SUBJECTS WERE SLECTED THROUGH QUOTA SAMPLING IN ORDER TO COOPERATE WITH SECURITY REGULATIONS WITHIN THE INSTITUTIONS. INMATES WERE SELECTED FROM MALES IN MAXIMUM, MEDIUM, AND MINIMUM SECURITY CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS AS WELL AS FROM WOMEN IN A REFORMATORY. DATA WERE ALSO GATHERED FROM PAROLE OFFICERS AND FROM THE ADULT PAROLE AUTHORITY. THE TOTAL SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 39 CORRECTIONS EDUCATORS, 16 PAROLE OFFICERS, 97 PAROLEES, AND 337 INMATES. THE BASIC DESIGN OF THE STUDY INSTRUMENT FOLLOWED THE PATTERN OF THE ADULT PERFORMANCE LEVEL (APL) STRUCTURE. THERE WERE 11 VARIABLES THAT PERTAINED TO THE FACTOR OF OCCUPATIONAL KNOWLEDGE. VARIABLES INCLUDED PREVIOUS JOBS HELD, GOOD RELATIONS WITH OTHERS, AND APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT. RESPONDENTS RATED EACH VARIABLE ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 4, WITH A RATING INDICATING A MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR. INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED IN INDIVIDUAL GROUPS. INMATES, PAROLEES, PAROLE OFFICERS, AND CORRECTIONS EDUCATORS WERE INTERVIEWED AS SEPARATE GROUPS. CHI SQUARE ANALYSIS AND PERCENTAGE FOR EACH VARIABLE WERE COMPUTED ACCORDING TO RESPONDENTS' STATUS, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, AGE, AND LOCATION. THE DATA PROVIDE INFORMATION FOR EDUCATORS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN IMPROVING THE OCCUPATIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL OF INMATES. THE RESULTS CAN BE UTILIZED IN PLANNING A COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM. SPECIFICALLY, CORRECTIONS EDUCATORS SHOULD CONSIDER ACQUAINTING THEIR STAFFS WITH THE NEED FOR PROGRAMS WHICH PROVIDE INMATES WITH OCCUPATIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SHOULD UTILIZE THE FORMAT AND PROCESS IN THIS STUDY TO COLLECT DATA FROM INMATES IN THEIR PARTICULAR SETTING. TABLES AND EXHIBITS ARE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY.