Education and Post-Release Employment: An Exploratory Study of Offender Reentry

• In Event: Education and Prisoner Reentry: Processes and Impact

Abstract

Research has identified a plethora of barriers that impede on an offenders’ ability to successfully reintegrate back into society. However, despite the identification of various reentry barriers, few studies have emphasized how societal and individual level structures and processes foster the development of identified barriers. Given such, as an exploratory, cross-sectional research study, the current paper explores the influence of educational factors on the perception of finding legal employment after release from prison amongst a sample of 352 offenders under the custodial care of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service (TTPS). Multivariate findings reveal a positive and significant association between an offender’s belief in his or her ability to further his or her education and perceptions of finding legal employment after release. Further, multivariate findings show a negative and significant association between an offender who had access to available social networks and resources and perceptions of finding legal employment after release.

Author

• Frank Wood, Old Dominion University