Corrections_Today_Fall_2025_Vol.87_No.3

EDUCATION

a much better chance of securing post-release employ ment if they gain the necessary language, reading and math skills that literacy comprehension provides (Court ney 44; Evans et al. 2; Jones and Manger 2). Ultimately, literacy is generally described as the ability to compre hend and apply information accessible in daily activities through reading and writing within one’s home, work and community (Faradova 4; Flynn et al. 43). Therefore, rehabilitative programs, especially lit eracy programs, offer cost-efficient relief for society since it can reduce recidivism (Arbour et al. 1; Boudin 142; Duwe and Henry-Nickie 42; Jones and Manger 152; Leone and Wruble 4; Reed 540). Recidivism, which oc curs when an ex-offender relapses into crime, can cost the United States taxpayers over $1 trillion each year, which amounts to around $3,100 per person in the U.S. (Shinabarger 156). Reducing recidivism reduces the cost of social assistance programs and provides post-release employment opportunities, benefiting society overall (Davis et al. 8; Koo 235; Leone and Wruble 1). Literacy models Originally, educational programming for incarcer ated individuals began with the introduction of high school equivalent education. This movement introduced correctional facilities to general education develop ment (GED) programs, with the first GED program being offered in Illinois in 1945 (Galeshi and Bolin 429). Then the introduction of correctional education programming began in the 1960s and 1970s where the focus of education expanded to, literacy which included adult basic education (ABE) and the GED and voca tional education such as career and technical education (CTE) (Finlay and Bates 129; Galeshi and Bolin 426; Reed 539; “Research on Professional” 163). Ultimately, while the introduction of basic education for prisoners is imperative to meet the demands of basic education requirements, there appears to be a gap in focusing on literacy comprehension. One of the reasons why the gap in literacy was prevalent was due to the stigmas imposed on incarcerated students. Before literacy programs were implemented in the 1970s, there was a stigma that if students did not learn to read in grade school, they would never read at all (Jones and Manger 151; “Historical Development”

48; Stickle and Shuster 1270). Although this stigma was present, there were models created to focus specifically on literacy so incarcerated students could improve their comprehension skills. The first basic literacy model of corrections was introduced to teach prisoners how to read and to learn a new job skill (“Historical Development” 49). From this basic model, there appeared to be an opportunity to teach non- or low-level- readers through directed reading activities from resources like newspapers, religious literature or sports magazines (“Historical Development” 48). The second model implemented in the 1980’s included functional competency within ABE, the GED, vo cational education and job preparation (“Historical Development” 49; Reed 538). Reed suggested that ABE provided an opportunity to improve comprehension for incarcerated students that rank low in literacy and math (540). Applying literacy on vocational training provided extra support for incarcerated students to gain certification for a post-release job (Dewey et al. 60; Reed 539; Ryan 60). The Literacy Volunteers of America trained prisoner tutors several hours per week to assist teachers during class. Due to this new approach to training and teaching students, the impact on educational achievement was tremendous. Then, the United States Federal Bureau of Pris ons (BOP), the largest American prison system, made mandatory education for prisoners a reality (Hopwood 119; Ryan 60). Hopwood describes the BOP’s mission as providing safe and humane environments which provide opportunities in a way that is cost-efficient (120). In 1981, a task force created a comprehensive policy that

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