APA RESEARCH PAPER

APA Research Paper

Outline

Introduction

Thesis Statement: The proliferation of privately funded prisons has changed the criminal justice system in America

Discussion

The Decline of Correctional Education: The Higher Education Act of 1965 by Congress created the federal Pell Grant (prior to this date it was called Basic Opportunity Educational Grants) that afforded American citizens the opportunity to seek postsecondary education, all or in part free of charge given to those who qualified.

African-American Male Prisoners and Educational Attainment: Research has linked educational attainment in prison to lower recidivism rates. As crime is linked to economic hardship, there is also an apparent link to non-educated inmates and recidivism.

The Prisoners Experience after Incarceration: Several dynamics are associated with inmates once released from prison. This act is called “prisoner re-entry,” signifying when prisoners return to community after incarceration. Several factors affect African-American male inmates.

Profile of Corrections Education Students: in this section we discusses that correctional education given all the positive effects of education on recidivism.

Conclusion: this section provides an overall summary of the entire paper.

Adult Education in Prison

Introduction

There is general agreement that prisoners can improve themselves through education. Klaassen (2000) stated that the history of correctional education can be traced back 200 years to the time when ministers volunteered to teach reading in the prisons in order that inmates would be able to read the Bible; in more modem times, correctional education is linked to lower recidivism rates. Beck (2005) also explored the link between education and recidivism and concluded that inmates need and desire educational opportunities that teach not only the basics, but also skills that will foster transition back into society. The most extensive study on the link between education and recidivism by Steurer, Allman, P & Wallis (1997) showed that attending education, in any of its many forms while in prison, lowered recidivism by 23%.

This state's prison education system has four stated goals: to reduce recidivism, to reduce the cost of confinement or imprisonment, to increase the success of former inmates in obtaining and maintaining employment, and to provide incentive to inmates to behave in positive ways during confinement or imprisonment(Brookfield 2001).

Assuming it is true that correctional education students want to improve their educational skills while they are in prison, the question arises, “What motivates an inmate to attend prison education?” There is very little research on an offender's motivation to attend prison education. Beck (2005) said it is possible to rearrange and change the school environment in ways that may affect

motivation, and since Bandura (1977) stated there is a probable connection between discipline problems common to prison students and motivation for education, it would be beneficial to investigate the motivating factors for prison education.

Discussion

Educational programs in prison systems are normally called correctional education programs. The first college prison program had its inception in 1953 and a later study in 1985 by Wolford and Littlefield, found that there were 350 programs. These programs carry the main objective of offering quality programming to “improve inmates' academic ...