Background: The Group Climate Inventory (GCI) was tested for measurement invariance across 332 adults with and 225 adults without mild intellectual disabilities in Dutch forensic treatment, and for latent mean differences on its "Support", "Growth", "Repression", and "Atmosphere" subscales. Method:…

This descriptive action research study uses Transformative Learning Theory as a lens to view incarcerated education from the perspective of incarcerated individuals (I/Is). Data was collected from 19 participants using individual and focus group semi-structured interviews. The data analysis captured the voices and viewpoints of I/Is regarding…

The high incarceration rate and systemic racism in the United States, along with entrenched social barriers, highlight the need for creative solutions to help formerly incarcerated individuals (FIIs) reintegrate successfully. This paper highlights social entrepreneurial ventures (SEVs) as powerful agents of social change, underscoring the…

The paper presents the Asseblywomen Project, conducted by Papalangki Theatre Company during 2020-2021 at the Women's Prison in Eleonas (Greece). Using as rehearsal material the comedy play "The Assemblywomen" by Aristophanes, the project aimed to encourage the participation of ex-drug addicted inmate women at the rehabilitation process,…

When facilitating group art therapy for young adult male inmates in prison, response art helped an art therapist to build therapeutic bonds and maintain self-care. Both artmaking in-session and post-session enabled the art therapist to traverse relational distance, nurture trust, and create social bonds in the group. By reflecting on her response…

Many schools and districts include character education in their curriculum, the content of which is decided on a local level. These programs flow through multiple grade levels and are often part of career planning. However, it is unknown if youth in juvenile residential placement facilities, who could benefit from these programs, are offered…

In this chapter, I argue that prison education is dangerous. In a context where individual incarcerated people have restricted autonomy, non-incarcerated students, staff, and faculty from colleges and universities can cause real harm by neglecting to consider the vast power differentials between non- or never-incarcerated educators and students in…

Transitioning back into society successfully after incarceration comes with its downfalls, but educational support could potentially address transitional success, especially for formerly incarcerated women. Previous research mainly focused on exploring education options and recidivism outcomes for formerly incarcerated men. There is limited…

As criminological perspectives of youth justice shift from rehabilitative ideals to desistance frameworks whereby young people assume a central role in their own identity-development and relationships with others, child-centred approaches that afford youth with agency and voice have been seen as increasingly important. However, noting that…

Recidivism rates across the world remain high, and one of the key reasons for this situation is that people leaving the prison system have great difficulty in securing employment. Addressing this issue must be explored from a broad perspective, but one potential career option that is under-explored is self-employment, with few entrepreneurship…

Corrections education (CE) faculty Lauren Zavrel reflects on the vacuum of graduate-level programs and professional development (PD) that prepare teachers for the specific work of teaching adults in prisons and jails. Citing her own unique journey into the field of CE, similar stories from colleagues, and literature on the topic, she argues that…

The California State University (CSU) Project Rebound is a re-entry program that provides educational, social, financial, and case management to formerly incarcerated college students with the goal of helping them become successful post-incarceration and post-graduation. This exploratory study examines successful career-building strategies…

The juvenile justice system is charged with the welfare of the children it serves, yet less is known about the prosocial behaviors of adolescent youthful offenders. This study identifies patterns of prosocial behavior for 7 years among serious adolescent offenders, the correlates of each pattern, and associated patterns of secure placement. Using…

Objective: The present study describes the development of the Indiana Prison Writers Workshop (IPWW), a creative writing workshop, based in group theory and designed for incarcerated settings. Methods: Quantitative evaluation data from IPWW workshops conducted from 2023-2024 were analyzed using IBM SPSS V. 29. Prior to the workshop, 149 men…

The benefits of postsecondary degrees are striking for populations who have experienced incarceration, yet little is understood about how this population succeeds with educational attainment upon release from incarceration. This qualitative collective case study examined to what extent and how six formerly incarcerated individuals who started…