NCJ Number
45401
Date Published
1977
Length
122 pages
Annotation
A STUDY DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCY OF A SAMPLE OF WOMEN INMATES AT THE GOREE UNIT OF THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FOUND THAT THEIR OUTSIDE COUNTERPARTS WERE MORE FUNCTIONALLY COMPETENT.
Abstract
FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCY, INVOLVING THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS NEEDED BY PEOPLE TO COPE SUCCESSFULLY IN SOCIETY, WAS TESTED BY MEANS OF AN INSTRUMENT DEVELOPED BY THE ADULT PERFORMANCE LEVEL (APL) PROJECT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN. COMPETENCY AREAS MEASURED BY THE TEST INCLUDE OCCUPATIONAL KNOWLEDGE, HEALTH, CONSUMER ECONOMICS, COMMUNITY RESOURCES, GOVERNMENT AND LAW, READING, WRITING, COMPUTATION, AND PROBLEMSOLVING; AN OVERALL APL SCORE IS ALSO OBTAINED. THE APL TESTS WERE ADMINISTERED TO A RANDOM SAMPLE OF 131 WOMEN OFFENDERS AT THE GOREE UNIT SCORED AND THEN COMPARED TO RESULTS OF TESTS TAKEN BY A SAMPLE OF 868 TEXAS FREE-WORLD WOMEN. APL SCORES OF THE TWO GROUPS WERE COMPARED USING A 3X2 CONTINGENCY TABLE AND A CHI SQUARE TEST (.0001 LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE). THE COMPARISON REVEALED THE SCORES OF THE WOMEN IN THE INMATE SAMPLE TO BE FAR BELOW THOSE OF THE WOMEN IN THE FREE-WORLD SAMPLE IN ALL OF THE COMPETENCY AREAS. THE STUDY ALSO LOOKED AT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN APL SCORES AND THE DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES OF AGE, ETHNICITY, MARITAL STATUS, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, VOCATIONAL EDUCATION BACKGROUND, AND CRIMINAL HISTORY. OF THESE VARIABLES, ONLY ETHNICITY AND EDUCATIONAL LEVEL WERE SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO ALL 10 APL SCORES. THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY SUBSTANTIATE THE NEED FOR THE ADAPTATION AND IMPLEMENTATION INTO THE PRISON EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM OF A CURRICULUM DESIGNED BY THE APL PROJECT TO TEACH THE COMPETENCIES IDENTIFIED AS NECESSARY FOR A SUCCESSFUL LIFE. METHODOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS ARE DESCRIBED IN DETAIL, FIGURES AND TABLES PRESENTING STATISTICAL DATA ARE INCLUDED, AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (DAS)