Higher Education in Prison: a Contradiction in Terms (american Council On Education/oryx Press Series On Higher Education)

Despite the current push toward tougher laws and stricter prison sentences, most inmates eventually will leave prison and re-enter society. But the question remains: to what sort of life will a former inmate return? Education is key to improving a person's status. Higher Education in Prison: A Contradiction in Terms? fills a growing need for essential and current information on an increasingly important form of education which now involves the continuing education departments of more than 300 colleges and universities offering courses to more than 50,000 prisoners each year.Higher Education in Prison collects, in one volume, essays about fundamental issues in prison education. The contributors to this volume contend that education for prisoners should focus on seeking personal improvement, accomplishing personal goals, learning and growing, and acquiring credentials and skills required for full participation in society. To this end, some of the essays examine divergent views of corrections and education of prisoners, particular prison education programs, and the problems and promise of prison teaching. Other essays explore the special difficulties in providing higher education to women prisoners and how the most basic assessment and evaluation tools can focus and improve efforts to deliver educational opportunities to those in confinement.