Showing Up: The Gendered Effects of Social Engagement on Educational Participation in U.S. Correctional Facilities

Abstract

The United States is home to the world’s largest correctional system where the majority of released ex-convicts reoffend. Consequently, accessing successful methods of reducing recidivism has become tantamount, with education as the most powerful predictor of decreased recidivism. This research found gendered differences in educational program usage based on group membership. Participation in prison parenting groups was found to be a greater predictor of college and vocational educational program usage for women than for men. For male inmates, membership in any type of organized group activity was found to predict greater educational program usage in college and vocational education programs.

Keywords

incarceration education gender social capital

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