The most evident scenario where education has proven to reduce crime and change the mind sets of criminals alike is the modern education programs established within the various prison systems globally. Throughout the history of the prison system there has been little focus placed on the rehabilitation and education of inmates at large, with a greater emphasis falling on punishment and forced isolation due to the dangers of working with such individuals. In recent years new strategies have been put forward and evidence has arisen around the impact of education upon prisoners within, and beyond the system itself. Studies conducted over the last two decades almost consistently indicate that higher education in prison programs reduces recidivism which translates into the reduction in crime, savings to taxpayers, and long-term contributions to the safety and well-being of the communities to which formerly incarcerated individuals return. Still the argument for and against prisoner’s education wages, Jody Lewen (2007) would suggest that not only can these practices be approached in a safe and cost effective manner, but the benefits can also drastically out way the drawbacks. As Lewen (2007) points out “In order to accomplish these changes, we’re going to have to adopt entirely unconventional, and some might even say revolutionary, ways of relating to each other as human beings”.

In the United states the correctional education movement began with a clergyman named William Rodgers who offered up his knowledge to the inmates of Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Jail as early as 1789 (Gatto, 2003). Due to the warden’s concerns of rioting Rodgers was ordered to teach his class under the strict supervision of two guards armed with a field cannon, loaded and ready to fire a 9 pound cannonball directly at the student convicts. After almost a century the next notable change came about when Zebulon Brockway became Superintendent at the Elmira Reformatory in New York City from 1876-1900 (Chlup, 2005), setting a pioneering example in social, academic, vocational, and the special education of prisoners. Lastly, the next notable change in an attempt to introduce education and knowledge into the original prison model was the launch of the prisoner rights movement which took place in 1950. This action saw prisoners fight for their constitutional rights through the writ of habeas corpus and the Civil Rights Act, arguing for more rights and better educational opportunities (Gatto 2003, p.52). In the years to follow education programs have expanded in scope to the point where there are few prisons that do not provide formal education platforms. Today most American States provide adult basic education, general education development (GED), and vocational education programs in the majority of their institutions state wide.

Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide live their entire lives isolated from the realms of information and opportunity, into which higher education can, and has been proven to provide a key point of entry. Many of these individuals turn to a life of crime to provide the niceties of food and shelter for their families and selves, unavoidably winding up locked behind bars in the process. To continue to turn our backs on these individuals once incarcerated as we have prior to their imprisonment is wrong, we as the privileged must use this time that they are imprisoned to reform, and rehabilitate. Education with in prison has the power to change inmates views of the rules of social behaviour and also to raise the awareness of the importance of rules and regulation (Cutsall, 2001). Put simply college programs have the power of making prison systems safer, they also help people to grow intellectually and emotionally, preparing them for success after prison, and dramatically reducing the likely hood of re-offending and returning to prison once released. Skilled and educated prisoners are much more likely to earn incomes above the poverty line and almost 25 per cent less likely to reoffend (Cutsall, 2001). Education boosts self-confidence and has a tendency to produce leaders rather than wanderers and misguided followers. Once a prisoner has successfully accomplished some form of education such as a high school diploma, or vocational training the individual is much more likely to return to society as a well-rounded productive member. Confident in the fact that they possess a certain skill set that can secure a position in an honest line of work, providing the necessary necessities of life.

However the value of correctional education has been debated and criticized by many skeptics. Despite the evidence for the benefits of education, there are those who argue that prisons are for punishment and that federal and state dollars should not be spent on educating inmates. This resentment by some in the community can be attributed to the courses and degrees offered being free of charge to inmates, while law abiding citizens must work very hard to afford the fees that accompany education on the outside. But to simply deny inmates’ further education due to the costing involved is ridiculous as Linton (2010) suggests, the advantages far out way the disadvantages. Today, an estimated 2.3 million people are incarcerated throughout the United States, and collaboratively, the government spends over $52 billion annually on the corrections system (Steurer & Linton, 2010). This high cost of correctional spending is made worse by a shockingly high national reoffending rate of 67.5 percent (Steurer & Linton, 2010), which evidently contributes to the increasing prison population. By reducing reoffending, prison education has the far-reaching potential to reduce the entire scale of the prison population, along with cutting prison costs in the process. A study undertaken by the Department of Policy Studies at the University of California found that “a $1 million investment in incarceration will prevent about 350 crimes, while that same investment in correctional education will prevent more than 600 crimes, proving that correctional education is almost twice as cost effective as incarceration”(Steurer & Linton, 2010).

In recent years new strategies have been put forward and evidence has arisen around the impact of education upon prisoners within, and beyond the prison system itself. Education provides a means by which prisoners can turn their lives around. It helps them avoid crime after their release by increasing self-esteem, giving them responsibilities, helping them to become role models, and most importantly helping them see that they have other options to provide for themselves. The positive effects of education on an inmates’ character reach far beyond the progress of the inmate himself and even the prison system where the course is undertaken; they also extend to benefit the society into which he or she enters after their release from prison. When tackling the tough tasks of rehabilitating prisoners, and reducing criminal behavior in general, the reading would suggest that education and the power of knowledge is the greatest weapon in our arsenal. We must not forget that the majority of these criminals and inmates alike are not disgusting grotesque monsters, but most are simply men who were denied the wright to basic education and opportunity as children. Due to unforeseen circumstances they have wound up committing criminal acts, and some have found themselves locked behind bars, but this does not mean that they are unworthy of a second chance or undeserving of a proper education. To overcome this issue we must break down social barriers and stereotypes, and aim to revolutionize the way we relate to one another as human beings.