Investigating prison factors related to literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults

Abstract Incarcerated adults in the United States are a vulnerable group with substantially low skills and educational attainment. However, the extent to which various, malleable prison factors are related to the skills of adults from diverse backgrounds remains scarcely explored. Therefore, the pur...

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Main Authors: Roula Aldib, Lee Branum-Martin, Şeyda Özçalışkan, Rose Sevcik
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: SpringerOpen 2024-10-01
Series:Zeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung - Report
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40955-024-00291-z
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author Roula Aldib
Lee Branum-Martin
Şeyda Özçalışkan
Rose Sevcik
author_facet Roula Aldib
Lee Branum-Martin
Şeyda Özçalışkan
Rose Sevcik
author_sort Roula Aldib
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Incarcerated adults in the United States are a vulnerable group with substantially low skills and educational attainment. However, the extent to which various, malleable prison factors are related to the skills of adults from diverse backgrounds remains scarcely explored. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to explore such factors in order to examine which prison programs and activities are associated with higher skills for incarcerated adults in the United States. The sample included 1247 inmates who participated in the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies survey. Regression analysis results revealed that completing more than high school education in prison was linked to higher performance in literacy and numeracy. Also, higher performance was associated with more time in prison, suggesting that program benefits for inmates with shorter time in prison might go unnoticed. Lastly, the most notable differences in performance were related to participation in prison job training. Even though many incarcerated adults partake in various prison programs and activities, participation in these programs was not consistently associated with higher literacy or numeracy skills. Potentially, prison programs might not be providing sufficient applied opportunities for enhancing skills. Findings from this study suggest a need for a closer evaluation of the malleable prison factors and programs relating to the literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults in the United States.
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spelling doaj-art-bdd81fb07f9341afa44b99df8045a8a52025-08-20T02:49:56ZdeuSpringerOpenZeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung - Report2364-00142364-00222024-10-0147218120310.1007/s40955-024-00291-zInvestigating prison factors related to literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adultsRoula Aldib0Lee Branum-Martin1Şeyda Özçalışkan2Rose Sevcik3Georgia State UniversityGeorgia State UniversityGeorgia State UniversityGeorgia State UniversityAbstract Incarcerated adults in the United States are a vulnerable group with substantially low skills and educational attainment. However, the extent to which various, malleable prison factors are related to the skills of adults from diverse backgrounds remains scarcely explored. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to explore such factors in order to examine which prison programs and activities are associated with higher skills for incarcerated adults in the United States. The sample included 1247 inmates who participated in the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies survey. Regression analysis results revealed that completing more than high school education in prison was linked to higher performance in literacy and numeracy. Also, higher performance was associated with more time in prison, suggesting that program benefits for inmates with shorter time in prison might go unnoticed. Lastly, the most notable differences in performance were related to participation in prison job training. Even though many incarcerated adults partake in various prison programs and activities, participation in these programs was not consistently associated with higher literacy or numeracy skills. Potentially, prison programs might not be providing sufficient applied opportunities for enhancing skills. Findings from this study suggest a need for a closer evaluation of the malleable prison factors and programs relating to the literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults in the United States.https://doi.org/10.1007/s40955-024-00291-zNumeracyLiteracyUnited StatesIncarcerated adultsPIAAC
spellingShingle Roula Aldib
Lee Branum-Martin
Şeyda Özçalışkan
Rose Sevcik
Investigating prison factors related to literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults
Zeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung - Report
Numeracy
Literacy
United States
Incarcerated adults
PIAAC
title Investigating prison factors related to literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults
title_full Investigating prison factors related to literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults
title_fullStr Investigating prison factors related to literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults
title_full_unstemmed Investigating prison factors related to literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults
title_short Investigating prison factors related to literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults
title_sort investigating prison factors related to literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults
topic Numeracy
Literacy
United States
Incarcerated adults
PIAAC
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s40955-024-00291-z
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