NCJ Number
152705
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 45 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1994) Pages: 118-121
Date Published
1994
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This study used Canfield's Learning Styles Inventory (LSI) with participants in a recidivism reduction program at the Utah State Prison to test the hypothesis that inmates would exhibit a preferred method for obtaining new information.
Abstract
Study subjects included 120 male inmates who were selected for the Horizons Project, a recidivism reduction program recently started in Utah. Inmates chosen for this program could not be sex offenders, intellectually handicapped, or suffering from mental health problems and had to have a parole date with a maximum of 3 years and a minimum of 10 months. The LSI, a rationally derived and highly structured questionnaire, divided motivation into various components and contained a learning typology that included listening, reading, iconic, and direct experience. More than 50 percent of inmates rated iconic learning as less preferred than the other learning methods. No statistical or practical differences were observed between the other three learning modes. Implications of the findings for correctional education teaching styles are discussed. 14 references and 5 tables