Corrections_Today_Fall_2025_Vol.87_No.3

being incarcerated, others may want to seek rehabilitation to improve their current cir cumstances (Arbour et al. 1). When rehabilitation programs become available for prisoners, such as education, enhancing job skills, or psychological aid, it can create an opportu nity for incarcerated adults to gain some control over their own lives by providing con tributions to themselves and society (Arbour et al. 1; Boudin 141; Evans et al. 4; Stickle and Schuster 1265). Additionally, correctional officials believe educational and rehabilita tive programs are helpful for prisoners who need to stay occupied while serving their time (Courtney 57; Evans et al. 17). An education provides the

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during the 1800s with the primary focus on reading, writing and math (Galeshi and Bolin 424). The social movement of that time introduced facilities within the prison system that promoted education, work and community through rehabilitative methods (Aiello 294; Finlay and Bates 125). The industrial revolution sparked the development of vocational programs for prisoners due to the growing demand for skilled labor ers (Galeshi and Bolin 424). Couloute and Kopf found that on average, over 600,000 people are released from prisons each year and struggle with finding employ ment, therefore students need to be provided with the necessary skills that can give them the opportunities to become productive members of society (2). Importance of literacy education Generally, access to resources for incarcerated persons in society may have been utilized for illegal pur poses. As a result, being incarcerated can make prisoners feel out of control and feel like they cannot escape their decisions (Arbour et al. 1). While some prisoners may utilize correction facilities to gain control by engag ing in similar nefarious activities they practiced before

opportunity to engage in structured learning that fosters personal development through acquiring new knowledge and skills (Evans et al. 7). Therefore, there is a stressed importance of how rehabilitative programs can help foster a more productive environment for incarcerated people to achieve new goals, keep themselves busy with intellectual tasks and learn skills that will be applicable when they reintegrate into society. Acquiring education, especially the development of literacy skills, is imperative for any individual as a basic human right (Jones and Manger 151). This is especially important for the prison population as their literacy levels tend to be lower than the general U.S. population, which represents a significant challenge for ex-offenders returning to local communities as a productive member of society (Davis et al. 2; Duwe and Henry-Nickie 42; Reed 540; Shinabarger 165). There is a need to focus on literacy programs under rehabilitative education to increase the chances of employment for prisoners and decrease the chances of re-offense since, on average, two thirds of released prisoners reoffend within three years of their release (Leone and Wruble 4 2017; Shinabarger 156). Previous research indicates ex-offenders will have

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