and movement away from gang subcultures. Increased opportunity for religious study is a unique aspect of education known to transform the lives of inmates. This is likely due to the content of religion itself. As religion deals with ultimate issues, including one’s worldview and morality, religious education may be a special ally in the quest for rehabilitation.

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Wikipedia