Failed Hopes of Education: Revisiting the Relevancy of Education as a Method of Diminishing Recidivism

AbstractThis article describes how, generally, the majority of inmates will recidivate again within five years of being released from incarceration. Recidivism represents cyclical criminality that affects all American communities. Despite substantial expenditures toward the warehousing of inmates within the corrections system, less emphasis is directed toward leveraging vocational and career educational programs as resources through which recidivism rates may be reduced societally. However, in 2015, the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program was announced as an experimental program whereby prisoners may access Pell funding for educational purposes. Given the advent of this experimental program, this article reviews some historical literature and recommends future directions regarding education among corrections settings.