Prison Education and Reentry Commons^™

Honor Everyone, Nicholas Wolterstorff

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

The CPI is a joint project of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary. The project is a five-year program of courses offered in the prison by Calvin professors, culminating in a Bachelor’s or Associate degree from Calvin. Each year, a cohort of twenty new students is admitted from applicants around the state prison system.

Exploring The Principles And Values Of Co-Operative Economics And Sustainability To Inform Positive Solutions With Communities Impacted By Incarceration, Mary A. Sutton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The United States incarcerates more people than any other country. Each month, tens of thousands of people across the country are released from prison or jail. Most return to communities that are economically, socially, and environmentally disenfranchised. The cycling of targeted populations in and out of the carceral system has imposed devastating consequences and inequities on poor Black and Brown communities, consequences that will reverberate for generations. The literature indicates a need for a critical sustainability assessment tool to examine incarceration policies and measure their real impacts on individuals, families, and communities. There is a need for sustainable solutions to …

Criminalizing Difference: An Intersectional Analysis Of Disability In The Criminal Justice System, Rowan Eisleman

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This research addresses the central question: How do individuals with disabilities intersect with the criminal justice system, and what systemic factors contribute to their overrepresentation and victimization? Despite over 61 million Americans having disabilities, there exists a significant gap in comprehensive scholarship examining disability-criminal justice intersections, particularly regarding how people with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience unique vulnerabilities as both offenders and victims. This study contributes to disability studies and criminology by providing a comprehensive intersectional analysis examining how disability compounds with race and gender to create compounded marginalization. This study conducted a comprehensive literature review, analyzing government statistics from …

“Science Belongs Everywhere”: Outlooks On Post-Secondary Stem Education For Correctional Centers In Virginia, Shelita R. Augustus

Division of Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success Publications

Virginia has an incarceration rate of 679 per 100,000 residents, the highest among independent democratic nations. This scoping review examines perspectives on post-secondary STEM education to promote STEM education within Virginia's correctional facilities, assesses programs to improve rehabilitation, reduce recidivism, and address systemic inequalities by developing the scientific potential of incarcerated individuals. The review finds that while STEM education in correctional facilities faces limitations, its potential benefits are being realized nationwide. Virginia has made strides through initiatives like House Bill 2158, which aims to expand higher education access for incarcerated individuals. Examples such as the programs at J. Sargeant Reynolds …

From Classroom To Cell: A Call To Action For Educational Reform, Draylen Akers

University Honors College

The “school-to-prison pipeline” (SPP) refers to the policies, practices, and attitudes that push the United States’ most vulnerable schoolchildren out of the classroom and into the criminal justice system. This correlation shows a disturbing trend of incarceration CLASSROOM TO CELL: CALL FOR REFORM AKERS 3 instead of education (ACLU, 2008). The link between school and incarceration is present in most physical and social institutions, creating a widespread and intersectional injustice. To create more targeted and holistic reform, this paper will concentrate on the education institution and crucial social structures like socioeconomic status (SES), family stability, and community support. Additionally, reviewing …

Why Teach Critical Race Theory, Joni Schwartz

Publications and Research

I teach at Queensboro Correctional Facility, LaGuardia Community College and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Last year, my co-invesitigator John R, Chaney and I receive a Department of Justice grant to teach college credit-bearing classes to those behind bars. Critical Race Theory is an effective tool.

The Extent To Which The Humanistic Approach In Japanese Juvenile Training Schools Affects Recidivism, Natalie Bui

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Japan’s juvenile justice system is regarded as one of the most unique and successful implementations of reformative justice. This approach has remained effective in maintaining Japan’s low rates of juvenile delinquency and recidivism, despite massive changes in Japanese society over the past decade. While Japan’s crime seems to be on an impressive decline, the United States continues to struggle with social control, juvenile delinquency, and, more recently, demands for justice reform from social movements like the Black Lives Matter Movement. The American juvenile justice system needs reform now more than ever and where better to get inspiration, than the industrialized …

Graduate, Honorable Mention: From Incarcerated To Educated: Experiences Of On-Campus College Students Post-Incarceration, Taylor Comer

2023 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents

When determining how successful a student may be as they attempt to navigate higher education after concluding a prison sentence, there are a few factors that need to be considered. Namely, the barriers to college and academic success, as well as the facilitators of success should be examined as many factors fall under these two categories (Donaldson & Viera, 2021). Barriers to higher education and academic success are the determining factors in if a student that has completed an incarceration sentence would enroll in, and complete, courses. Even if this unique population of students has the means to attend college …

Introduction To A Universal Performance Improvement Method (Chigen-Iku), Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

This brief article introduces a universal performance improvement method called Chigen-iku, which has been developed carefully and extensively over more than 25 years through more than 100 individual and group projects based on the principles that were selected through my doctorial study in the field of Instructional Psychology and Technology.

Connecting Incarcerated College Students To Digital Learning Resources, Ethan Annis

Archbishop Alemany Library | Faculty Presentations

These slides accompanied the presentation, Connecting Incarcerated Students to Digital Resources, which was delivered on April 1, 2022, during the general session, at the CARL-ACRL conference. The slides describe Ethan Annis' experience, between December 2019 - March 2022, of leading efforts to incorporate technology and library services into the education of students at Mount Tamalpais College, which educates ~300 incarcerated students inside San Quentin. When Ethan started, there were no computers for student use. By the end of March 2022 there were 35 laptops inside (plus 25 ordered), every student had a Canvas account, computer literacy assessment, tutoring and …

Postcards And Chemistry Books: Immigrant Detention Literacies, Stephanie M. Madison, Mikel W. Cole

Publications

No abstract provided.

Genealogy Behind Bars: An Update, Kathrine C. Aydelott

Faculty Publications

This brief essay is an update to “Genealogy Behind Bars: Professional Development Through Prisoner Requests: A Case Study,” in Genealogy and the Librarian: Perspectives on Research, Instruction, Outreach and Management, Carol Smallwood and Vera Gubnitskaia, eds. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2018, which see for context.

Gifts From The Dark: Learning From The Incarceration Experience [Chapter 12], Joni Schwartz, John R. Chaney

Publications and Research

While in no way supporting the systemic injustices and disparities of mass incarceration, Gifts from the Dark: Learning from the Incarceration Experience argues that we have much to learn from those who have been and are in prison. Schwartz and Chaney profile the contributions of literary giants, social activists, entrepreneurs, and other talented individuals who, despite the disorienting dilemma of incarceration, are models of adult transformative learning that positively impact the world. The authors interweave narratives with both qualitative and quantitative research references to analyze the role of solitude, writing, non-verbal communication; race and gender; physical exercise; education; technology; family …

Response To There Are No Hard-To-Serve Learners, Only Ill-Served Ones By Erik Jacobson, Montclair State University, Joni Schwartz

Publications and Research

A decade and a half ago, the community of adult educators to which I belonged called the phenomenon that Jacobson describes in There Are No Hard-to-Serve Learners as “creaming.” This is the practice of choosing to serve certain students, in this case those with high scores on their initial GED® practice test or students with advanced TABE® scores, so that we fulfilled our performance objectives and more easily demonstrated employability. We knew what we were doing. The reasons were economic; we needed to show outcomes that would continue to make our adult education program eligible for funding.

Raw And Pure Education In The Society, Iwasan D. Kejawa

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

What does education mean to individuals in the world today? Education is a way one can attain or improve his or her ability to lead and survive in the society of ours. Without educational training of the mind, it may be impossible to realize the importance of adaptability of living in the environment. Without education, It may also be difficult to embellish the use of both the mental and physical attributes possessed by individual beings.

What really is education? Education is the training of the mind to perform desire functions or to perpetuate the modality of obtaining an end or …

Research Justice: A 25 Year Reflection On Critical Participatory Action Research Behind Bars, Michelle Fine, María Elena Torre, Kathy Boudin, Cheryl Wilkins

Publications and Research

In this chapter, we introduce the notion of research collaboratories where critical inquiry-based collaboration – not experimentation – flourishes; where critical participatory action research (CPAR) projects are conceived and implemented across universities and communities/movements to build theory, transform policy, support social change and forge new solidarities. In these spaces, academics, policy makers, community members, students and activists design research projects together, pool intentionally diverse standpoints, integrate qualitative, quantitative, archival and historic evidence to probe questions of (in)justice, enacting - No Research on Us, Without Us!

See, Judge, Act: Restorative Justice And Catholic Social Teaching’S Impact On American Incarceration, Maxim Caron

Montserrat Annual Writing Prize

No abstract provided.

Sr. Barbara Joanne: Prison Ministry, Amayrani Lopez

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper includes an interview with Barbara Joanne, a woman part of a Roman Catholic religious congregation and a teacher for about 20 years, and her experiences with prison ministry.

“I Never Thought I Could Accomplish Something Like This”: The Success And Struggle Of Teaching College Courses In Jail, Brittnie L. Aiello, Emma Duffy-Comparone

Criminology Faculty Publications

In this article, we discuss the challenges and potential benefits of teaching in the “revolving-door” of the criminal justice system: county jails. Massachusetts jails hold pre-trial offenders as well as those serving sentences of up to 2.5 years. Over four semesters, we have learned that flexibility and creativity are necessary to navigate the challenges this heterogeneous population presents, not the least of which is a class in constant flux. In spite of many challenges of teaching in a jail, the classes we teach give students a recovered or newfound belief in their own self-worth and ability, opportunities for intellectual engagement, …

The Justice System Is Criminal, Raven Delfina Otero-Symphony

2020 Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Australian Prison Vocational Education And Training And Returns To Custody Among Male And Female Ex-Prisoners: A Cross-Jurisdictional Study, Jesse Cale, Andrew Day, Sharon Casey, David Bright, Jo Wodak, Margaret Giles, Eileen Baldry

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The current study examined the impact of vocational education and training in the custody setting on returns to custody among Australian adult prisoners from selected jurisdictions. Vocational education and training, education, and behavioural change programme participation in custody and demographic and risk assessment data were provided by correctional services in four Australian states for 10,834 Australian prisoners released from custody in 2010–2011. This information was used to predict returns to custody by 2015–2016. Overall, the results showed that participating in vocational education and training in custody contributed to the likelihood of remaining custody free at two and five years post-release …

Desde La Teoría A Lo Cotidiano: Tensiones En Escuelas En Contextos De Encierro / From The Theory To The Daily: Tensions In Schools In Contexts Of Encierro, Ethan Greenberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ambos Chile y Argentina han visto un aumento grande en personas privadas de libertad en las últimas décadas. Sin ir al tema de encarcelamiento en masa, la cuestión surge sobre la vida, los derechos, y el desarrollo de las personas en contextos de encierro, y principalmente ¿Qué significa para un Estado tener tantas personas privadas de libertad? Dentro de esta pregunta, surge una cuestión más específica sobre la habilidad de encontrar y conseguir un derecho a educación en contextos de encierro. Los dos países tienen, como parte de sus leyes nacionales educativas u otras normativas, requisitos o parámetros por educación …

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 …

The Persistent Labor Market Effects Of A Criminal Conviction And “Ban The Box” Reforms, Joshua M. Congdon-Hohman

Economics Department Working Papers

Past literature has established that individuals who have been incarcerated face difficulties reentering the work force following their release, while finding and keeping a job can significantly reduce recidivism amongst individuals with prior criminal convictions. In attempt to improve employment outcomes, many local and state governments in the United States have initiated "Ban the Box" regulations. These initiatives delay inquiries regarding criminal history on job applications. Versions of ban the box regulations covering public sector employment have been enacted in 31 states and more than 150 local governments. Ban the box laws have included private employers in eleven states and …

Circles Presentation.Pdf, Brandie Oliver

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

This presentation will share the results of two pilot studies using Circles. Circles give people an opportunity to speak and listen to one another in an atmosphere of safety and equality. Circles were used to build and strengthen relationships as well as deliver academic content and increase social/emotional learning principles. One pilot study focused on infusing children’s literature into Circle lessons in a 3rd grade classroom and the second pilot study targeted academic motivation and lack of connectedness for high school students in 9th and 11th grade. 

"Can A Poem Stop A Jail From Being Built?" On Fugitive Counter-Ethics As Prison Pedagogy, Meghan Mcdowell, Alison Reed

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) In 2016, we began facilitating a reading group at the Norfolk City Jail. Once a week during the semester, we met with six to eight men who qualified for "program privileges" and thus were given the option by jail staff to participate in the reading group. Each week we gathered to discuss the day's reading in what passed for a classroom inside the jail: a noisy corridor that connected two cellblocks. Against one wall there were four white picnic tables, bolted down to the floor, stacked one after the other. Though those accommodations were better suited for cafeteria-style …

Dsj Editors’ Introduction To The Mass Incarceration Issue: Adult Educators, Prison, And Re-Entry Education, Rodney Maiden, Joni Schwartz

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Race, Education, And Reintegrating Formerly Incarcerated Citizens [Introduction, Chapter 6], Joni Schwartz, John R. Chaney

Publications and Research

Building on the framework of critical race theory (CRT), this book through academic research and analysis engages the voices of formerly incarcerated college students' lived experiences as well as college faculty and administrators' understanding of academia as created spaces for reentry.

Elaine Parsons Interview, Jennifer Thomson

Bucknell: Occupied

Jennifer Thomson, assistant professor of History at Bucknell University, interviews Elaine Parsons, assistant professor of History at Duquesne University. Thomson and Parsons discuss Parsons' work with the Elsinore-Bennu Think Tank for Restorative Justice at the State Correctional Institute in Pittsburgh. Parsons describes inmate involvement with the think tank, courses the group designed, essays written by the men imprisoned, and she defines restorative justice.

Shared Spaces, Shared Learning: University/Corrections Partnerships That Transform Thinking, Deborah Smith Arthur, Amy Spring

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

By partnering with correctional facilities, institutions of higher education are well positioned to create shared learning communities that provide profound educational experiences. Portland State University offers several courses involving university/corrections partnerships; these courses meet inside carceral institutions. This article highlights three of these courses and the shared learning spaces they involve. We address the negotiating of these partnerships, development of the courses, and the creation, maintenance and outcomes of these complex learning environments.