Education serves as a powerful tool for advancing individuals and society, but learners enter formal education with vastly different opportunities, backgrounds, and challenges. Addressing these disparities requires a commitment to equitable access, personalized support, and inclusive learning environments that recognize diverse needs. By fostering…

The book "Contemporary Trends in Psychology and Education" examines how education was impacted during the pandemic and post-pandemic periods, highlighting how students and teachers adapted to the new teaching-learning conditions. As teaching is multifaceted, understanding the impact of these changes is essential for flexible adaptations.…

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…

Legislators and correctional administrators are tasked with problem-solving current issues of mass incarceration and high criminal recidivism rates. Part of the solution is to implement successful rehabilitative initiatives through reentry programming. While Postsecondary Correctional Education programs are proven to reduce recidivism and assist…

Purpose: The concept of Quality of Life (QoL) for people with neurodevelopmental disorders primarily focuses on deinstitutionalisation and community inclusion. This population, however, often presents with comorbid diagnoses and is sectioned to treatment facilities under the Mental Health Act. The aim of this paper is to review the existing…

After nearly four decades of growth, the number of people held in U.S. prisons has begun to decline. In an era of decarceration, social scientists need to understand prisoner reentry experiences. Longitudinal studies are one strategy to accomplish this goal. Yet, the retention of a formerly incarcerated population across waves of interviews is…

This paper describes a mixed method study of 16,000 postings on Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit related to corrections (prison) reforms and a survey of 140 participants in this discourse who expressed a strong interest in reform focused on ethics, education, and work partnerships. The theoretical modeling of "what works," arguably, can…

Individuals who are deaf and use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary mode of communication experience unique negative life experiences, such as lack of communication, limited access to services, marginalization, and discrimination, that can adversely impact resilience and psychological well-being. In addition, deaf individuals experience…

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about massive change to adult education programs, with many programs either closing or pivoting to virtual instruction almost overnight. Programs in correctional settings, where internet access is less available, appeared particularly hard hit with pandemic closures. In January 2022, the Prison Literacy…

Youth served within juvenile justice facilities are to be afforded the same educational benefits as their peers in nonsecure educational settings, including transition supports. Transition supports include the purposeful delivery of strategies and interventions to build a wide variety of skills based on youth interests and preferences regarding…

California Community Colleges (CCC) served over 20,000 Justice-Impacted Individuals (JII) between 2021 and 2023, and the California State University (CSU) system saw a 280% growth in the number of justice-impacted students participating in their PRb program pursuing graduate studies between 2018 and 2021. (CCC Chancellor's Office--Data Mart, n.d.;…

As a field established on improving the lives of individuals, families, and communities, Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) is well-positioned to address the challenges and opportunities faced by justice-involved families (Nickols et al., 2009). From reentry and rehabilitation to parenting and family relationships, the support of justice-involved…

We provide evidence about college financial aid from an eight-year randomized trial where high school ninth graders received a $12,000 merit-based grant offer. The program was designed to be free of tuition/fees at community colleges and substantially lower the cost of four-year colleges. During high school, it increased students' college…

The focus in this dissertation was on the increasing involvement of Black male youth in the carceral system and the connection to their experiences in high school. This problem is multifaceted in education because of the numerous actors and factors that contribute to the antecedents and outcomes of the key players closest to the problem, Black…

A major challenge for juvenile correctional facilities (JCF) is providing literacy instruction to a transitory student population with a wide range of literacy abilities. The purpose of this study was to identify unique literacy profiles of students in long-term JCF taking into consideration their reading abilities, language abilities,…