Award Date

12-15-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Public Policy and Leadership

First Committee Member

Emil L. Bernick

Second Committee Member

Helen Neill

Third Committee Member

Jayce Farmer

Fourth Committee Member

Alexandra Nur

Number of Pages

236

Abstract

Success in public administration is often defined by long-term goals that demonstrate how effective a program or policy is. These long-term goals can take years to measure leading to investment doubts, shifting stakeholder goals, and the sunsetting of programs. There is a need to better understand how short-term and intermediate outcomes of a program can be used to measure success and the role goal orientation of stakeholders play in the implementation. Prison education programming exemplifies this problem as reducing recidivism, a leading goal for these types of programs, take a lifetime to prove. This study examines a female prison education program in Nevada at three different correctional facilities. The goal of the program is to offer art instruction and college degree programs with the long-term objective of reducing recidivism and spurring workforce development. Using a mixed methods approach with interviews, surveys, and government data, this research applies implementation theory to explore the relationship stakeholders have and the role goal alignment plays in short-term and intermediate outcomes. Understanding this has larger implications on knowledge surrounding implementation processes and motivational factors amongst program actors. This research will contribute to literature on implementation theory, what is known about prison education, and inform policymakers about ways to strengthen prison education for women. Collectively, reducing recidivism saves taxpayer monies, strengthens communities through increased public safety, spurs workforce development, and has several benefits for society.

Keywords

education programs; goal orientation; goal-setting; implementation theory; performance outcomes; stakeholders

Disciplines

Criminology | Criminology and Criminal Justice | Public Administration | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Public Policy

File Format

PDF

File Size

2600 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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