Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Review of Penitentiary Education and Training - 1978-1979, Phase 1 - Report to Reviewers, August 1978

• NCJ Number: 73835
• Author(s): D K Griffin
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 221 pages
• Corporate Author: Canadian Penitentiary Service
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

This report, prepared by the Canadian Penitentiary Service, describes the nature and extent of existing inmate programs of academic and vocational education in Canadian penal institutions.

Abstract

The critical review of the educational and training programs throughout the Canadian Penitentiary Service, which began in March 1978, had several purposes. Goals were to establish the groundwork for the development of a 5-year plan for inmate educational and training programs, to identify and define specific problems, to create an advisory committee, to encourage university faculties to assist in course development, and to stimulate interest in the subject of penitentiary education on the part of professionals. In this phase-one report, a history of prisoner education, evaluations of correctional education, adult education, current education programs, a survey of staff and inmates regarding education and training, questionnaire development, and response findings are addressed. Organized educational programs are offered in 22 penitentiaries across Canada. The Canadian Penitentiary Service is administered by a national headquarters and five regional offices. Responsibility for educational programs is divided between a functional authority and a staff authority. Organized educational programs do not exist in the minimum security institutions, which house inmates for relatively short periods of time. Inmates attend academic or vocational education on a voluntary basis. Space is not always available in the program which the inmate chooses. Although inmates may stay in educational programs for years, about 75 percent of them spend less than 8 months in any one program. The voluntary nature of school attendance makes it difficult to collect general information on scholastic and vocational achievements of inmates. Tables and an annotated bibliography of approximately 45 references are included. Appendixes provided information on educational service contracts, official regulations, U.S. correctional education standards, and reports.