Corrections_Today_Fall_2025_Vol.87_No.3

EDUCATION

literacy programming. Administered in five different facilities across the state, HOPE focuses on training prisoners to tutor other students (Carter 87). Education professionals of the HOPE program teach and ensure the prison-tutors are proficient in different literacy skills, such as reading and writing English. After, prison-tutors work with their students to help tutor them in different literacies including reading, writing and mathematics. Students received specialized, one-on-one education built off the principles of special education (Carter 88). One-on-one tutoring has been shown to be an effective measure for educational comprehension and academic performance especially when conducted by other stu dents (Kim et al. 2; Warren-King and Rutledge 246), and for those in at-risk populations (Testerman 366; Warren-King and Rutledge 245). One-on-one tutors can increase student attitudes towards education through personalized education plans, such as HOPE did, which can help students gain interest in learning and become active members in their education (Carter 88; Kim et al. 4). Furthermore, giving one-on-one attention to those in at-risk populations can help increase student grades and exam scores, studying habits, adjustment to educa tional challenges, and dedication to educational pursuits, while decreasing instances of sleeping through class and course failure (Testerman 366; Warren-King and Rut ledge 245). As with many prison literacy programs, HOPE works to address needs beyond literacy. HOPE offers access to parenting classes, leadership training, reentry coun seling, career advice, and visits with Child Protective Services (Carter 96). These additional resources, com bined with the learned literacy skills, can help ensure students have the skills needed to find employment op portunities post-release. HOPE utilizes a collaborative model, where it is not just the students who benefit, but also the tutors and greater communities. These benefits are apparent through the positive anecdotes of prior HOPE partici pants, both the students and tutors in two different Dallas facilities. While Carter noted the importance of literacy skills, other valuable skills were also highlighted (94). Some of these included patience, self-control, thinking before speaking, structure, endurance and getting along with others (Carter 94). Similar results were found in Kim et al. study, where both tutors and

students stated they benefited from the experience, including increases in confidence, self-esteem, reading abilities and reading comprehension (2). Participants in Peer Tutoring, a prisoner-run literacy program in Mary land, also expressed a bidirectional gain between tutors and students. Tutors said they also gained valuable skills when they helped students learn literacy (“Best Practices” 165). In the context of a prison, peer tutor ing facilitated by prisoners can be very beneficial. Both parties gain skills through the peer tutoring process, especially literacy skills, which may help boost their chances of success post-release. Call to action There is a need for more literacy programs in prisons. The development of literacy programs can help break down the barriers mentioned in the Flynn et al. (46) conceptual framework. These barriers include disposi tional barriers like family values and responsibilities and situation barriers like the emotional toll of poverty. There are many benefits that literacy programs provide incarcerated people, such as providing essential motiva tion that can empower them for their future endeavors. These motivators include economic factors such as increased job availability from skills learned, such as skills to break intergenerational illiteracy and incarcera tion (Comings 26; Flynn et al. 48; Korzh 644). When incarcerated individuals are efficiently motivated and use literacy programming, they can break barriers. When breaking institutional barriers, prisoners can teach their peers or learn from trained professionals, learn non didactic instruction and apply their curriculum to their lives (Cabus et al. 171; Felix 2; Flynn et al. 44; Ioannidou and Parma 93). When prisoners break situational barri ers, they are provided more employment opportunities that can help assist them financially and with their famil ial relationships (Cabus et al. 174; Comings 26; Faradova 5; Felix 66; Smith and Gillespie 209). Lastly, when prisoners break dispositional barriers, they may acquire a positive experience from learning which can be well perceived and accepted within their community (Cabus et al. 174; Comings 34; Faradova 5; Korzh 638). For every barrier that exists for adults who are reluctant to par ticipate in educational programming, even if mandatory, a counter motivation also exists. Prison educational

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