K-Prison: The Analogous Institutions of Schools and Prisons

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Leadership for Social Justice Roundtable on Leadership Discourse and Inclusion

Abstract

In this era of data collection on everything from academic performance to home life, educators have collected little data on the actual structure of schools. What if all these changes are not actually having an impact on students because the current structure of schools does not allow the changes to actually make a difference? What if schools resemble prisons for our children rather than places of educational opportunity. In investigating these two institutions, the research that emerges may open up a different conversation about what to do with data that is coming out of schools in regards to discipline issues, dropout rates, minority and poverty students, and their lack of success in traditional K-12 schooling.

Author

• Christen E. Clemson, The Pennsylvania State University - University Park