Assertiveness is a background trait related to the temperament of an individual, thus influencing several aspects of everyday life. Research indicates that both under- and over-assertive behavior may have a negative impact on one's life, whereas the central position, positive assertiveness, seems to be most advantageous. This study utilized the…

Needs assessments (NAs) for marginalized communities would ideally contextualize needs in the sociocultural context, use agency-supportive methods, and result in liberatory action planning. This article develops the Transformative Needs Assessment With Marginalized Communities (TNAMC) using a mixed-methods approach that examines internal and…

Threatened with ever-increasing levels of surveillance and confinement, this special issue attempts to extend the discussion of "Prison Theatre" to consider 'carcerality' as a pervasive neoliberal strategy. The issue aims to steer the discussion away from considerations of utility and the aesthetics of redemption, towards understandings…

Throughout history and in every culture and country, animals and humans have formed special bonds often as pets. Well trained pets have often been used in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) programs in hospitals and nursing homes to help patients cope with illnesses and recovery while away from home. Pet visits to these facilities have documented…

African American (AA) male youth across the United States are often detained or committed to juvenile facilities at a higher rate than most population groups due to criminal or delinquent behavior. The research explored the risk and protective factors associated with delinquency for this population while bringing awareness to delinquency and vital…

This article reports the findings from a qualitative study evaluating a Visiting Mum scheme that supported Welsh children with a mother in prison. There are 12 women's prisons in England, and none in Wales. Women living in south and west Wales are currently incarcerated at HMP Eastwood Park, Gloucestershire. This is significant for Welsh children,…

This article describes a teacher's journey into prison where she delivers university writing classes. The author explores techniques and strategies that foster empowerment in prison classrooms. Based on the author's experience and secondary research on critical pedagogy and transformative learning, she explores what it means to treat university…

The U.S. has seen a more than five-fold increase in the number of children who experience the incarceration of a parent, such that now 7% of all U.S. children have been impacted. Parental incarceration has been linked to an array of consequences for children's development and well-being, spanning most developmental domains and all developmental…

I will discuss data collected throughout this dissertation to discover whether adjudicated youth made educational gains while incarcerated at a juvenile facility in rural Nevada. The problem addressed in this study was adjudicated youth returning to a society lacking the support necessary to succeed in education and life. The purpose of this…

In this article, the authors utilize C.W. Mills' Racial Contract Framework as a tool to unpack how racial power dynamics manifested in a mixed-race focus group interview designed to understand the participants' insights on race, incarceration, and community. The focus group interview included four research participants: Two White women, one Black…

This article presents findings from a participatory evaluation of alumni groups--Think Tanks--affiliated with the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Think Tanks are cocurricular settings wherein participants develop and apply skills and capacities valuable within and beyond the context of meetings. Data come from nine focus groups convened in…

Music therapy can help social workers deal with negative behaviors and symptoms of dementia in older adults without drugs or physical restraints, thereby improving the quality of care. This study tested the effectiveness of music therapy activities for improving agitated behavior in older adults with dementia living in long-term care institutions.…

A very small number of young people enter youth custody between age 16 and 18 (about 4 in 1000 males), yet the consequences are severe. They spend an average of 7 months in youth custody and such incarceration has been related to negative outcomes in the longer term even if they can establish themselves in the labour market. In this paper, we…

Education research increasingly conceptualizes how social interactions and contexts of public schools replicate practices found in prisons. Yet prison-schooling is often left out of education research. Concurrently, prison-schooling is where we educate a disproportionate amount of multiply marginalized youth, specifically disabled Girls of Color.…

In adult education, understanding the dynamics of motivation among incarcerated individuals to attend English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes is crucial for effective educational programming, successful rehabilitation, and recidivism reduction efforts. The present study, focusing on Greek prisons, investigates two key aspects: a) the influence…