Tired of the Handcuffs: A Narrative Inquiry Into the School-to-Prison Nexus

• In Event: School Discipline to Prison to Reentry: (Up)Setting the Pipeline

Abstract

This study examines the school experiences of an African American male whose journey to college was interrupted by the school-to-prison nexus (STPN). The STPN metaphorically describes students’ movement from classrooms to courtrooms through measures that disproportionately target low-income, minoritized students (Heitzeg, 2016). In this qualitative narrative inquiry, a third-year college student retells stories from his K-12 experiences and adverse interactions with teachers, administrators, and school resource officers that eventually pushed him out of school and into the criminal justice system. This paper offers implications for educators and highlights the power of stories as a pedagogical tool in teaching and teacher education.

Author

• Clarice Thomas, Georgia State University