NCJ Number
148321
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 20 Issue: 3-4 Dated: (1994) Pages: 97-116
Date Published
1994
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effects of an innovative group- process intervention technique on reading performance among male inmates in a medium-security prison in Louisiana.
Abstract
The project was based on research revealing that when students work together in groups and are rewarded based on the learning of all the group members, they achieve consistently more than students who are in classes taught by traditional methods. The model used in the project was called Community-Building and has been used as an intervention technique to resolve organizational and personnel problems in private, business, university, and government settings. It can involve groups of 40-60 participants. The research used a pretest-posttest comparison-group experimental design in which inmates were assigned into three groups: an untreated control group, a control group with the reading program only, and an experimental group with the reading program and Community- Building. Results supported the effectiveness of the community-building technique on the reading program and suggested its usefulness in other areas such as dealing with inmates' denial of addiction, improving institutional safety, and supporting other rehabilitation efforts. Tables and 7 references (Author abstract modified)