“According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, almost 68 percent of prison inmates have not graduated from high school and most individuals in that group are racial minorities” (Nally, 71). Since this majority of inmates have not graduated from high school, they obviously lack the educational skills to attend college and therefore lack the skills needed in the workplace. In this economic environment, obtaining a job is a struggle and requires a college education, specific job-related competencies, and skills. The 68 percent of inmates without adequate education lack these experiences and skills, making it impossible to become employable after release (Nally, 71). There is a trend in the United States prisons to increase the level of
…show more content…
These data indicate a possible correlation between education and recidivism: as education level increases, criminal activity decreases. Similarly, the same pattern occurs when looking at the effect of college education on the rate of recidivism. The Journal of Correctional Education found that “17.7 percent of repeat offenders have previously received a college degree, while the remaining 83.2 percent have less education” (Nally, 77). This small percentage of repeat offenders can be attributed to having higher job qualifications that increase job outlook and compensation. College graduates develop a professional network that increases the likelihood of finding a job. College educated inmates typically have more resources than other inmates because they had the financial resources to attend college. In addition, while in school they have more interdisciplinary knowledge to help them become well-rounded members of society including basic law, science, health, finance, English, and math courses. From taking all of these basic courses, they develop skills that apply outside of academia. These transferrable skills will be useful to fall back on when they are released from confinement and are working to get their life back on
These data indicate a possible correlation between education and recidivism: as education level increases, criminal activity decreases. Similarly, the same pattern occurs when looking at the effect of college education on the rate of recidivism. The Journal of Correctional Education found that “17.7 percent of repeat offenders have previously received a college degree, while the remaining 83.2 percent have less education” (Nally, 77). This small percentage of repeat offenders can be attributed to having higher job qualifications that increase job outlook and compensation. College graduates develop a professional network that increases the likelihood of finding a job. College educated inmates typically have more resources than other inmates because they had the financial resources to attend college. In addition, while in school they have more interdisciplinary knowledge to help them become well-rounded members of society including basic law, science, health, finance, English, and math courses. From taking all of these basic courses, they develop skills that apply outside of academia. These transferrable skills will be useful to fall back on when they are released from confinement and are working to get their life back on