Developing social capital through postsecondary correctional education

Abstract

This study examines the connection between participation in higher education programs in prison and the development of social capital. Interviews were conducted with eighteen formerly incarcerated participants enrolled in higher education programs while incarcerated. Findings suggest that participants developed self-efficacy, hard and soft skills, and connections to positive social networks through taking part in a postsecondary correctional education program. Participants noted an expansion of their self-awareness and improved communication skills that facilitated their mostly successful pursuits of employment opportunities after being released. The findings of this study also suggest that the outcomes of higher education programs in prisons extend beyond classroom learning and academic achievement in a way that provides students with knowledge, useful skills, prosocial networks, and access to employment prospects upon reentry into the community. More specifically, this study details how postsecondary correctional education programs provide a foundation for building social capital and preparing incarcerated individuals to become employable, law-abiding citizens. That this information came from formerly incarcerated individuals who are now thriving postrelease warrants further research that would support the expansion of educational programming for prisoners.