U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Education in Rural County Jails: Need Versus Opportunity

NCJ Number
216823
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 57 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 312-325
Author(s)
Jeremiah Gee
Date Published
December 2006
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined how inmates of a rural county jail perceived their current educational programming.
Abstract
Major findings and trends include: (1) participants appraised the current program in a positive light, but desired more programs and more time for each one; (2) participants were mostly goal-oriented with drug rehabilitation and formal education topping the list for goals; (3) in addition to more intense programming, the need for narcotics support groups was emphasized; and (4) participants proposed that transition skills would reduce recidivism. These were stated as family, job, life, financial, and social skills. Overall, the expectation that students’ motivation was goal-oriented was upheld. A research project was undertaken by a GED instructor at a rural county jail. The project goal was to determine if the perceived needs of the students were being met by the educational and rehabilitative programs currently offered to them. The data covered the perceived inmate need, the attitude toward current opportunity, motivational characteristics, and comments on recidivism. This article presents the findings from this research project. Tables, references, and appendix A-B