Second Chances: How Prison Education Programs Are Reducing Violence and Rebuilding Lives

Behind the concrete walls and steel bars of America's prisons, something remarkable is happening. Education—once considered an afterthought in correctional settings—is proving to be one of the most powerful tools for transformation, not just for individuals but for entire institutions.

Our conversation with Joshua Gilliam, who brings a unique dual perspective as both a former correctional officer and current university instructor, reveals the profound impact of educational opportunities for incarcerated individuals. Drawing on over a decade of experience and his ongoing doctoral research, Joshua shares compelling evidence that participation in higher education programs significantly reduces behavioral incidents within facilities while opening pathways to meaningful employment after release.

The journey of prison education reflects America's evolving approach to rehabilitation. From the early "nothing works" doctrine to today's restoration of Second Chance Pell grants in 2023—after being eliminated by the 1994 Crime Bill—represents a crucial policy change making college accessible behind bars again.

What makes this conversation particularly timely is the potential for mutual benefit. As colleges face enrollment challenges from demographic shifts and pandemic disruptions, correctional education programs offer a way to fill seats while fulfilling their educational mission. For correctional facilities, education creates safer environments for both incarcerated people and staff while addressing the staggering human and financial costs of America's world-leading incarceration rates.

Perhaps most moving is the human element—older students mentoring younger ones, individuals overcoming literacy challenges to read their first book, or former substance users preparing for careers helping others overcome addiction. Consider this: nearly everyone incarcerated today will eventually return to our neighborhoods. The question isn't whether they'll come home, but who they'll be when they do. 

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Transcript

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Dr. Lisa Hassler 0:19

What happens when education reaches behind prison walls . Today , we explore how learning can transform not only futures but entire institutions , starting with the power of a second chance .

Education's Power Behind Prison Walls

Dr. Lisa Hassler 0:40

Welcome to the brighter side of education , research , innovation and resources . I'm your host , Dr Lisa Hassler , here to enlighten and brighten the classrooms in America through focused conversation on important topics in education . In each episode , I discuss problems we , as teachers and parents are facing and what people are doing in their communities to fix it . What are the variables and how can we duplicate it to maximize student outcomes ? Before we begin our conversation , let's take a moment to explore the broader context of education and corrections and why it matters . For many years , the focus in prison education has been on basic literacy and GED completion , but growing research shows that more advanced educational programs , including vocational and college-level offerings , can yield powerful benefits both inside prison walls and after release . Transformative learning theory developed by Jack Mezenro suggests that adults can undergo significant shifts in perspective through meaningful educational experiences In the prison setting . This can lead to changes in behavior , increased self-worth and even a reduction in disciplinary infractions . A 2021 study by Dina Payton emphasized that incarcerated students who engaged in education programs were more motivated and had better reintegration outcomes , While Payton focused on recidivism the tendency of a released individual to be re-arrested and returned to prison her work aligns with case studies , like one in Indiana that showed that those enrolled in college-level courses committed fewer infractions than their peers . This behavior link is further supported by Jeremy Courtney's 2019 study , which found a statistically significant drop in misconduct among inmates who participated in education programs compared to those who did not . Ged programs showed the greatest impact and the data suggests that the educational engagement may relieve institutional strain and foster more constructive behavior . Post-release outcomes are just as compelling . Keith D Johnson's 2022 study , grounded in Bandura social learning theory , compared formerly incarcerated individuals who completed correctional education to those who didn't . Individuals who participated in educational programs while incarcerated reported better employment prospects and a smoother transition back into society , overcoming barriers that often lead to reoffending . These findings present a compelling case .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 3:09

Correctional education is not just a rehabilitative tool . It's a catalyst for transformation . Yet , despite its promise , many institutions still limit education access to the basics . Today's guest , Joshua Gilliam , is working to change that narrative . With over a decade of experience in both higher education and the correctional system , Joshua brings a unique dual perspective to this conversation . He has served as a correctional officer , case manager , director of correctional education and now an instructor in crime and justice studies at Wright State University . His work has centered on developing second chance , Pell programs , regional education initiatives and distance learning strategies designed specifically for incarcerated populations . Joshua is not only a practitioner but a scholar Currently pursuing his doctorate , with research focused on the relationship between participation in higher education programs and behavioral outcomes among incarcerated students . His firsthand experience , combined with a deep understanding of policy and program implementation , gives him valuable insight into how correctional education can serve as a powerful tool for change . Hi , Joshua , it is a pleasure to have you here today . Welcome to the Brighter Side of Education .

Joshua Gilliam 4:22

Thank you so much for having me on .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 4:24

All right , so let's start with the landscape of education in correctional settings . For those who are unfamiliar , can you give us a broad overview of how educational programs like GED completion and two-year degrees typically function within prisons and what the primary benefits are for both the individuals and the institutions ?

Joshua Gilliam 4:43

So for the typical functions of GED programming and educational programming , I want to back up and give a little bit of a historical context , if I can . Robert Martinson posted early work in the 1930s and 40s that basically said nothing worked and that's been a long question of does rehabilitation actually work ? And for a little while there was like OK , well , prison centers are just reformatories for the most part , just holding people , housing people , and that practice still kind of exists today . Rehabilitation came into importance in about the 60s . Security , just while it's important in the correctional system , there needed to be something to address reentry , to give folks a way back to reintegrate into society . So we started looking into GED completions , but prior to that there was voc tech trainings . I know there's correctional facilities that have HVAC , masonry , automotive and some of those trades have been very popular and even then so some of those trades have a long wait list .

Joshua Gilliam 5:40

But as it applies to GED , moving into that space , ged has been basic education , has been addressing what some of the research says as far as

Historical Context of Prison Education

Joshua Gilliam 5:49

literacy rates go . Particularly . Literacy rates , or lack thereof , have particularly impacted African-American males , where people can't read , can't write , and even in my experience I've come across individuals who've needed assistance in being able to send out legal mail or to read part of their programming . So having adult-based education in corrections has been a necessary and vital function because some of the research has shown that folks that are participating in those programs versus those who are not have a less likely chance to recidivate . As far as the benefits to the correctional institution is that if you're not offering any type of program or alternatives to have those incarcerated individuals re-enter society successfully , then you're running into problems of recidivism or falling right back into criminal lifestyles or antisocial behavior patterns .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 6:40

Yes , my dissertation focused on third grade reading level reading rates and there was a correlation between those individuals who were not reading on level in third grade and incarcerated individuals later in life . It really does play a significant part because your future career options are diminished when you don't have those basic skills to be able to acquire the jobs that require those things . It's great that the corrections facilities are addressing some of those needs . And what about the two-year degrees ? How do they typically work in prisons ?

Joshua Gilliam 7:11

So they work in two ways . For those that have been in this space for a little while and by a little while we're talking about second chance Pell programming went into . The facilities themselves have taught . Those classes have had the classroom space to add more light to that . Classroom space is a premium in correctional facilities because space is not always available . So if those spaces aren't available , it's mostly what we would consider a hybrid model like 50-50 , maybe 50% in person , 50% online or asynchronous . So those are the two ways right now that education is being delivered and you're starting to see states like Michigan , kentucky , ohio start to embrace that . But there are some states that haven't really entertained or there's even some four-year universities that have not considered this space yet , which is why I'm here today speaking on the importance of that dialogue and that joint partnership between a college or a university and a correctional institution .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 8:08

What are the benefits for the institution .

Joshua Gilliam 8:10

Benefits for the institution is addressing recidivism . You know , while the research has positively shown that GED completion rates are aligned with reducing recidivism , ged is not necessarily addressing workforce barriers , which it's essentially running into roadblocks for incarcerated individuals . Yes , we can give them work , trade , employment , but , for example , one of the programs that I helped develop was the human services and you're starting to see a lot of folks move into that space because if they suffered from substance abuse they want to give back and help those struggling with substance abuse addiction , so on and so forth . So

Challenges in Correctional Education

Joshua Gilliam 8:44

those two-year degrees are opening pathways that otherwise would not be available to that population .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 8:50

It must lend to a safer facility for everybody . If there's less infractions that are happening and so you could see where the correctional officers then have a safer environment to be in . There's a shortage of correctional officers and so having a safer environment then may be more appealing for people to come into that line of work .

Joshua Gilliam 9:12

So I want to add to that , because you made a great point in terms of just modeling that behavior for not only less infractions , but you're committing to a safer environment , not just for prisoners but for staff , for your auxiliary staff , for your security staff , which means you're not having officers getting stabbed , you're not having fights that break out .

Joshua Gilliam 9:34

If you do go charge-free to a point and by charge-free I'm talking about behavioral incident-free at an institution you could essentially like move to a lower level security institution and gain more opportunities , because they might have more resources at another institution than there would be at the current facility .

Joshua Gilliam 9:53

The trick to that , though , is , if you're enrolled in a college education program two years , you'll want to stay there to finish your degree , because right now there's not a whole lot of transfer agreements right now , but would like to see that , and that's why we want to talk about this because , let's say , a prisoner has a family member who's ill , but they're not going to make it . They may want to move to that facility , but they don't want to risk their education . That's a tough spot to be in . So if you have colleges being able to work together to be able to not necessarily take substitutions for courses , but if we're able to transfer college to college , that's pretty important in terms of closure and being able to think critically too . I could make an argument that if that individual does not get to go close to home during that difficult time , it might lead to something behavioral .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 10:41

Yeah , right , and I'm surprised that there's not any sort of transfer of credits . That would be allowed to happen , because a lot of times , everyday , people will transfer their credits from one college or one university to another , and that's kind of a common thing . So I'm surprised that it's not more readily available for those programs that you're working on , and I could see where that would definitely be helpful for somebody , especially if maybe you started a program and maybe you leave the corrections facility you know if you still want to finish it , or so just give some more flexibility , more opportunities .

Joshua Gilliam 11:14

So to give a little grace . The programs are new and they're still trying to figure this out , but I did have an individual who did parole out and we were able to transition from that one college to the nearest serving community college under that branch . We were able to transition from that one college to the nearest serving community college under that branch and was able to continue and graduate at his nearby community college .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 11:33

And some of the courses were completely asynchronous , but then sometimes you would have an educator go into the facility .

Joshua Gilliam 11:39

It wasn't often , but it did occur .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 11:41

And you served as the director of correctional education and worked in various roles within the Virginia Department of Corrections . So , from that vantage point , what are some of the unique challenges and opportunities you encountered in bringing educational programs to incarcerated populations ?

Joshua Gilliam 11:57

One of the biggest challenges and I've got two of them that I'd like to discuss is that the security of the institution Right , just like colleges , prisons aren't all created equally Depending on the security level of the institution may have more restrictions than others . Right , you have road camps , you have minimum-medium facilities and then you have what I worked in Virginia Supermax and those opportunities can be limited . Trying to deliver not just an educational service but an accessible and quality educational service can be problematic . And I'll give you a further example that , as far as the security of institution goes , there was a policy last year that came into play as a paper policy , and the reason they implemented this paper policy was to address the drugs coming into the facility , and understandably so .

Joshua Gilliam 12:46

There was a point in time where I would , as a director of correctional education , bring in textbooks , supplies , so on , so forth . Because they had trust in me , I was able to establish that rapport hamper delay . If classes start on this week and textbooks aren't coming in to a certain point , some of this work has to be done super early to ensure that all the resources are available and adequate access to resources . Just another example is that some students have access to computers . Some students are doing their classes from a tablet I think of my students here at Wright State and we have accommodations for accessibility services . You know , if you have older students who can't quite see , or the screen's not bright enough or the text is small , it's hard to address these problems . So those are just some of the challenges that can be presented within the institution , or at least the level of security .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 13:42

What kind of opportunities have you encountered ?

Joshua Gilliam 13:45

So the opportunities that I have found because again we're speaking primarily from someone who has worked in a facility that has had a lot of restrictions in my experience in Virginia and Kentucky is there's an opportunity for cohorting the amount of networking we had going on with the students that would come to the office or would meet up in the hallway to talk about homework or to talk about a certain topic or paper or research . It was really enlightening because they weren't just dealing with the everyday correctional things . They weren't caught up on a problem that could possibly land them in restrictive housing , if you will disciplinary violations , things like that . So when you're seeing pro-social things being modeled in a criminogenic environment , that's transformative .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 14:28

Yeah , it really is . What kind of incentives are you currently involved in that aim to expand the educational access in the correctional facilities ?

Joshua Gilliam 14:37

So currently , as it stands , I'm involved in the Bluegrass Coalition for Higher Education in Prisons and that coalition is

Research on Behavioral Outcomes

Joshua Gilliam 14:44

formed of Kentucky , ohio and Michigan and we are going to be doing a conference at the University of Louisville in Kentucky .

Joshua Gilliam 14:53

I will be serving on a panel with nearby serving community colleges , correctional institutions , doc practitioners , stakeholders , and we'll be gathering to have a dialogue to address some of these concerns of delivering programs , to be able to talk about the impacts that these programs can have . In addition to the initiatives I just presented at the Correctional Education Association I'm not a member yet , but I presented in Omaha , nebraska , some of my research that I'm here to talk to you about today , and I just got accepted for another proposal in Pittsburgh it's in August for Correctional Education Association , and that is the balance of academic rigor and institutional growth mindset . That's going to be my presentation on that , because while my first presentation was more scholarly research focused , this is going to be more practitioner based the experiences that I had , because as long as we're sharing together and being able to learn from one another , this is how we can not only just talk about these programs but we could improve them as well .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 15:52

Absolutely so . You touched on your research . Can you share some of those key themes or early takeaways from the current research on the relationship between participation in prison , education and behavioral outcomes ?

Joshua Gilliam 16:05

While the research is still ongoing , I'm finding that there is a reduction in total behavioral incidents for those participating in second chance Pell programming . Now , by definition what I mean by behavioral incidents , because some folks might think street charges , I want to be sure to differentiate . Street charges are in the community , you know , speeding or assault or homicide , things of that nature , and then you get tried , convicted , appealed , so on , so forth . In corrections there's also a behavioral incident system as well , also known as institutional infractions or disciplinary violations , and those can be aside from total infractions . Going to be breaking it down as classification of minor and major infractions . So minor can be anything as simply being in an unauthorized area , so minor can be anything as simply being in an unauthorized area , whereas a major infraction could be escape or drugs or gang paraphernalia , because gangs are zero tolerance policy within correctional systems . But that's that's kind of one of the early takeaways right now and while that's significant in terms of not just modeling behavior inside the state of incarceration but how that can transition to the outside upon release .

Joshua Gilliam 17:08

Additionally , one of the key themes I've found from the data is that older incarcerated individuals value education more so than young prisoners . I saw a lot of the older individuals , kind of take on a mentor role of sorts and helped the young individuals come in . And there is a difference in mentality . Again , working in corrections , I remember the for lack of better term , the old head style convict mentality , whereas now the younger generation is coming in and it's more for lack of better term , instant gratification , and there is a difference , so that older population is able to mentor and help those younger individuals come in , not just to learn to do time , but also to be able to show . These opportunities were not available to us years ago and as you guys are coming in , this is available to you . You are Pell eligible at this point , so it's important to emphasize that and I've seen a lot of those individuals take the young ones up under their wings , so it's been nice .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 18:03

Can you tell us a little bit about any qualitative work that you're planning with incarcerated students or staff , and how will these conversations inform your research or program development ?

Joshua Gilliam 18:12

Although education can be transformative from a quantitative perspective , because that moves DOC stakeholders , when they see numbers , when they see a reduction in behaviors , when they see a reduction in recidivism , that moves the needle for them . But on the flip side of that coin , it doesn't tell the whole story Qualitatively . I want to demonstrate how transformational education can be Underserved populations such as women in prison , because there's not a whole lot of research on that and I'd be curious to know , as a comparison group do women value education more than male prisoners ? That's something that I'm intrigued about . Do women value education more than male prisoners ? That's something that I'm intrigued about . And the only research out there on women in prisons is that they are less violent than men , that they commit more property crimes than they do violent crimes . But I think those perspectives and those experiences can help shape what best practices look like for education and correctional institutions as a joint collaboration .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 19:03

Looking ahead what is your vision for the future of correctional institutions as a joint collaboration ? Looking ahead what is your vision for the future of correctional education ? What kind of policy changes or program shifts would you most like to see in order to make education in prisons more impactful and accessible ?

Joshua Gilliam 19:16

I think one of the most important things , because I mean we came out of a pandemic there in 2020 , and there was a lot of shortfalls academically . There was shortfalls

Future Vision for Correctional Education

Joshua Gilliam 19:25

with retention , which has been a very important topic amongst higher ed , along with the demographic cliff of 2025 , where students aren't coming to college or millennials didn't have kids , something to that effect .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 19:36

A lot of people that are reconsidering options like do I need to go to college ? Is it worth me getting into debt ? Can I find something else ? Maybe in the trades or so into farming , there's a shift .

Joshua Gilliam 19:48

So my vision for correctional education ? We come out of a pandemic where we saw a shortfall in enrollments and retention , which are pretty important topics around higher education , along with this demographic cliff of 2025 , where we don't have an upcoming generation of mass students coming into college . My vision for colleges to address those shortfalls would be to collaborate with penal institutions to educate the incarcerated and further address recidivism , because it's a joint collaboration , it's a business model at the end of the day . So colleges are having these enrollments , they're having these seats filled , they're able to pay their staff adequately and for the first time in a while because in 1994 , the Clinton administration enacted the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act , which stripped Pell eligibility for about 30 years it just came available in 2023 . I was in DC at a NCHEP conference when that policy was lifted . So the importance of that policy shift is that colleges can certainly address their enrollment shortfalls and , on the flip side of that coin , corrections can address recidivism by offering these educational services . Is there any ?

Dr. Lisa Hassler 20:57

pushback about offering these programs to inmates because of cost .

Joshua Gilliam 21:01

As far as cost goes , I don't , I don't think . Think there is , because with Pell eligibility , you know , an incarcerated individual is treated no differently than a student in the community . So they got 36 , I think it , and don't quote me on this 36 months of Pell eligibility . Ok , so I mean it's . I don't want to say free college , because there's no such thing , Right , Right , but that's what essentially pays for that . I think where it gets tricky with the cost is is like the college has to eat some of the money and funds in terms of academic resources being able to provide whether that's laptops or whether that's academic resources pens , pencils , notepads , Chromebooks , you know , if the institution allows things of that nature . So really , with the correctional institution being the oversight entity , they're really not out cost . It's more of a joint venture for them . Is there anyone that ?

Dr. Lisa Hassler 21:49

comes back and says like I don't think my taxes should be paying for incarcerated people to be getting a college education when I can't even afford it , or my kids . Just wondering if that was part of a conversation that you've encountered as part of a challenge .

Joshua Gilliam 22:03

So there's always a point of contention , always an opposing viewpoint to any topic , and to address that taxpayer concerns and certainly I mean rightfully so I can't argue that statement . But at the same time , what we have to consider and look at is I've seen correctional staff not have the incentive and that's a that's a space I would like to . I was fortunate enough that I did have a education incentive that they would pay for higher education , but there are some institutions that just don't allow that and that's where the difference , where it's like , oh well , they're getting free education and I can't there might be the rub there .

Joshua Gilliam 22:54

That's where the us versus them mentality comes in , unfortunately . But to address you know , overall , your overarching point of taxpayer , it's cheaper to educate and to reintegrate than it is to long term warehouse .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 23:08

So , for educators and parents listening , who may never have considered the intersection of education and corrections , what would you like them to take away from this conversation ?

Joshua Gilliam 23:18

What I would like for listeners , educators , stakeholders to glean from this conversation and other pieces down the road

Transforming Communities Through Education

Joshua Gilliam 23:25

because I'm certainly one piece of it , I'm not all of it is that I would urge listeners to think about how they can improve their communities . We , as part of the United States , we've tried mandatory minimum sentencing . It's resulted in mass incarceration . We've criminalized drugs . It has resulted in not only mass incarceration , but disproportionately over-representation of African-American males in our prison population , also additionally impacting ethnic minority groups and disparate treatment amongst those groups . We incarcerate more than any other country in this world . At some point , these incarcerated individuals will go home , possibly be your neighbor , and in that point , as my research is demonstrating , if education can be transformative , then we can save money and lives by educating rather than housing folks in long-term situations .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 24:12

Yeah , I'd rather have an educated neighbor who wants something good with their life and has opportunities for growth and potential to be a benefit to the community , not a hindrance . So I think that education would definitely speak to that . Thank you so much , Joshua , for sharing your time and your insight and your passion for correctional education with us today . Your work highlights the power of education to not only transform individuals' lives , but to shift institutional cultures and strengthen communities . It's been a pleasure having you on the Brighter Side of Education .

Joshua Gilliam 24:42

Thank you so much for the time . Dr Hasler , Thank you for having me on , Really enjoyed this conversation and I certainly hope your listeners and others find some value in this dialogue .

Dr. Lisa Hassler 24:51

Today's conversation sparked your interest . I encourage you to learn more about prison education programs in your state or community . Whether you're an educator , a parent or someone that simply believes in second chances , your voice can support meaningful change . Education doesn't just happen in classrooms . It can happen anywhere . Hope meets opportunity . If you have a story about what's working in your schools that you'd like to share , you can email me at lisa at drlisahasslercom , or visit my website at wwwdrlisahasslercom and send me a message . If you like this podcast , subscribe and tell a friend . The more people that know , the bigger impact it will have . And if you find value to the content in this podcast , consider becoming a supporter by clicking on the supporter link in the show notes . It is the mission of this podcast to shine light on the good in education so that it spreads ,

Episode Closing and Call to Action

Dr. Lisa Hassler 25:43

affecting positive change . So let's keep working together to find solutions that focus on our children's success .