The Role of Education on Workplace Outcomes among Juvenile Justice Personnel

Abstract

Prior research on workplace outcomes among both institutional and community corrections staff has typically included education as a control variable, but few studies have specifically focused on the role education may play in determining job-related experiences of staff members. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the impact educational attainment and perceptions of the adequacy of educational training have on several workplace outcomes (i.e., burnout, secondary trauma, job stress, job satisfaction, work family conflict, and job orientation). Based on survey data collected from nearly 300 juvenile probation and detention officers working in the Midwest, results from the OLS regression analysis indicated that having a college degree had significant effects on job satisfaction and job orientation (i.e., punishment, rehabilitation), while perception of educational training adequacy predicted depersonalization, personal accomplishment, job stress, and rehabilitation orientation. Both methodological and workplace implications of these results are discussed.