Abstract: Formal education programs in prisons have had success in reducing recidivism, but the introduction of informal learning can have additional benefits and longer lasting effects. This paper addresses recidivism and its effects on inmates and society at large and how prison educators can facilitate self-directed learning in prisons through Garrison’s model. On any given day more than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States. Within three years of their release, 67 % of them are rearrested among which 52 % are reincarcerated (Bureau of Statistics, 2011). This re-offensive behavior is known as recidivism. Recidivism costs taxpayers almost $60 billion a year (Bureau of Statistics, 2011). Internal violence, overcrowding, poor medical and mental health care, and numerous other failings plague America's 5,000 prisons and jails. Ninety-five percent of inmates are eventually released back into society, ill-equipped to lead productive lives (Bureau of Statistics, 2011). The effect of prison or jail sentences on recidivism concerns public safety and the cost-effectiveness of putting convicted offenders back in prisons. Opinions are divided between those advocating longer sentences in the interest of public safety and those advocating shorter sentences with th
