Date

4-2013

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

David Holder

Primary Subject Area

Education, Adult and Continuing; Education, Educational Psychology; Education, General; Sociology, Criminology and Penology

Keywords

Corrections, Federal, GED, Inmates

Disciplines

Criminology | Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Psychology | Sociology

Abstract

Correctional education's primary goal is to reduce recidivism and increase employment among ex-offenders. The Bureau of Prison's practical goal in its mandatory GED program is to maximize the number of inmates obtaining the GED in a given time period. The purpose of this research is to model the number of instructional hours an inmate requires to obtain the GED as a regression on socio-demographic and Bureau of Prison policy variables related to inmate conduct in education programs. This quantitative research uses multiple regression to produce and analyze the model. An archival random sample of GED graduates in a large federal correctional complex is selected, the model fit and diagnosed, and a hold-out sample tested for predictive reliability. Any conclusions regarding policy alternatives for the Bureau of Prisons will then be drawn. Such alternatives may lead to improvements in general criminal justice and in correctional education in particular.

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