Prison Education and Reentry Commons^™

Emotional Intelligence Deficits And Behavioral Escalation Among Justice-Involved Populations, Aleasa M. Word

Master of Arts in Human Services

This capstone examined the relationship between deficits in emotional intelligence and behavioral escalation among justice-involved populations, who frequently demonstrated challenges with emotional regulation, impulse control, aggression, and behavioral escalation. However, many correctional interventions, including traditional anger management programming, emphasized behavioral compliance rather than the underlying emotional processing deficiencies that contributed to these behaviors. This project synthesized existing peer-reviewed literature from psychology, criminology, forensic behavioral health, and correctional rehabilitation research to examine how low levels of emotional awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and interpersonal functioning are associated with aggression, recidivism, and escalating behaviors. Findings suggested deficits in emotional intelligence were consistently associated …

Through The Wire: Examining The Experiences Of Formerly Incarcerated Students In Prison Education Programs And The Wraparound Services Needed To Support Their Success, Isabel Castro

Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the experiences of formerly incarcerated individuals in Prison Education Programs (PEPs) and the wraparound services necessary to support their success. Through Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, this study explores how incarcerated students navigate educational transitions and how educators facilitate transformative learning. Using case study and narrative inquiry, interviews were conducted with fifteen formerly incarcerated PEP participants and seven educators.

Thematic analysis revealed six major themes: Access to Education in Carceral Settings, the Impact of Education on Incarcerated Individuals, Wraparound Services and Student Support, Experiences of Formerly Incarcerated Students, the Role of Educators and Program Facilitators, and Best Practices …

Reimagining Pedagogies Of The Prison Yard: Using Ethnotheatre To Embody Transcarceral Conocimiento, Mabelle Reynoso

Dissertations

Latinxs make up 40% of California's population but account for 45% of the prison population and 47% of the jail population (Sawyer, 2023). Their overrepresentation in carceral custody not only impacts the individual but also affects families and communities by limiting access to social, political, and educational capital and agency. In response to gaps in research specific to the collateral impact, this interdisciplinary arts-based qualitative study highlights the experiences of five formerly incarcerated Latino men who participated in an Arts in Corrections playwriting class during their time in a California state prison. This study foregrounds their knowledge as cuentistas (storytellers), …

New Tricks? Understanding The Role Of Education, Incarceration, And Reentry On The Older Correctional Population, Angela S. Murolo Phd, Lena Campagna Phd

Journal of Prison Education Research

Abstract

Education in prison provides an opportunity for personal growth and increased professional opportunities upon release. As older people leave prison and return to communities, the need for education serves multiple functions including successful reentry and healthy aging. The aim of this research was to explore the current literature relevant to older people during incarceration and upon release. The authors conducted a systematic literature review on 15 years of research between 2008- 2023 to understand how education in prison impacts older people while incarcerated and upon release. Articles published prior to 2008 were excluded from this study. Twenty-seven articles were …

“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 …

The Role Of Virtual Electronic Education In Rehabilitating Prison Inmates And Integrating Them Into Society From Their Viewpoint "The Experience Of The Syrian Virtual University In Damascus Central Prison As A Model". دور التعليم الإلكتروني الافتراضي في تأهيل نزلاء السجون ودمجهم في المجتمع من وجهة نظرهم "تجربة الجامعة الافتراضية السورية بسجن دمشق المركزي نموذجاً", Demaa Hasan

Association of Arab Universities Journal for Education and Psychology

This study aimed at investigating the role of virtual e-learning in rehabilitating prison inmates and integrating them into society from their viewpoint. A Descriptive analytical approach was undertaken in this study. The total number of participants was 60 student- prisoners in Damascus Central Prison during the first semester S22 of the academic year 2022-2023. The instrument of the study was a questionnaire included 22 items under three dimensions. The SPSS statistical program was used to analyze the study data and the hypotheses were tested at the level of significance (α= 0.05). The results confirmed the positive role of virtual e-learning …

Forgotten Population: The Value Of Correctional Education Programs From The Lived Experiences And Perspectives Of Formerly Incarcerated Women In New York State, Cassandra D. Garrett

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

In the United States correctional education programs are part of the federal and state prisons effort to rehabilitate offenders. Prisoners may be rehabilitated by learning skills that can prepare them for reintegration into society post-release. This study explored the value of correctional education programs in assisting formerly incarcerated women in avoiding recidivism in New York state. The qualitative interpretive study used semi-structured interviews of 10 formerly incarcerated women released from a New York state jail or prison during 2017 – 2022. The results of this study suggest that low school attainment is one of the educational risk factors associated with …

How Prison Systems Can Better Aid People With Substance Use Disorders, Avery Faires

College Honors Program

A large percentage of prisoners in the United States are suffering from a Substance Use Disorder (SUD), but many prisons across the country lack the proper resources to rehabilitate those with drug addictions. Incarcerated people with SUD face many dangerous and sometimes deadly consequences after release. My thesis addresses key associated questions: What role do prisons play in helping prisoners with SUD? And, how can they aid this population more effectively? When considering the breadth of such issues, I examine the sociohistorical context of drug policy in the U.S. to inform my analysis of the criminalization of substances, the greater …

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, …

Identity, Discourse, And Rehabilitation In Parole Hearings In The United States, Danielle Lavin-Loucks, Kristine M. Levan

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

Research on parole in the United States has primarily followed a deterministic approach, favoring an examination of variables contributing to release. However, a great deal of prior research neglects a central aspect of the parole process: mainly the hearing. Adopting an ethnographically informed conversation analytic approach, this article addresses one tactic offenders utilize to appeal to a state parole board for release– claiming rehabilitated status. Offenders appealing for parole attempt to establish, in a performative space, their identity as rehabilitated. More globally, this article addresses how individual manage, assert, and negotiate identity in the course of interaction. The achievement of …

Grow Where You Are Planted: The Use Of Gardening As Offender Rehabilitation In Prison, Kendahl Verna Granger

Online Theses and Dissertations

Being outdoors is an integral part of our lives, even as we are experiencing rapid urbanization. Research shows that nature and purposeful work in it have a profound effect on physical and mental health. What, then, about prison inmates? They often do not have the opportunity to engage in nature or enjoyable, outdoor tasks. One way in which this could be remedied is through the use of prison horticulture or garden programs. Prison horticulture is a productive, outdoors activity in which inmates raise gardens that would benefit their group, facility, or the community. In the process, prisoners learn about gardening …

Factors Related To Postparole Outcomes Of Juvenile Offenders, Marcia Crigler

All Master's Theses

Using factor analysis, two sets of predictive variables were selected from each of two randomly selected groups of Washington juveniles (Total n= 579) discharged from parole in 1971. Both sets of predictors were cross-validated using discriminant functions, and each set discriminated recidivists from nonrecidivists significantly beyond the .01 level. The eight-item set of predictors was slightly more accurate (1%) than the three-item set of predictors in determining postparole outcomes.