Evaluating the Effects of a Brief Program for Moral Education in a County Jail

• NCJ Number: 207627
• Journal: Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Dated: 2004 Pages: 59-72
• Author(s): Lindsay A. Phillips
• Editor(s): Nathaniel J. Pallone Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study investigated a moral education program that focuses on teaching aspects of character and practice of these traits designed for use with individuals who are incarcerated.

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the integration of moral education programming into treatment for individuals who are incarcerated. For this study, a program was designed to teach character traits in an attempt to improve the lifestyle and moral reasoning abilities of incarcerated individuals. The study hypothesized that individuals who complete the program would show significant improvements in their sociomoral reasoning when compared to individuals who did not complete the program. Study participants were 37 inmates (females=18, males=19) taken from 2 general population units in a county jail and divided into 2 groups: control group, n=17; and experimental group, n=20. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 46 and came from diverse backgrounds. The program consisted of six 1-hour sessions and included the character traits: integrity, honesty, justice, citizenship, accountability, self-discipline, and positive thinking and resilience. The program was evaluated by the participants to ensure that it aided in the acquisition of traits and included lessons and activities that they could both benefit from and enjoy. Results of the analysis supported the hypothesis in that inmates who completed the moral education program showed significant improvement in sociomoral reasoning when compared to participants in the control group. This finding supports the arguments for continuing treatment programming with inmate populations and supports the argument that moral reasoning can be improved in offenders. Future research should investigate which aspects of the program improved the inmates’ moral reasoning and what affect such programs have on recidivism rates. References and 3 tables