Does Correctional Education Have an Effect on Recidivism

Abstract

This research focuses on the social and political issues surrounding the issue of correctional edu cation and its effects, and the findings of seven published studies conducted in a variety of regions throughout the US. These findings include data and conclusions supplied by Bureau of Justice Statis tics (nationwide) and a comprehensive study (Anderson, 1991) focusing on successful characteristics of releasees. A study conducted by the state of New York Department of Corrections, comparing GED completers and non-GED completers and their rate of recidivism, has been examined. Two studies conducted by the States of Texas and Maryland Departments of Corrections are examined to evaluate the effectiveness of academic and vocational programs on recidivism. Finally, studies conducted by Wilmington College in Ohio and the North Carolina Department of Corrections, focusing on post-secondary correctional education, have been analyzed. Does correctional education have an effect on recidivism? The studies examined here indicate that it does. Students who successfully completed the GED requirements, while incarcerated, recidivated at a lower rate than did students in the comparison group who did not. Releasees that participated in correctional academic and vocational programs tended to recidivate at a lower rate than did those who did not. Students who completed high school requirements while incarcerated recidivated at a lower rate than those who did not. And, finally, individuals who participated in and/or completed post secondary programs recidivated at a lower rate than those who did not. We must accept the reality that to confine offenders behind walls without trying to change them is an expensive folly with short term benefits—winning battles while losing the war. — Former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger (Taylor, 1993, p. 90.)