The Report > Review of the Re-Entry Process > Prison and Jail > Education and Vocation Training

B: Prison and Jail

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

In this chapter:

  • Overview
  • Research Highlights:
  • Recommendations:

    • 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. No citation found for FN_adult-correctional-treatment! ; No citation found for FN_analysis-of-recidivism-rates-for-participants-of-the-academic-slash-vocational-slash-transition-education-programs-offered-by-the-virginia-department-of-correctional-education! ; No citation found for FN_a-large-scale-multidimensional-test-of-the-effect-of-prison-education-on-prisoners-behavior! .

      back

    2. No citation found for FN_three-state-recidivism-study! .

      back

    3. No citation found for FN_a-meta-analysis-of-corrections-based-education-vocation-and-work-programs-for-adult-offenders! .

      back

    4. Shawn Bushway, "Reentry and Prison Work Programs" (paper presented at the Urban Institute's Reentry Roundtable, May 2003); No citation found for FN_analysis-of-recidivism-rates-for-participants-of-the-academic-slash-vocational-slash-transition-education-programs-offered-by-the-virginia-department-of-correctional-education! ; No citation found for FN_three-state-recidivism-study! .

      back

    5. No citation found for FN_a-large-scale-multidimensional-test-of-the-effect-of-prison-education-on-prisoners-behavior! . No citation found for FN_three-state-recidivism-study! .

      back
    Explore the Justice Center’s Websites
    CSG Justice Center Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project Justice Reinvestment National Reentry Resource Center Reentry Policy Council