There has been a significant increase in the nation's female incarceration rate. During 2006, the number of women in prison increased by approximately 4.5 %. The increase of female prisoners from 2005 to 2006 was larger than the average growth rate of 2.9% from 2000 through 2005. Women ages 35 to 39 made up the largest percentage of female prisoners. At the end of 2006, females made up 7.2% of the prison population under State or Federal jurisdiction, up from 6.7% in 2000. Oklahoma had the highest female incarceration rate in the nation, approximately 129, 000 inmates; followed by Louisiana, which incarcerated 108, 000 female inmates (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006). The purpose of this study was to describe how college- educated incarcerated females in a state prison perceived their incarceration experiences. The central research question was: how do college-educated incarcerated females perceive their incarceration experience? Data were collected by conducting interviews with nine women who had a minimum of two years of college-level coursework from a regionally accredited college or university and who did not have a history of drug abuse. Findings suggest that while there are negative aspects of college-educated females' incarceration experiences, the totality of the experience was not negatively perceived.
","abstract_html":"<p>There has been a significant increase in the nation's female incarceration rate. During 2006, the number of women in prison increased by approximately 4.5 %. The increase of female prisoners from 2005 to 2006 was larger than the average growth rate of 2.9% from 2000 through 2005. Women ages 35 to 39 made up the largest percentage of female prisoners. At the end of 2006, females made up 7.2% of the prison population under State or Federal jurisdiction, up from 6.7% in 2000. Oklahoma had the highest female incarceration rate in the nation, approximately 129, 000 inmates; followed by Louisiana, which incarcerated 108, 000 female inmates (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006). The purpose of this study was to describe how college- educated incarcerated females in a state prison perceived their incarceration experiences. The central research question was: how do college-educated incarcerated females perceive their incarceration experience? Data were collected by conducting interviews with nine women who had a minimum of two years of college-level coursework from a regionally accredited college or university and who did not have a history of drug abuse. Findings suggest that while there are negative aspects of college-educated females' incarceration experiences, the totality of the experience was not negatively perceived.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wilson, Tanisca"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation-Restricted","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Perry, Andre"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-12-17T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-12-17T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:28:04Z","subjects":["Female prisoners","Female inmates","Women in prison","Women prisoners","Educated offenders in prisons","Vocational programs for women","Prison education","Prison programs"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/109","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Perry, Andre"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wilson, Tanisca"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation-Restricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Female prisoners","Female inmates","Women in prison","Women prisoners","Educated offenders in prisons","Vocational programs for women","Prison education","Prison programs"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/109"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["There has been a significant increase in the nation's female incarceration rate. During 2006, the number of women in prison increased by approximately 4.5 %. The increase of female prisoners from 2005 to 2006 was larger than the average growth rate of 2.9% from 2000 through 2005. Women ages 35 to 39 made up the largest percentage of female prisoners. At the end of 2006, females made up 7.2% of the prison population under State or Federal jurisdiction, up from 6.7% in 2000. Oklahoma had the highest female incarceration rate in the nation, approximately 129, 000 inmates; followed by Louisiana, which incarcerated 108, 000 female inmates (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006). The purpose of this study was to describe how college- educated incarcerated females in a state prison perceived their incarceration experiences. The central research question was: how do college-educated incarcerated females perceive their incarceration experience? Data were collected by conducting interviews with nine women who had a minimum of two years of college-level coursework from a regionally accredited college or university and who did not have a history of drug abuse. Findings suggest that while there are negative aspects of college-educated females' incarceration experiences, the totality of the experience was not negatively perceived.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Exploration of the College-Educated Female Incarceration Experience"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Perry, Andre"],"dc:creator":["Wilson, Tanisca"],"dc:description.abstract":["There has been a significant increase in the nation's female incarceration rate. During 2006, the number of women in prison increased by approximately 4.5 %. The increase of female prisoners from 2005 to 2006 was larger than the average growth rate of 2.9% from 2000 through 2005. Women ages 35 to 39 made up the largest percentage of female prisoners. At the end of 2006, females made up 7.2% of the prison population under State or Federal jurisdiction, up from 6.7% in 2000. Oklahoma had the highest female incarceration rate in the nation, approximately 129, 000 inmates; followed by Louisiana, which incarcerated 108, 000 female inmates (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006). The purpose of this study was to describe how college- educated incarcerated females in a state prison perceived their incarceration experiences. The central research question was: how do college-educated incarcerated females perceive their incarceration experience? Data were collected by conducting interviews with nine women who had a minimum of two years of college-level coursework from a regionally accredited college or university and who did not have a history of drug abuse. Findings suggest that while there are negative aspects of college-educated females' incarceration experiences, the totality of the experience was not negatively perceived.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/109"],"dc:subject":["Female prisoners","Female inmates","Women in prison","Women prisoners","Educated offenders in prisons","Vocational programs for women","Prison education","Prison programs"],"dc:title":["An Exploration of the College-Educated Female Incarceration Experience"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation-Restricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:28:04Z"}