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FORUM on Corrections Research
Self-Reported Needs of Native Offenders: A Focus on Education
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An analysis of the employment needs of recently released federal offenders found that native and
non-native subjects differed in their perceptions of their need for education. Specifically, native
subjects rated education considerably higher on their list of needs. The study sample consisted of 167 male and female offenders who had been released on day parole, full parole or mandatory supervision from federal correctional institutions in the Edmonton metropolitan area. The subjects, all of whom volunteered to participate in the study, were interviewed individually in their place of residence, where they were administered an employment-needs questionnaire and a self-esteem inventory. The study report, by Dr. James Battle of the University of Alberta, presented a host of findings on offenders' perceptions of their personal, training, and vocational needs. We have chosen to focus on data concerning offenders' perceptions of the role and importance of education in their lives. Of the 167 subjects, 60 were native and 107 were non-native. Only six subjects in the sample were women, all non-native. The mean age of participants was 30.81 years in the native group and 32.36 years in the non-native group. In each group, about three quarters had been released on day parole and approximately 20% on mandatory supervision. The non-native group appeared to have higher levels of education than the native group. On average, native subjects reported their highest grade of school completed as 8.9, compared with grade 10.5 for non-native subjects. Native subjects, on average, reported 1982 as their last year in school, compared with 1976 for non-native subjects. Results Subjects were asked what they felt they needed most when they were released from incarceration. The three items rated highest by native and non-native subjects alike were work, money and support. When asked what they felt they needed most in order to get a job when released, native subjects gave the highest ratings to training (22.2%) and education (18.3%). Among the non-native sample, however, transportation (14.2%), training (10.9%) and clothes (10.9%) were rated as the most essential items for obtaining work. Only 6.8% of the non-native group, versus 18.3% of native subjects, reported education as most crucial to getting a job. Subjects were also asked to report what they felt were their greatest needs during incarceration. Again, a larger proportion of the native group than the non-native group (16.4% versus 5.7%) reported education as their greatest need. In fact, education was considered the greatest need by the largest proportion of native subjects, who also gave high ratings to support and employment training (14.4% and 11.6% respectively). The items rated highest by the non-native sample were support (16.6%), reunion with their family (12.2%), freedom (11.6%) and employment training (10.8%). When native subjects were asked which areas they most needed help in to get a job, 19.6% ranked job training as the most important, and 13% cited education. Of the non-native group, 20.5% thought job training was their most important need, and 9.9% reported the greatest need for job search skills. Only 7.9% of non-native subjects felt that education was the area in which they most needed help. In reporting their most important problems, native subjects gave the highest ratings to unemployment, alcohol abuse, and lack of education. The items rated highest by the non-native group were unemployment, inadequate life skills, and difficulty in readjusting to society. Only 3% of non-native offenders, compared with 8.3% of native offenders, reported lack of education as their most important problem. When asked to rank the items they felt they needed to get a job, native and non-native subjects alike placed education in the top two, but native subjects ranked education first and non-natives ranked it second. Self-esteem was rated highest by non-natives and second highest by native subjects. This research seems to indicate that although non-native offenders perceive education as somewhat important, native offenders attach considerably more importance to education as one of their primary needs, both currently and during their incarceration. Given this finding and the fact that native offenders in the study had less education on average than did non-natives, greater efforts are perhaps required by education systems - in institutions and in the community - to provide educational upgrading for these native individuals. Battle, J. (1990). Reducing the Barriers: An Analysis of Employment Needs of Recently Released Federal Offenders, Edmonton Metropolitan Area. Unpublished manuscript. Report prepared for Employment and Immigration Canada and the Correctional Service of Canada. |
