Title PERCEPTIONS OF FORMER MALE INMATES REGARDING PREPARTION BY PRISON EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYABILITY

Purpose There are many possible route to furthering research to inform those in charge of prison education. The challenge, however, is to create a broader basis for understanding the set-off between the cost of prison education versus repeat offenses. If the concept of investing in the education of incarcerated males could be better understood as affecting more than just the individual, but rather the entire system and society as a whole, that knowledge would support the adaptation and improvement of inmate educational programs to best enable employment possibilities. The current study will be aligned with these prior works in its inclusion of the perceptions of the recipients of prison education, the former inamtes, on the programs that helped guide them on their path to employability.

Statement of the Problem Very little is known about the effect of academic and vocational education for males within the prison system in regard to future employment. This study attempts to address that issue through phenomonological research to reflect a relationship between certain types of educational programs and future attainment of employment

Research Questions and/or Hypothesis The concepts of the impact prison education has on inmates upon their release has been supported by researchers in many different types of studies. These researchers have established that such programs can increase the chances of employment and success in society upon release. The theories of “marginalization” of nontraditional learners (Leone, 2005) and the theory that there is a “culture of refusal” towards education within the prison system (Mulcahy, 2008) point to the essential need for changes in these area. The educational theory known as “moral reconation” is designed to address the issues of nontraditional students with “resistant” personalities (Kohlberg, 1976). This theory enables this reseracher to delve into how employability can be defined and what helps an inmate prepare for achieving it upon release.

Research Methodology The study will be conducted by used of qualitative research, and the method of inquiry will be through the used of the phenomenological method. Data collection will be from three sources: 1) group focus interviews 2) participant and research journaling 3) individual interviews

Research Design The research population will consist of a group of 10- 12 males, all formers inmates in Delaware prisons, and all over eighteen years old. They will all be particpants in “The Way Home” transitional program in Georgetown Delaware, and will all have received either academic or vocational training of some type while incarcerated. Group focus interviews will be conducted, followed by several weeks of reflective journaling, directed by suggested questions. Individual recorded interviews will then be conducted.