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Baylee Warner

Mrs. Burr, Instructor

English 1010, Section 5

22 December 2017

Education in Correctional Facilities: Worth the Cost

The United States has the highest amount of citizens in the prison system compared to

other countries, and the numbers continue to rise. Many of the convicts currently in the system

are repeat offenders, making prison workers speculate how to help nudge convicts down a

law-abiding path so as to keep ex-convicts out of the prison system. Erisman and Contardo

explained in 2005 that a vast majority of the convicts who will be liberated will either make the

choice to continue their life of crime or they will change and become law-abiding citizens (para.

in Scott 148).

The common factor between many of U.S. convicts is that they have limited education

with many not having a high school diploma or equivalent of that. There is an overpopulation of

the poor, less educated community in the prisons. In fact, nearly half of the prisoners said that

they made 800 dollars or less the month before they got arrested (Erisman et.al. 2). Hollisa

Alewine said that more than 25 percent of prisoners have not gotten their diploma at the time

they were incarcerated (9).

As of late a good education is necessary for the ability to find a career. Without access

to well-paying jobs, and the lack of education are often led to a life of crime for the shortage of

experience and their criminal background. Martin Maximino wrote that many convicts that have
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been recently released have a hard time reintegrating into society and struggle finding a new job

to be able to support themselves. Edward-Willey and Chivers wrote in 2005, “Research strongly

suggests that correctional education is a key component of reentering into society” (qtd. in Scott

150). As Scott quoted, education in prisons is a key factor in guiding convicts stay out of prisons

in the future.

After World War Ⅱ the Pell Grant came into effect giving veterans money to be able to

attain a college education. Not only was that grant available to veterans but also convicts. In the

late 1990’s the Pell Grant was taken out of effect which took much of the funding for

correctional education out. Since then State and Federal prisons have had a debate on whether or

not to fund education in prisons. Education in correctional facilities is worth the cost because it

decreases recidivism by giving convicts a way to learn how to avoid conflict and a grounding in

society once their sentence is over.

The main level of concern for education in prisons is the cost of the whole operation to be

able to take place. With such excessive amounts of convicts in the system and more coming

everyday the budget for the state and federal prisons are becoming tighter. Data from Fine et al.

explained, that a year of a convict in prison is the same as a year of going to college” (para. in

Palmer 165). The problem with that fact is that if the convicts get an education it would increase

the cost of the prisoners while in prison by a substantial amount. Wendy Erisman wrote of how

in the long run educating convicts while incarcerated will cost less:

The cost to the state of Texas for providing two years of postsecondary education

to the cohort of prisoners who earned associate’s degrees in 2003-04 was less than

$2.6 million, while the savings to taxpayers for each year the 66 additional
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ex-offenders remain out of prison would be almost $944,000. . . At the end of

three years, the savings from not incarcerating those 66 people would exceed the

costs of educating the entire cohort of prisoners who earned associate’s degrees in

2003-04 by almost $274,000 (Erisman et. al. 10).

According to this study in Texas while educating prisoners does cost quite a bit, after a course of

several years, the cost will end up less because the recidivism rate greatly depreciates in

correlation with education. “​[P]rison education programs are cost effective, with a $1

investment in prison education reducing incarceration costs by $4 to $5 during the first three

years post-release” (Education Reduces Recidivism).

John Esperian wrote in 2010 that it is more beneficial for states to dedicate the money for

correctional education because recidivism is decreased by a considerable amount (316). Also

according to Esperian, recidivism is when ex-convicts rebound to their life of crime and are

arrested again (320). In fact, many researches have revealed evidence that education is one of

the best ways to decrease recidivism (see figure 1). An Education Newspaper report in 2009

wrote that those who earned an associate degree were 70 percent less likely to recidivate; those

with a GED were 25 percent less likely and those with a certificate were 14.6 percent less likely

(Esperian 324). Thus showing that the more education a convict acquires the less likely they are

to be arrested again.

Not only does education reduce recidivism rates but also convicts have better self-esteem

and behavior. Winterfield et. al. wrote that convicts reported having more self-worth, while

Gorgol & Sponsler said that when convicts participate in the correctional education system they
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have a better understanding of how to control their emotions and judge how to react to things in a

better manner. Because of that the prisoners have less conflicts with those around them (Palmer

165). Jon Taylor wrote in 1994, “ A survey of inmates at an Indiana prison, for example, showed

that prisoners enrolled in college classes committed 75 percent fewer infractions than the average

inmate” (Erisman et. al. 7). According to these numbers most of the convicts have improved

conducts while participating in the education. This increased behavior gives them a chance to

practice how to behave when the convicts are released into society again. Žunic ́ -Pavlovic ́ wrote

in 2004 that many professionals concur that education in prisons reduce recidivism, help convicts

find jobs outside of prison, and are less difficult with those around them (para. in Jovani​ć 82).

Results from a case study prove that education help the convicts feel more “empowered” when

Figure 1. The effect of education and other activities on the rate of recidivism of prisoners in
1992 (Sedgley 506).
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they are released from prison (Scott 163).

Another conflict that can result from education in correctional facilities is the reason

that the convicts do not have a diploma of any kind is because they have a dreadful experience

with education in the past. A key point to get convicts to become more invested in education is

to make it their choice. There is a lot of resistance if the prisoner is forced into learning. The

convict must also face barriers of self-doubt and learn how to succeed in a classroom setting. A

way to be able to achieve this with convicts is to use andragogical methods. After a month or

two of these methods the convicts were more open and willing in the classroom setting (Alewine

11-15).

With the rigid budget for prison education and not enough teachers teaching in the

prisons there is not enough room for all of the prisoners to take part in the education system.

Esperian says that those who committed more serious crimes and are serving life long sentences

should not be qualified for the opportunity for furthering their education (331). Only the

convicts who have the chance of reentering society will be able to get an education from the

prison. Further, those who have bad behavior will not be able to take part of the system. That

way those who have a chance to change have the access to do so.

Prisoners also have friction against education while they are incarcerated because jobs

offer a microscopic amount of money while there while education does not offer money. Thus

more convicts end up going to work rather than furthering their education. In order to be able to

have more participation in the education opportunity there should also be a reward system for the

convicts who take advantage of the education (Jovani​ć​ 80).

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An additional worry that state and federal prisons have with correctional education is that

there is not enough resources and trained people to effectively teach the convicts. Palmer

explains that in order to get more teachers to be able to teach prisoners is a rather easy feat. All

that needs to be done is to have teachers already successful with the prisoners and have them

train the new teachers. On the other hand getting enough resources to be able to educate the

convicts is a little harder. Palmer further says that the solution to that problem is to be gather

books from libraries that are getting rid of their old books. That way the prisons will be able to

have more resources for education and it will be at no extra cost to the public through taxes

(167).

In conclusion education in correctional facilities is worth the cost. Though educating

convicts does cost quite a bit, in the long run it will save taxpayers’ money because education

reduces the chance of recidivism. Not only does recidivism rates decrease but also increases

prisoner’s self-esteem and behavior. The concern over how to educate the prisoners can also be

easily fixed by training teachers how to effectively teach in the prison environment and get

resources from libraries.

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Works Cited

Alewine, Hollisa S. "Andragogical Methods and Readiness for the Correctional Ged Classroom."

Journal of Correctional Education​, vol. 61, no. 1, Mar. 2010, pp. 9-22. EBSCO​host​.

Web. 11 Dec. 2017

“Education and Vocational Training in Prisons Reduces Recidivism, Improves Job Outlook.”

Rand.org. ​RAND Corporation. 22 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2017.

Erisman, Wendy, et al. ​Learning to Reduce Recidivism: A 50-State Analysis of Postsecondary

Correctional Education Policy​. Institute for Higher Education Policy, Institute for Higher

Education Policy, 01 Nov. 2005. EBSCO​host​. Web. 20 Dec. 2017

Esperian, John H. "The Effect of Prison Education Programs on Recidivism." ​Journal of

Correctional Education​, vol. 61, no. 4, Dec. 2010, pp. 316-334. EBSCO​host​. Web. 12

Dec. 2017

Jovanić, Goran. "The Role of Education in the Treatment of Offenders." ​Support for Learning​,

vol. 26, no. 2, May 2011, pp. 79-82. EBSCO​host​. Web. 11 Dec. 2017

Maximino, Martin. “The effects of prison education programs: research findings.”

Journalistsresearch.org. ​Harvard Kennedy School. 3 Jun. 2014. Web. 12 Dec. 2017.

Sedgley, Norman H., et al. "Prison's Dilemma: Do Education and Jobs Programmes Affect

Recidivism?." ​Economica​, vol. 77, no. 307, July 2010, pp. 497-517. EBSCO​host​. Web.

20 Dec. 2017

Scott, Kerry J. "Corrections and Education: The Relationship between Education and

Recidivism." ​Journal of Intercultural Disciplines​, vol. 15, Spring2016, pp. 147-169.

EBSCO​host​. Web. 06 Dec. 2017

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