Prison Education and Reentry Commons^™

Understanding Aspiration And Education Towards Desistance From Offending: The Role Of Higher Education In Wales, Mark Jones, Debbie Jones

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

There has been a growing recognition of the value of education in facilitating desistance from offending. Yet, despite a determined push to “widen access” universities continue to be an unwelcoming place for those with a criminal record. To better understand the role of higher education in raising aspiration towards desistance, this paper draws on findings from a study in Swansea, Wales. Adopting a Pictorial Narrative approach the findings suggest that, whilst the participants identified potential benefits of attaining a higher education, those aspirations were outweighed by a distrust of the “institution” and a fear that the stigmatisation experienced through the …

Barriers To Post-Secondary Success, Douglas Swanson, Najeana Henderson, Maritza Sloan

Dissertations

This study reviews factors that prior studies have identified or failed to consider as barriers to post-secondary success. The three main areas include academic success for Latinx students after high school, organizational systems and their impact on African-American students’ postsecondary readiness, and what workers think of their high school education with regards to career preparedness.

Five factors are identified as major barriers for Latinx students to continue in a higher education system. A survey of former students from Saint Louis, Missouri, and Dallas, Texas, metroplex area identified 56 Latinx students that participated in an initial survey. This led to a …

An Ecological Approach To Improving Reentry Programs For Justice-Involved African American Men, Precious Skinner-Osei, Peter Claudius Osei

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This article is a re-analysis of a previous study (please see https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2017.1402724). Considering the previous findings, in addition to the recent discussions around criminal justice reform, race, policing, and mental health in the United States, the data were reanalyzed using an updated version of QSR NVivo. The new findings revealed that reintegrating justice-involved African American men back into society requires reentry programs to utilize a different approach. Reentry programs must be constructed under the notion that the process involves multiple interrelated components that interact with larger systems outside the individual or organization's immediate control or organization advocating for them. …

“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, …

Interview Of Richard Kestler, F.S.C., M.A., Richard Kestler Fsc, Alexandria Moraschi

All Oral Histories

Brother Richard Kestler, FSC. was born John Kestler on January 8, 1942 to John and Alice Kestler. He grew up in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brother Richard attended elementary school at his parish of St. Martin of Tours and went on to La Salle College High School, graduating in 1960. By this time, he made the decision to join the Christian Brothers and began this process for about a year before attending La Salle College. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and gained a Master’s in Theology soon after. Brother Richard also has Master’s …

The Justice System Is Criminal, Raven Delfina Otero-Symphony

2020 Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Enforced Sitting And Authoritarianism In Schools: The Myth Of The Body-Mind Divide, Greta Belina Keller Grisez

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Artist Statement

Greta Grisez

When I say that I am doing a Dance and Human Rights joint senior project people often look at me like I have 3 heads instead of one perfectly sane one that just so happens to want to explore the way we live in this world through both overlapping lenses. In this brain of mine that works just fine, the two subjects are intricately linked.

Due to my interest in this connection, I have become frustrated with human rights work that is often written with a sole focus on the global/big view, distant, technical, theoretical rather …

Metamorphosis Inside And Out: Transformative Learning At Portland State University, Vicki Reitenauer, Katherine Elaine Draper-Beard, Noah Schultz

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this article, the authors (a faculty member and two former students) describe the trajectory that Portland State University has taken over its history to institutionalize transformative learning opportunities within its comprehensive general education program, University Studies. Following a description of the institutional changes that resulted in the community-based, experientially focused courses at the heart of University Studies, the authors explore one particular community partnership involving both a state agency and the national Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, dedicated to offering transformative experiences in which incarcerated and non-incarcerated students learn together inside correctional facilities. Finally, each author shares a reflective essay …