Summary
Nine women, representing a range of ages, ethnic identities, and educational levels, who were completing detention sentences in a halfway house setting in the Midwest were interviewed to gain insight into their perceptions of education. The researcher found that the women consistently spoke about what makes a teacher "good". Some of the characteristics that were discussed included encouraging hands-on experimentation with concepts, encouraging students to access various learning styles, providing one-on-one instruction and attention, and being compassionate and understanding. The dichotomy between what the women perceived as being good teaching and the reality of their experiences in public education settings is considered. The researcher then examines the implications of these characteristics for educators within correctional settings.
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Extract
What Makes a 'Good' Teacher 'Good:' Women in Transition From Prison to Community Reflect
Introduction
In no other educational arena is the need for educators focused on emancipation, empowerment, and liberation so greatly ignored than in adult education inside prison. As the rhetoric of get-tough-on-crime becomes an entrenched part of our national discourse, the idea of rehabilitation becomes tertiary - with a greater emphasis placed on punishment and its role in a larger national economy. Prisons and jails are built in rural parts of states to provide jobs; inmates are shipped to those prisons, often at great distance away from family and community. The impetus for rehabilitation and reduction in the prisons has become nil, for prisons have become for rural communities what military bases and factories once were in terms of economic viability for small towns.At the same time, research studies have consistently shown a link between education and lowered rates of recidivism (Criminal Justice Center, 1994; Gerber and Fritsch, 1995; Steurer, Smith and Tracy, 2001; Nuttall, Hollmen and Staley, 2003). Education is a gateway to liberation, especially if it is conducted in such a way that it empowers students to take control of their lives, a key factor in rehabilitation. Often, it is the teachers who provide a significant encounter for their students that encourages transformation.This study focuses on how women who have been incarcerated and are in transition from prison or jail to the communit...See the full content of this document
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