14 December 2016 Research Proposal
Emily G. Cashour
Loyola University Maryland
14 December 2016
Disparities in Education Among Inmates
of Differing Races
Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to examine the disparities in
education of inmates who are currently incarcerated. The aspects involved in
this study are race, education levels, and incarceration rates; this research
explores the intersection between the three. The researcher conducts secondary
analysis by drawing upon prison records, data collected by the Bureau of
Justice Statistics, information from previous studies that utilized multiple
inmate surveys and personal interviews with inmates. Sampling framework
includes selection of 50 state and federal prisons located throughout the
mid-Atlantic region, and research subjects are black and white males who are
currently incarcerated. Method of analysis is done through a t-test analysis
procedure; use of this method will determine if the difference in incarceration
rates between non-educated black males and non-educated white males is
significant. The current hypothesis is that non-college educated black males
are more likely to be incarcerated than non-college educated white males.
Introduction
The
United States has an extremely high rate of mass incarceration, one that rivals
mass incarceration rates of countries with larger populations around the world.
By conducting this study, I will explore one facet of this system of mass
incarceration—educational disparity between inmates.
This
study will explore whether or not there exists a disparity between incarcerated
non-educated black males and incarcerated non-educated white males. Two already
defined problems exist: non-college educated black males are more likely to go
to prison than educated black males, and non-college educated black males are
more likely to go to prison than educated white males. For many non-college
educated black men, imprisonment has become a commonplace life event, similar
to military service.[1]
It is
important to study this racial disparity between incarcerated individuals
because it is critical to examine whether uneducated black men are specifically
discriminated against by the United States criminal justice system. Through
this study, I hope to provide further understanding and promote awareness of
the racial disparities inherent in the current United States prison system.
My
research question is as follows: are non-college educated black males more
likely to be incarcerated than non-college educated white males? The
independent variable I will use for this study is race, and the dependent
variable I will use for this study is incarceration rates. The hypothesis that
will be explored through this study is that non-educated black males are more
likely to be incarcerated than non-educated white males.
The
results of this research will contribute to the field of sociology because it
will give sociologists a more in-depth understanding of how deep racial
disparities go within the prison system. Rather than basing understanding of
these disparities on race or education alone, this study will explore the
intersectionality of these factors.
Literature Review
The United States has an extremely high
rate of mass incarceration, with nearly two and a half million people currently
being held in its criminal justice system.[2]
This figure amounts to less than 1 out of every 150 people out of the resident
population being currently held in the U.S. criminal justice system.[3]
Since 1970, there has been a more than 500% rise in the number of people
incarcerated in United States’ prisons and jails.[4]
This rate is astronomical, and as a result, the United States now houses a
percentage of the world’s prisoners that is almost five times higher than the
percentage that it houses of the world’s general population.[5]
Within this extensive criminal justice
system, there exists a disproportionate racial formation; African Americans in
particular have an incarceration rate that is nearly six times the
incarceration rate of whites.[6]
Young black men represent the largest percentage of people who are currently incarcerated
in the United States.[7] In
particular, states in the Midwest and Northeast have the highest disproportion
of black to white inmates.
In addition to the racial disparity,
there exists a disparity in education level between those individuals who are
currently incarcerated and those who are not currently incarcerated. In 2003,
the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that the general public is more educated
than correctional populations, and that three quarters of state prison inmates
did not earn a high school diploma.[8]
Aside from this disparity between those
who are incarcerated and those who live in the general population, there exist
educational disparities between differing populations within the general
incarcerated population. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, as a
whole, women in state prisons were better educated then men, minority state
prison inmates were less likely than whites to have a high school diploma or
GED, and younger inmates tended to be less well educated than inmates who were
older. Generally, less educated inmates had a higher recidivism rate than
educated inmates.[9]
Research into the impact of the
criminal justice system on black and white males has taken several forms, but
has especially focused on the implications of incarceration on young black
males. Many studies have conducted secondary analysis using statistical data,
particularly from years during the period of 1970-2000 in order to wholly
examine the changes in racial composition of the U.S. criminal justice system.
Sources such as the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Bureau of the Census
taken from this time period have frequently been used.
Some important implications of
incarceration on this population are referenced in both a study conducted by Marc
Mauer and Tracy Huling, Young Black Men
and the Criminal Justice System: A Growing National Problem, and one
conducted by Becky Pettit and Bruce Western, Mass Imprisonment and the Life Course: Race and Class Inequality in
U.S. Incarceration. These implications include the history of changing
racial disparities within the criminal justice system, the impact of
imprisonment on the black community, and the need for a different approach to
crime control. Both of these studies used secondary analysis of data collected
from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, although Petit and Western also
incorporated multiple inmate surveys dated from 1974-1997.[10][11]
Mauer and Huling’s study, using the
annual rate of increase for criminal justice populations overall from 1989 to
1994 as a basis, calculated the estimated rate of control of young black males
in the year 1995. These estimations suggested that “almost one in three young
black men is now under criminal justice supervision on any given day.”[12]
In addition, Mauer and Huling examined the overrepresentation of young black
males in the criminal justice system in the past twenty years through the lens
of economic disruption occurring as a result of the decline of manufacturing,
the expansion of low-wage service industries, and the loss of a significant
part of the middle class tax base. These researchers found that for black male
high school dropouts in their twenties, annual earnings fell by a full 50% from
1973 to 1989. Finally, the researchers, aided by a 1995 survey of corrections
officials, estimated a rise in the prison population by 51% in the next five
years.
Petit and Western studied the
prevalence of imprisonment and its distribution among black and white men aged
15-34 between the years of 1979 and 1999, comparing this dependent variable
against other life events such as college graduation and military service.
Working from the interactionist sociological paradigm, the asked the question:
has the growth of the American penal system over the past thirty years
transformed the path to adulthood followed by disadvantaged minority men? They
hypothesized that “among men born between 1965 and 1969, 3 percent of whites
and 20 percent of blacks had served time in prison by their early thirties.”[13]
The researchers attempted to show that there has recently been an “emergence of
incarceration as a new stage in the life course of young low-skill black men”[14]
by identifying a general population of young, incarcerated men, and then, based
on a gap in research, selected a more specified population of young, low-skill,
incarcerated black men aged 15-34 in order to formulate their study. They used
a quantitative approach, and a group unit of analysis. Their level of
measurement of the variables was ordinal. They used a preexisting data set (the
“life table method” developed by Bonczar and Beck in 1997) as well as combining
a time-series data set on imprisonment with multiple inmate surveys. Petit and
Western were able to provide evidence for three empirical claims: imprisonment
has become commonplace as a life event for black non-college men, race and
class disparities within the history of imprisonment are large and have been
subject to change, and imprisonment is just as common if not more common than
military service and college graduation among some African American men.
Secondary analysis, though a popular
method, is not the only method of quantitative study used to define educational
disparities within the incarcerated population. The 2003 National Assessment of
Adult Literacy (MAAL) used a survey to measure three types of literacy and
compare literacy rates of the prison population in 2003 to that of 1992.
Findings included that though the rate of incarceration increased from 1992 to
2003, on average literacy rates for the incarcerated population actually
increased in that time period for white, black, and Hispanic inmates. In
addition, the survey compared the incarcerated population with the current
household population in 2003, and found that both male and female prison
inmates had lower average literacy rate on all three scales than adults of the
same gender currently living in households.
Discussion/Rationale
Though much census and statistical data
has been collected on the educational disparity between minority and white
incarcerated individuals, the available analysis of this information is
limited. Comparison of incarcerated individuals to individuals who are not
incarcerated has been explored in depth, as has exploration of risk of arrest
associated with low and high levels of education. This study seeks to bridge
this particular gap. It is important to analyze in depth the educational
disparities between minorities and whites that are currently incarcerated in
order to fully understand the level of marginalization faced by minorities in
the United States criminal justice system. Through the analysis of previous
research and previously collected statistics, this study aims to explore the
specific educational disparity between black and white inmates in the United
States prison system.
For this study, I have formulated the
following hypothesis: non-college educated black males are more likely to be
incarcerated than non-college educated white males. If my hypothesis is
confirmed, it will show that non-college educated black males have a higher
incarceration rate than non-college educated white males. If my hypothesis is
disconfirmed, it will show that non-college educated black males do not have a
higher incarceration rate than non-college educated white males.
Methods
and Design
The method of this study will be
quantitative. I plan to conduct this study by using secondary analysis of
prison records from the chosen fifty prisons located in the mid-Atlantic
region, from previously recorded statistics from the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, and from previously calculated figures through such data sets as
that used by Petit and Western in their study. I plan to test and analyze this
information in order to determine whether or not there exists a direct
disparate relationship between education and race of incarcerated black and
white individuals.
Conceptualization, Operationalization,
and Measurement
My
independent and dependent variables will be race and incarceration rates,
respectively.
The
attributes of my independent variable, race, are: black, white.
The
attributes of my dependent variable, incarceration rates: are incarcerated or
non-incarcerated
In
order to measure my key variables, I will first examine whether a person is
currently incarcerated or not. Thereafter, I will examine prison reports, in
order to determine the demographics of the prison. By doing this, I will learn
what incarcerated individuals define as their race and what they define as
their education level.
Subjects and Sampling
My
research subjects are black and white males who are currently incarcerated in
the United States prison system. I chose this group as my research subject
sample because they represent two of the major racial groups that are currently
incarcerated in the United States prison system, and because much empirical
data has already been collected on the these two racial groups. It will be easy
to stratify research on a huge population of inmates based on their predefined
and identifying labels of “black,” “white,” “college-educated,” and
“non-college educated.” After identifying the specific population in my chosen
fifty prisons by consulting prison records specific to each of these prisons, I
will have a research population to which I will apply my analysis.
I
will not be utilizing specific research subjects because my study is based on
conducting secondary analysis. I will therefore not be specifically assembling
individual subjects to whom I might deliver a survey or interview personally.
I
will select cases by conducting random sampling of the incarcerated population
of 50 pre-chosen federal and state prisons in the mid-Atlantic region.
My
sampling framework will be to select 50 state and federal prisons in the
mid-Atlantic region of the United States. These prisons will be chosen
specifically in order to accurately represent the currently incarcerated
population of the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
The
design of my study utilizes a method that has been extremely popular among
researchers examining similar aspects of prison populations in the
past—secondary analysis. Analysis of statistics collected by the Bureau of
Justice Statistics has been very successful in identifying correlation between
variables like race and incarceration rates in the past. My study will also
utilize this method of secondary analysis, but will also introduce how these
concepts intersect with the concept of education level among inmates. I choose
to utilize this method in the hopes of addressing a disparity not yet explicitly
addressed in the research regarding the racial disparity within the United
States prison system.
Data Processing/Analysis
I
plan to analyze my data through a t-test analysis to determine if the
difference in incarceration rates between non-college educated black males and
non-college educated white males is significant. By using this method, I will
be able to determine whether there is a significant disparity between
non-college educated white males and non-college educated black males.
My
chosen procedure of a t-test analysis will serve to best understand whether
there is a significant difference between my two chosen variables. Because I
will have both a continuous variable (incarceration rates) and discrete
variable (race), the t-test analysis will most successfully help me to
determine whether my hypothesis is confirmed or disconfirmed. If there is a p
value of below .05, this will confirm my hypothesis. If there is a p value
above .05, this will disconfirm my hypothesis.
Significance and Conclusion
The
United States’ extremely high incarceration rate is an obvious problem. It is
clear that there already exists a disparity between college educated black
males and white males and non-college educated black males. Through this study,
I hope to further examine this disparity and determine whether it stretches to
the realm of non-college educated white males and non-college educated black
males.
Because
there exist several problems that have already been defined, such as the fact
that non-college educated black males are more likely to go to prison than
college-educated black males, and non-college educated black males are more
likely to go to prison than college-educated white males, I think it is
important to expand the research to examine the racial disparity between a
non-college educated, already incarcerated population. It is important to begin
to better understand why many non-college educated black men are likely to
experience imprisonment as a commonplace life event.[15]
It is critical to understand whether uneducated black males are specifically
discriminated against by the United States criminal justice system. Upon
completion of this study, I hope to have provided additional understanding and
awareness of these racial disparities.
The
results of this study will be important for policy. With increased knowledge about
how deep the roots of racial disparity within the U.S. prison system extend,
there will be greater opportunities to seek change for this system. The results
of this study will also provide valuable information about the specific disparity
in incarceration between black and white males.
The
results of this research will provide sociologists with a more in-depth
understanding about racial disparities specifically between black and white
males within the prison system. In addition to this, my study will explore the
intersectionality of certain defined factors including education levels,
incarceration rates, and race.
By
conducting this research in a way that focuses more specifically on the
intersectionality of factors like race, incarceration rates, and education
levels, this study will open the door to much new research. Future research
questions that could use the information gathered from this study might choose
to examine the educational racial disparity between blacks, whites, and other
minority groups. They might seek to examine the intersectionality between
education level, race, and gender. They might seek to further examine the
specific educational levels and the difference in the racial disparity between
them.
It is
essential that every sociologist and layperson alike understand as deeply as
possible the immense disparities between incarcerated individuals of different
races. The United States criminal justice system is extremely flawed, and the
path toward a brighter future begins with the research gathered from empirical
studies like this one. The realm of sociology has no hope for changing these
disparities without first understanding the depth to which they extend.
References:
Becky Pettit and Bruce Western, Mass
Imprisonment and the Life Course: Race and Class Inequality in U.S.
Incarceration
Bureau of Justice Statistics. Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration
By Race and Ethnicity 2014.
Education and Correctional Populations.
Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report
Mauer, Marc and Huling, Tracy. Young Black Men and the Criminal Justice
System: A Growing National Problem. (1995).
NAACP. Criminal Justice Fact Sheet.
2016. (http://www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/)
Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of
Justice Statistics. Total Correctional
Population. 2016. (http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=11)
Prison Policy Initiative. Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2016. (https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2016.html)
The Washington Post. Fact Checker. Does the United States really have 5 percent
of the world’s population and one quarter of the world’s prisoners? 2015. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/04/30/does-the-united-states-really-have-five-percent-of-worlds-population-and-one-quarter-of-the-worlds-prisoners/?utm_term=.570b0fb4b83c)
[1] Becky Pettit and Bruce Western, Mass Imprisonment and the Life Course: Race and Class Inequality in
U.S. Incarceration
[2] Prison Policy Initiative. Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2016. (https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2016.html)
[3] Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Total Correctional Population. 2016. (http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=11)
[4] Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration By Race and
Ethnicity
[5] The Washington Post. Fact Checker. Does the United States really have 5 percent of the world’s population
and one quarter of the world’s prisoners? 2015. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/04/30/does-the-united-states-really-have-five-percent-of-worlds-population-and-one-quarter-of-the-worlds-prisoners/?utm_term=.570b0fb4b83c)
[6] NAACP. Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. 2016. (http://www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/)
[7] Bureau of Justice Statistics. Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration By Race and Ethnicity 2014.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Mauer, Marc and Huling, Tracy. Young Black Men and the Criminal Justice
System: A Growing National Problem. (1995).
[11] Becky Pettit and Bruce Western, Mass Imprisonment and the Life Course: Race and Class Inequality in
U.S. Incarceration
[12] Mauer, Marc and Huling, Tracy. Young Black Men and the Criminal Justice
System: A Growing National Problem. (1995).
[13] Becky Pettit and Bruce Western, Mass Imprisonment and the Life Course: Race and Class Inequality in
U.S. Incarceration
[15] Becky Pettit and Bruce Western, Mass Imprisonment and the Life Course: Race and Class Inequality in
U.S. Incarceration
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