Reflecting an international shift from punitive to more rehabilitative responses to youth offending, many Australian youth justice systems are undergoing significant revision and reform. The urgency of these changes are intensified by longstanding inequities pertaining to the gross overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth…

This essay offers a glimpse into what is possible when religious educators traverse the walls of the justice system and work with students-incarcerated to curate spaces of hope, grace, and transformation in prison. Herein I present both a dream and a challenge to the future of religious education to live into a life-saving mission to offer the…

This essay urges artists who teach in jails and prisons to reflect on the ethics and responsibilities of working with incarcerated people, creating artwork, and engaging social justice issues. It draws on recent controversies surrounding artists who make artworks that address political issues but are perceived by some to be appropriating the…

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…

In this essay, Michael Satterfield recounts his experiences as a student in and outside of prison. His narrative exposes the challenges faced by one person in pursuit of an education, and recounts his early educational experiences as well as his participation in a college-in-prison program. He also describes his journey to a four-year college and…

The nature of the education offered in prisons varies greatly. Provision can be focused narrowly on limited objectives, such as training for employment or seeking to "address offending behaviour." On the other hand, where prison education follows the policies of the Council of Europe or the European Union, which are drawn from the…

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…

Many educators view the process of education as transformative. This transformation is important in all classrooms, but it takes on added importance in prison classrooms. The education that inmates receive in prison can mean the difference between the doorway of freedom with a productive future and the revolving door of recidivism. For many prison…

This article presents a conversation with Agnes Wilcox, Executive Director of Prison Performing Arts in St. Louis, Missouri, about Prison Performing Arts. Although the average person might balk at the notion of interacting with prison inmates, finding it intimidating, worrisome, or self-sacrificial, for Wilcox, Prison Performing Arts is a…