The purpose of this study was to discover how Minnesota's Department of Corrections, Making a Successful Transition: Adult Pre-Release Handbook (2005), and Indiana's Department of Corrections, Pre-Release Re-Entry Program Offender Handbook (2005a), curriculum designs promoted the correctional education goal of law-abiding citizenship of adult offenders, when examined through the lenses of the philosophical education orientations of Functionalism and Liberal/Enlightenment. The study included a review of the ideologies of punishment, correctional education, and the department of corrections pre-release handbooks from the states of Minnesota and Indiana. The methodology implemented was a mixed methods content analysis. The design focused on a sequential explanatory, symbolized as QUAN - qual. Quantitative content analysis was implemented with the software NUD*IST. Qualitative content analysis required preliminary human coding completed by the researcher. The quantitative constructs discussed and examined were curriculum design and law-abiding citizenship. Curriculum design was supported according to the Functionalist and the Liberal/Enlightenment philosophical education orientations. Law-abiding citizenship was supported by terms from Mann (1838), Wynne (1986), Lickona (1993), and Hopkins (2002), the U.S. Department of Education (2005), and the Josephson Institute of Ethics (2006). The quantitative constructs applied represented the Functionalism and Liberal/Enlightenment philosophical education orientations. There were three that embodied the Functionalism philosophical education orientation associated with Durkheim, (1933) and Roosevelt (New Deal Network, 2003). Also, there were three that characterized the Liberal/Enlightenment philosophical education orientation associated with Plato, (514-520) and Nussbaum (1997). The ideologies of punishment have shifted throughout time because of political, economical, and social reasons, and these shifts have affected correctional education. Correctional education has undergone many reforms, but no reforms pertained to curriculum design. The handbooks were tools designed to guide offenders upon release and aid in the promotion of law-abiding citizenship. These pre-release handbooks were one of many education programs that were to aid in reducing recidivism rates. Hence, the intent of this study was to promote a new area of correctional education research, which improves offenders' probabilities of becoming law-abiding citizens, public safety, and public order, thus assisting in reducing recidivism rates. The mixed methods content analysis design ascertained how promoted the correctional education goal of law-abiding citizenship of adult offenders, when looked through the lenses of the philosophical education orientations of Functionalism and Liberal/Enlightenment. The results revealed that both Minnesota's and Indiana's DOC pre-release handbook incorporated the traditional and concept-based curriculum designs in the initial quantitative methods. This was achieved using the terminology according to the constructs curriculum design and law-abiding citizenship. For instance, terms that represented the traditional curriculum in the Minnesota DOC pre-release handbook showed that term ORDER #2 was applied 28 out of 33 times. As well, in the Indiana DOC pre-release handbook EDUCATION was applied 15 out of 28 times. The terms that represented the concept-based curriculum in the Minnesota DOC pre-release handbook depicted that the term THINK #2 appeared and was applied all of 17 times. However, in Indiana's DOC pre-release handbook, THINK #2 appeared and was applied all 99 times. Also, these results supported that both pre-release handbooks were comprised of the Functionalism and Liberal/Enlightenment philosophical orientations. As well, the data divulged that the pre-release handbooks promoted the correctional educational goal of law-abiding citizenship. This was shown through the use of the term RESPONSIBILITY, which appeared and was applied to the study all of 16 times in the Minnesota DOC pre-release handbook. Similarly, RESPONSIBILITY appeared 16 of 17 times in Indiana's DOC pre-release handbook. However, further inquiry was needed because the data did not definitively answer the research questions. The qualitative methods provided the confirmation that was required to answer the research questions. This was accomplished when the constructs from the functionalism philosophical education orientation and the Liberal/Enlightenment philosophical education orientation were applied to both pre-release handbooks. The results were blended with the quantitative results reaffirming that the pre-release handbooks consisted of both the traditional and concept-based curriculum designs, supported by the Functionalism and Liberal/Enlightenment philosophical orientations. Moreover, verifying that the pre-release handbooks promoted the correctional educational goal of which law-abiding citizenship. Incidentally, the study revealed that Minnesota's and Indiana's Department of Corrections pre-release handbook support their state's mission statement in both of the quantitative and qualitative techniques. Also, both pre-release handbooks were developed to meet the objectives and needs of society (Chapman, 2002). Hence, the goal of correctional education was to release law-abiding citizens from prisons (Bosworth, 2002), and thereby enhanced the "social order and public safety" of society which was a basic principle of corrections (American Correctional Association, 1986, p. 58). / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy
Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy. / Degree Awarded:Summer Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: May 17, 2007. / Quantitative, Ideologies of Punishment and Correctional EDU, Minnesota Department of Corrections, Indiana Department of Corrections, Self-Examination, Critical Thinking, Abilities and Opportunities, Thinking Freely, Corrections, Social Solidarity, Qualitative, Mission Statement, Social Laws and Roles, Adult Learners, Learning Disabilities, Law-Abiding Citizenship / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey S. Brooks, Professor Directing Dissertation; Thomas Ratliffe, Outside Committee Member; Laura Lang, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_168108 |
| Contributors | Camp, Sarah N. (authoraut), Brooks, Jeffrey S. (professor directing dissertation), Ratliffe, Thomas (outside committee member), Lang, Laura (committee member), Schwartz, Robert A. (committee member), Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
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