This paper presents a scoping review of relevant literature to characterise research on education in prisons. After reviewing 353 peer-reviewed articles spanning 10 years of research, we conclude that research on education in prisons in global research databases (i) is dominated by qualitative studies, (ii) is primarily focused on the…

Researchers' reflections on narrative inquiry is a growing area of interest for the qualitative researchers' community (Beuthin 2014; Bruce et al 2016; O'Grady, Clandinin and O'Toole 2018). Furthermore, the relationship between the insider and outsider, researcher and participant, in narrative research conducted in social sciences, including…

Retaining participants in longitudinal studies is important but challenging when retracing them after a substantial gap between study phases. Utilising our nine year mixed-methods longitudinal study of 54 families affected by paternal imprisonment, we qualitatively analysed our processes and experiences of retracing participants after a seven year…

The article discusses the challenges and methodological choices undertaken within a research project on language education in two prison schools in Greece with migrant multilingual student inmates, aged 18-22 years old. The 2.5 years of research adopted Nexus Analysis as a methodology and an interpretive framework. Throughout prolonged engagement…

This article is developed from the contents from one of the chapters the researcher has written as part of her PhD thesis. It discusses various methodological challenges the researcher had to face during the phase of data collection in the prisons of Kerala, India, and the strategies adopted to overcome these challenges. This article is intended…

Options for incarcerated individuals to participate in higher education in prison programs (HEPPs) have expanded in recent years to include courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, however these students remain an underserved population in the United States. Thus, there are opportunities to expand the available offerings,…

Young offenders' perceptions of their educational experiences are little researched not least because of methodological and ethical challenges. These include being difficult to access, questions on their reliability as interviewees and their 'doubly vulnerable' position, due to the secure locked context and their age. This article draws on…

Qualitative researchers often face unpredictable ethical issues during fieldwork. These may be regarded as ethical dilemmas that need to be 'solved', but Guillemin and Gillam's concept of 'ethically important moments' provides an alternative framing. Using examples, their concept is developed to suggest that ethical issues in the conduct of…

A rapidly growing number of algorithms are available to researchers who apply statistical or machine learning methods to answer social science research questions. The unique advantages and limitations of each algorithm are relatively well known, but it is not possible to know in advance which algorithm is best suited for the particular research…

This project was born with the intention of generating and recording the artistic expression of a group of inmates in module 6 of the Albolote (ES) penitentiary center through the creation of collaborative fanzines. A workshop was created, held once a week for 4 months. Through conceptual proposals and aesthetic tools, each participant in the…

The arts have been a presence in prisons for over a century; these programs have varied aims, from educational and skill development to social-emotional learning to reentry preparation. Despite the popularity of arts programs across the prison landscape, relatively few researchers have empirically studied the outcomes of participating in arts…

Mobile technologies, specifically smartphones, offer social scientists a potentially powerful approach to examine the social world. They enable researchers to collect information that was previously unobservable or difficult to measure, expanding the realm of empirical investigation. For research that concerns resource-poor and hard-to-reach…

The problematics of accessing res participants have been largely under-stated in the education research literature. This article discusses two case studies which illustrate the complexity of the process of access. This is complexity beyond ethical consent; it is the complexity of gaining access to research sites and participants and of ongoing…

In this intensely powerful and personal new text, Michelle Fine widens the methodological imagination for students, educators, scholars, and researchers interested in crafting research with communities. Fine shares her struggles over the course of 30 years to translate research into policy and practice that can enhance the human condition and…

Johnson and Easterling's original review was intended to underscore both the methodological challenges of disentangling the effects of parental incarceration from other adversities that often co-occur with parental incarceration and the need for conceptual models that can explain how and why parental incarceration may have unique effects on child…