Motivational Strategies for Correctional Practitioners

The purpose of this paper is to examine the significance of motivational strategies on offender participation in learning. Education is an effective tool to assist offenders to become productive citizens in society. Therefore, the correctional practitioners must have effective motivational methods to impact the educational development of offenders. Education is a valuable tool for making changes in the lives of the adult offender population. The adult offender population includes those who are currently incarcerated, parolees, and probationers. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 68% of inmates (offenders) are high school dropouts. These offenders have a higher rate of recidivism than offenders who have a 12-grade education (Harlow, 2003). Approximately two million men and women are currently incarcerated in the nation’s penitentiaries, and 75% of them will commit a new crime within three years upon release from prison (Hall & Killacky, 2008). Inmates are being released from prison with little education, job training skills, or the ability to find employment. Incarcerated inmates who attended correction education were less likely to return to prison. Offenders have a greater chance for employment and better social economic life with a 12-grade education than those who failed to obtain a GED (Harlow, 2003). The success of offenders’ education is dependent upon them actively participating in and completing education programs. Participation in an education program is closely related to correctional practitioners’ ability to solicit students and motivate them to enroll and stay in the educational programs. Correctional practitioners (CP) are those teachers, social workers, counselors, and probation officers who have a direct impact on offenders’ educational progress. The offender population is a special adult education group that requires effective adult learning and motivational strategies in order to thrive (Ashcroft, 1999). This research involves examining how effective motivational training and strategies for CP can have an impact on the participation of offenders in educational programs. This paper will strive to demonstrate the benefits properly trained CP can have on positively affecting the education of offenders. Practitioner Challenges CP face numerous challenges when working with the offender population. Distinctive incidents that occur in prison, such as lock-downs, head counts, hearings, meetings with lawyers, and compound disturbances, disrupt the regularity of the corrections classroom (Geraci, 2002). Inmate learners are often dealing with stressors at a level higher than learners in classrooms outside the confines of prison. Overcrowding and inadequate funding for teaching personnel are two factors that determine the success of correctional education (Hall & Killacky, 2008). Lack of funding can influence the amount of training facilities provide to instructors. Some certified teachers are not well prepared for the challenges of the offender population and cannot teach well in the correctional environment. As a result, learning cannot happen because the correctional educator has failed to recognize how incarcerated learners learn and retain information (Zaro & Gehring, 2007). Corrections educators should be skilled in methods of