Evaluating Higher Education in Prison: A PRISMA Scoping Review

• In Event: Higher Education in Prison & After Release

Abstract

This paper analyzes the extant research (1965-2021) on the relationship between higher education in prison (HEP) and individual outcomes using a PRISMA scoping review process.
We begin with a brief history of the role of program evaluation within the field, arguing that a critical dearth of methodically rigorous studies as well as the siloed and disparate proliferation of the literature has left a major gap in our understanding of HEP programs’ efficacy. We then detail our methodology for selecting and reviewing eligible studies, modeling how the PRISMA scoping review protocol can be used for evaluating research in the field.

Our critical appraisal of empirical HEP studies then synthesizes available evidence based on predominant themes. There are several informational gaps pertaining to whether and how HEP programs help students succeed. We conclude by urging for a timely intervention in the field which will generate more rigorous studies of postsecondary prison education which engage multiple areas of the discipline in conversation — all the more essential given the rapid proliferation of HEP programs in prison and the recent reinstatement of Pell Grants for incarcerated students.

Authors

• Meagan Wilson, Princeton University

• Sarah Tahamont, University of Maryland

• Julia Karon, University of Washington

• Noel Vest, Stanford University School of Medicine

• Emily Norweg, Georgetown University

• Madeline Taylor Pheasant, University of Maryland