The Influence of Educational Attainment on the Attitudes and Job Performance of Correctional Officers

Abstract

Some prison managers assume that recruitment of correctional officers with postsecondary educational credentials promotes job satisfaction and offender rehabilitation. This assumption was tested using a sample of 218 officers. Results supported earlier findings that postsecondary education correlates with endorsement of rehabilitation and job dissatisfaction. However, university graduates were not more willing than less-educated officers to engage in offender treatment and there were no apparent effects of education on job performance, job involvement, and career development needs. The findings imply that education alone cannot enhance correctional outcomes and lead to the professionalization of correctional officers.