ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how thoughts regarding the future have affected educational decision-making in prison. It considers how education in prison may potentially impact upon post-release lives. The students consistently cite concern for the future as a significant influence on their decisions to enrol on education and distance learning whilst in prison. Recidivism studies form an integral component of policy discussions and decisions regarding the desirability of funding education in prison and are frequently used as justification to taxpayers for those programmes that are publicly funded. The recidivism literature on prisoner education is largely based on individual evaluations of US or Canadian programmes. However, the chapter reviews recidivism studies that have been conducted on education programmes in prison in order to provide additional information regarding the impact of such programmes. The greatest reduction in recidivism in the meta-analyses examined by Gaes is found in Chappell's study of post-secondary education programmes in prison.
