Education Commons^™

Teaching Behind Bars: The Teaching Life Histories Of Educators Who Have Worked In Juvenile Detention Centers, Karina Beltran

Masters Theses

This descriptive, qualitative study explored the teaching life histories of three educators within the context of working at juvenile detention centers in the United States. Systems theory and narrative inquiry informed the study and were used to guide the data analysis. Three sets of semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted along with photovoice artifacts with written prompts that were used to reconstruct the stories of the educators to uncover the themes. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and the constant comparative method to ensure triangulation of data. Findings include: (1) intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, (2) emotional and contextual challenges, and (3) …