BRIGHT HOPES, DIM REALITIES: VOCATIONAL INNOVATION IN AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL EDUCATION

• NCJ Number: 147597
• Author(s): J Spillane; J Spillane
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 64 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Education,
• Corporate Author: Rand Corporation; University of California, Berkeley
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper examines the origins of contemporary ideas about correctional education, describes various means by which educational programs have been implemented in different time periods, and examines the prospects for the resurgence of vocational programs in correctional institutions.

Abstract

In the first section, several trends in the history of correctional education in the 19th and 20th Centuries are discussed, based on monographic studies conducted of northern and southern prisons during the period between the Civil War and World War II. The authors present a more systematic history of correctional education during the period between 1890 and 1960, based primarily on developments in New York State. Specifically, the authors emphasize the contribution of Zebulon Brockway to correctional education during the so- called Progressive Era, and experiences of the New York State Vocational Institution during the 1930's through 1950's. The authors conclude that, despite the proven potential of vocational education to rehabilitate offenders, long-term constraints on reform remain operative today. 62 notes