This qualitative study examines how elementary students of Color develop and enact an abolitionist praxis as part of a "Freedom Dreaming" literacy unit. The analysis of focus-group interviews elucidates how, after learning about freedom dreaming and the abolition of prisons and police, students positioned historical anti-carceral…

While many scholars have examined transformative learning in different prison education programs, the field has only recently reached Latin America. This article presents a participatory action research project which has been operating in a prison for men accused of organized crime in Jalisco, Mexico, since 2018. The analysis is based on…

The purpose of this investigation was to identify components that might logically be included in a model transformative correctional education program aimed at making correctional education programming within the New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD) more effective. Grounded in current theory and research, this investigation relied on a…

This study explores the extent to which a unique and disruptive experience (a field trip to a prison) combined with reflective writing resulted in transformative learning by students enrolled in an accounting ethics course. Students were provided with clearly defined steps ('prompts') designed to encourage them to think logically and to reflect…

In what ways can a community music education project based on historical re-enactment be a vehicle for transformational learning, empowerment and reconnection with community? In 2018, Serenading Adela was performed to celebrate and remember the 100th anniversary of a moment in history when women sang under the prison cell window of Adela…

This paper critically discusses two London-based "Learning Together" prison university partnerships--Middlesex University with Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Wandsworth and London South Bank University (LSBU) with HMP Pentonville. The paper documents how students experienced the shared classroom learning approach designed on principles of…

A qualitative phenomenological methodology was used to interview formerly incarcerated African American and Hispanic males about their perceptions and lived experiences with correctional education programs. The problem addressed by this study is the challenges that incarcerated individuals face while participating in correctional education…

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…

Prison education is often cited as the only redeeming experience in an otherwise cruel environment. While educational programs are found in prisons across Canada, they are often guided by philosophies of punishment, risk, and security rather than more transformative frameworks. In addition to prison staff and management who struggle to find value…

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…

Scholars and policymakers alike have recognized mass incarceration and criminal recidivism as two of the most profound challenges American society faces. For more than half a century, the United States has been the world's most prominent incarcerator, boasting the highest incarceration rate and the third-highest recidivism rate, with analysts…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the transformative learning experiences of formerly incarcerated participants in The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), a three-level experiential training program in nonviolent conflict resolution. It explores participants' interpretation of changes in their mindsets about violence and…

This article reflects on the authors' experiences and those of their students in teaching and learning during a Learning Together course on The Good Life and the Good Society (GLGS) held in an English high security prison involving students serving sentences in the prison and students from the University of Cambridge. This article is based on data…

In this paper we argue that education--particularly higher education (HE)--has the potential to offer socially, economically and culturally transformative learning opportunities. Yet, for prisoners, the opportunity to engage in HE as active social citizens are often limited. Using a Freirean model of democratic, pedagogic participatory dialogue,…

The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program is a course held inside a correctional facility that brings together currently incarcerated individuals and university students. Although this program has been implemented widely, questions about its impacts remain. This study examines the transformational nature of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, as…