About the Report The Report, Part II: Review of the Re-Entry Process:

chapters and policy statements:
About the Report of the Re-Entry Council

Policy Statement 15, Research Highlight 3

Research indicates that prison educational and vocational programs can improve behavior, reduce recidivism, and increase employment prospects upon release.

Despite the longevity of prison educational and vocational programs within the corrections system, rigorous evaluative research on the effectiveness of these programs is limited. However, a number of recent studies have found that participation in prison education, job training, and placement programs is associated with improved outcomes, including reduced recidivism. [1]   The most effective programs are those aimed at released prisoners in the mid-twenties or older; these individuals may be more motivated to change their lifestyles than their younger counterparts. Results from the largest and most comprehensive correctional education and recidivism study to date show lower rates of recidivism among inmates who participated in these programs. [2]   In this study of over 3,000 prisoners, reincarceration was 29 percent lower among education program participants than among nonparticipants. In addition, the study found that individuals who participated in prison education programs earned higher wages upon release than nonparticipants. There is also evidence that involvement in job training and placement programs can lead to employment and lower recidivism. [3]   Recidivism rates of participants in prison education, vocation, and work programs have been found to be 20 to 60 percent lower than those of nonparticipants. [4]   Participants in work programs are more likely to be employed following release and have higher earnings than nonparticipants. [5]  

  1. Gerald G. Gaes et al., "Adult Correctional Treatment," in Michael Tonry and Joan Petersilia (eds.), Prisons (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1999); Kim A. Hull et al., "Analysis of Recidivism Rates for Participants of the Academic/Vocational/Transition Education Programs Offered by the Virginia Department of Correctional Education," Journal of Correctional Education 51, no. 2 (2000): 256-61; Kenneth Adams et al., "A Large-Scale Multidimensional Test of the Effect of Prison Education on Prisoners' Behavior," The Prison Journal 74, no. 4 (2001): 433-449. back
  2. Steven Steurer, Linda Smith, and Alice Tracy, Three-State Recidivism Study (Lanham, MD: Correctional Educational Association, 2001). back
  3. David Wilson, Catherine Gallagher, and Doris MacKenzie, "A Meta-Analysis of Corrections-Based Education, Vocation, and Work Programs for Adult Offenders," Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 37 (2001): 347-68. back
  4. Shawn Bushway, "Reentry and Prison Work Programs" (paper presented at the Urban Institute's Reentry Roundtable, May 2003); Kim A. Hull et al., "Analysis of Recidivism Rates for Participants of the Academic/Vocational/Transition Education Programs Offered by the Virginia Department of Correctional Education," Journal of Correctional Education 51, no. 2 (2000): 256-61; Steven Steurer, Linda Smith, and Alice Tracy, Three-State Recidivism Study (Lanham, MD: Correctional Educational Association, 2001). back
  5. Kenneth Adams et al., "A Large-Scale Multidimensional Test of the Effect of Prison Education on Prisoners' Behavior," The Prison Journal 74, no. 4 (2001): 433-449. Steven Steurer, Linda Smith, and Alice Tracy, Three-State Recidivism Study (Lanham, MD: Correctional Educational Association, 2001). back
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