Education Commons^™

Being An Educator: Norwegian Prison Officers’ Conception Of Their Role Regarding Incarcerated Persons’ Education, Helene Marie K. Eide, Kariane Therese Westrheim

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

Despite the fact that prison officers are close to the incarcerated persons in everyday life in prison, and therefore will have great impact and influence on the incarcerated persons’ understanding of and motivation for education and training in prison, we still know little about prison officers understanding of their professional role regarding incarcerated persons’ education. This article will investigate how Norwegian prison officers understand their importance as educational actors through the following research question: How do Norwegian prison officers understand their role as actors in incarcerated persons’ education? Building on qualitative interviews with 16 Norwegian prison officers’ the article analyses …

Rethinking Social Reintegration And Prison: A Critical Analysis Of An Educational Proposal For An Alternative Model In Brazil, Sergio Grossi

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

The call for social reintegration of prisoners, in many cases, does not work or has been abandoned, leaving the question of inclusivity regarding the imprisoned an open challenge in contemporary societies. My study provides a critical analysis of a model defined as an educational system of social reintegration, which aspires to be an alternative to imprisonment in Brazil and worldwide by proposing a reduction in the recidivism rate at a lower cost. I discuss the possibilities of social reintegration and the educational conceptions and practices that can emerge from it, though a document analysis and ethnography of two model units. …

Exploring The Relationship Between Education And Rehabilitation In The Prison Context, Lorraine Higgins

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This article examines the relationship between education and rehabilitation within the prison context. It begins by exploring the concept of rehabilitation, examining if prison rehabilitation is possible or if it is what Pat Carlen describes as a “penal imaginary”. Drawing on this idea, it considers how rehabilitation may act as a way of legitimising imprisonment and whether rehabilitation is in fact damaging and criminogenic. It then moves to explore other models of rehabilitation and imprisonment that may offer a more person-centred approach. Section two of the article begins by discussing understandings of adult education. It examines conflicting interpretations of education, …

Trust, Power, And Transformation In The Prison Classroom, Fran Fairbairn

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This article does three things. First, it asks a new question about transformative education, namely ‘what is the role of power and trust in the decision of whether to transform one’s meaning scheme in the face of new information or whether to simply reject the new information?’ Secondly, it develops a five-stage model which elaborates on the role of this decision in transformative learning.[1] Finally, it uses grounded-theory and the five-stage model to argue that power and trust play an important role in facilitating transformative learning.

[1] This account should be thought of as complementary to (not exclusionary of) Mezirow’s …

Philosophy In Prisons And The Cultivation Of Intellectual Character, Duncan Pritchard

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

There have recently been a series of prominent projects in the UK that aim to bring philosophy into the heart of prison education. The aim of this paper is to consider a possible rationale for this pedagogical development. A distinction is drawn between a content and a sensibility approach to teaching philosophy, where the latter is primarily concerned not with teaching a particular subject matter but rather with developing a certain kind of critical expertise. It is argued that the sensibility conception of teaching philosophy dovetails with an influential account of the epistemic aim of education in terms of the …

“Walls Are Put Up When Curiosity Ends”: Transformative Education In The Canadian Carceral Context, Samantha Mcaleese, Jennifer M. Kilty

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

Prison education is often cited as the only redeeming experience in an otherwise cruel environment. While educational programs are found in prisons across Canada, they are often guided by philosophies of punishment, risk, and security rather than more transformative frameworks. In addition to prison staff and management who struggle to find value in education for education’s sake, the physical spaces in which learning takes place in prison also interfere with efforts at promoting agency and autonomy amongst incarcerated students. In this paper, we conceptualize the prison classroom as a performative space and demonstrate ways in which prison classrooms can become …

“You’Re Almost In This Place That Doesn’T Exist”: The Impact Of College In Prison As Understood By Formerly Incarcerated Students From The Northeastern United States, Hilary Binda, Jill D. Weinberg, Nora Maetzener, Carolyn Rubin

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This qualitative study examines the immediate and lasting impact of liberal arts higher education in prison from the perspective of former college-in-prison students from the Northeastern United States. Findings obtained through semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated people are presented in the following three areas: self-confidence and agency, interpersonal relationships, and capacity for civic leadership. This study further examines former students’ reflections on the relationship between education and human transformation and begins to benchmark college programming with attention to the potential for such transformation. The authors identify four characteristics critical to a program’s success: academic rigor, the professor's respect for students, …

Historical Vignette: When Pestalozzi Went To Meet Bonaparte, Thom Gehring

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

Historical Vignette: When Pestalozzi Went to Meet Bonaparte

Transformative Learning Through University And Prison Partnerships: Reflections From ‘Learning Together’ Pedagogical Practice, Natalie Gray Ms, Jennifer R. Ward Dr., Jenny Fogarty Ms

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This paper critically discusses two London-based ‘Learning Together’ prison university partnerships - Middlesex University with Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Wandsworth and London South Bank University (LSBU) with HMP Pentonville. The paper documents how students experienced the shared classroom learning approach designed on principles of ‘transformative pedagogy’, and how students interpret their personal development and the knowledge and skills gained as a result. We share the steps taken to bring the Learning Together pedagogical philosophy to life and use evidence from module evaluation findings and critical reflections to demonstrate the transformations that happen. We interpret our findings through the lens of …

Turning Gender Inside-Out: Delivering Higher Education In Women’S Carceral Spaces, Giulia Federica Zampini, Linnéa Anna Margareta Österman, Camille May Stengel, Morwenna Bennallick

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This article is a critical reflection of the role of gender in the delivery of a higher education course based on the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programme. Related concepts such as hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and intersectionality are discussed within the prison education setting. This reflection primarily draws on critical incidents from the experiences of the first three authors facilitating a higher education course in a women’s prison in England. One major reflection is that learning in a group of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ students, all self-identified women, who vary along the dimensions of age, class, ethnicity, nationality and sexual expression, presented unique …

Needed Specialists For A Challenging Task: Formerly Incarcerated Leaders’ Essential Role In Postsecondary Programs In Prison, Samuel Arroyo Edd, Jorge Diaz, Lila Mcdowell Phd

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1967 Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice called for a massive increase in teachers prepared to assist in the delivery of academic programs for incarcerated people. “Substantial subsidies are needed to recruit needed specialists,” they wrote, “and to provide them with the training required to make them effective in their complex and challenging task.” Half a century later, the persistent educational deficits and need for empowering postsecondary academic programs in prisons across the United States and the world are being addressed by a wide range of responses from specialists in higher education, corrections, …

“It’S About Whose Voices Matter”: Reflections On Insider/Outsider Status In Prison Classrooms, Rachel Rose Tynan

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

Based on the author’s experience of teaching on a higher education project in two English prisons - one for men aged 18-30 and one for women aged over 21 - the article considers how critical reflection on prison norms encourages authenticity and respect in the classroom. These elements provide a foundation for students to negotiate conflicting subject positions and meanings and build critical thinking skills. Both prisons and universities are risk averse and bound by structured approaches to risk and authority that may impact the development of such relationships. The author reflects on how conflicts and collaboration in both classrooms …

Reading “Women Don’T Riot” After The Riot: Creating A University-Prison Collaboration, Chrysanthi S. Leon, Graciela Perez

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

We examine a case study of a collaboration between a University and a Women’s Correctional Institution: an Inside Out college course that brings together incarcerated and traditional students. We analyze the creation of a class in the aftermath of a riot in the region and in the ongoing context of internal and external reforms. We provide specific examples of mistakes, lessons learned, and the impact of our pedagogical values and techniques, and provide links to our class materials. We emphasize communication between the institutions, from the students to instructors, among the instructors, and from instructors to students. In the classroom, …

What Is The Role Of The Prison Library? The Development Of A Theoretical Foundation., Jayne Finlay, Jessica Bates

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

There has been little examination of how criminological theory may help to inform library practice in correctional settings. This article takes steps to address this deficit by presenting a new and timely approach to prison library research. It suggests that situating prison library research within the disciplines of librarianship, education and criminology can lead to a deeper understanding of the contribution made by libraries to the lives of those in prison. The authors propose a theoretical model which draws on theories of desistance, informal learning theories and critical librarianship. This model can be used by both library and education researchers …

Prison Education In Slovakia From The Teacher's Perspective, Silvia Lukacova, Marek Lukac, Eduard Lukac, Ivana Pirohova, Lucia Hartmannova

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

The present study deals with teaching practices in prison education in Slovakia. Attention is paid to secondary school teachers who, at the same time, teach adult prisoners. The aim of the qualitative research conducted was to find out in what ways, in the view of the teachers approached, prison education and school education differ and how they react to the differences. Another objective was to find out whether the teachers feel competent enough to teach prisoners. It was found out that theabsence of teacher training for prison education and the power of the prison regime strongly affect teaching practice. The …