Prison Education and Reentry Commons^™

"There’S More That Binds Us Together Than Separates Us": Exploring The Role Of Prison-University Partnerships In Promoting Democratic Dialogue, Transformative Learning Opportunities And Social Citizenship, Anne B. O'Grady Dr, Paul Hamilton Dr.

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

In this paper we argue that education – particularly higher education (HE) - has the potential to offer socially, economically and culturally transformative learning opportunities–cornerstones of social citizenship. Yet, for prisoners, the opportunity to engage in HE as active citizens is often limited. Using a Freirean model of democratic, pedagogic participatory dialogue, we designed a distinctive prison-University partnership in which prison-based learners and undergraduate students studied together. The parallel small-scale ethnographic study, reported here, explored how stereotypes and ‘Othering’ - which compromise social citizenship - could be challenged through dialogue and debate. Evidence from this study revealed a positive change …

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, …

Reforming Recidivism: Making Prison Practical Through Help, Katelyn Copperud

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

While Texas has long been recognized as “Tough Texas” when it comes to crime, recent efforts have been made to combat that reputation. Efforts such as offering “good time” credit and more liberal parole standards are used to reduce the Texas prison populations. Although effective in reducing prison populations, do these incentives truly reduce a larger issue of prison overpopulation: recidivism?

In both state and federal prison systems, inmate education is proven to reduce recidivism. Texas’s own, Windham School District, provides a broad spectrum of education to Texas Department of Criminal Justice inmates; from General Education Development (GED) classes to …

Dmt And “The Man Box:” Provoking Change And Encouraging Authentic Living, An Arts-Based Project, Steven Reynolds

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores the mind-body experience through an arts-based research approach to examine, and redefine the emotional capacity and usefulness of males through societal determinants that limits and hinders men from living their authentic selves. Through the lens of a metaphoric “Man Box” 112 men participated in a workshop recreating their personal narratives of socialization through, style of dress, coping mechanisms, belief systems and who they should be as men through society's standards. In the “Man Box,” male bonding, and emotional feelings are discouraged, while the objectification of women, material property and physical/emotional strength are encouraged. This research investigates the …

Breaking The Chains: Reversing The School-To-Prison Pipeline Through The Academic Experiences Of Formerly Incarcerated Black Males, Folasade Ogunbanwo

Master's Theses

This case study explores the academic experiences of formerly incarcerated Black males. The goal of the case study is to inform policymakers and critical race scholars who take interest in the prison-to-school pipeline and ultimately dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. The historical impact of slavery has manifested into this vicious pipeline and the overrepresentation of Black males in the prison industrial complex. This case study is to demonstrate how the net is casted on those affected by the incarceration system and that break the cycle for themselves by pursuing an education to create an upward academic trajectory.

Georgia Department Of Juvenile Justice School System - Building A Better Future, Zane Shelfer

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Come see how the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) School System is Building a Better Future for students who enroll. The DJJ School System provides academic and career services to students from middle school through high school and up to enrollment in technical college and four-year universities. Highlights will include an overview of these services and best practice information for creating a similar school system.

A Self-Study Of A Special Educator’S Teaching Practices In A Prison Setting: Promoting The Self-Efficacy For Literacy Tasks Of Adult Learners Who Are Incarcerated, Brandon M. Selling

All NMU Master's Theses

For students and teachers in prison classrooms, success with reading and literacy tasks does not come easily. To teach within the correctional setting, an educator must get used to teaching with tension. These tensions must be balanced for the teacher to continue focus on instruction and to continue proper teaching practices. For students, reading proficiency is necessary for passing the 2014 computer version of the GED test. Passing the GED test is an exit goal of corrections education. The purpose of this qualitative self-study was to explore and describe my teaching practices to better understand how to apply my knowledge …

The Justice System Is Criminal, Raven Delfina Otero-Symphony

2020 Award Winners

No abstract provided.