Confined Learning: Who Participates in Education While Incarcerated and What are the Benefits?

The prison revolving door incurs staggering monetary and human costs on vulnerable communities and the public at large. Prison educational programs are popular because they are expected to increase ex-prisoners’ employability and stem recidivism. However, we know surprisingly little about who participates in prison education or the benefits of it. I will apply descriptive and causal quasi-experimental analysis to new administrative data on every prisoner released in one state over a 24-year period. I will first deepen our contextual understanding of prison education programs by identifying patterns in participation, completion, and program sequencing, and analyze how these patterns vary by prisoner age, race, ethnicity, gender, and pre-entry education level. I will then delve further into one of the most popular prison education programs: preparation for the GED exam. I will use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of earning the GED on skill gains, recidivism, subsequent educational program participation, and post-release wages and employment. This proposed project will enhance our understanding of the complex relationships between prison education, demographics, and outcomes in-prison and post-release, and ultimately contribute to improved educational opportunities among an understudied group of structurally disadvantaged students.