Listening to Formerly Incarcerated Elders: Narratives of Hope, Learning, Teaching, and Mentorship

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Two
  In Roundtable Session: Lessons on Supporting Minoritized Learners and Teachers (Table 6)

Abstract

This qualitative, multimethod study describes the relationship between education and persistent motivations for release among older individuals during and following long-term periods of incarceration. Through a multi-year research agenda, involving the subsequent use of collaborative ethnography, the analysis of autobiographical writings, and finally focus groups, researchers interacted with and learned from several older men who spent the majority of their adult lives incarcerated. Findings connect a persistent desire for freedom to concurrently evolving interests in education. Study participants increasingly read, wrote, and took part in educational programs, and as they aged, mentorship and teaching evolved into central aspects of their identities. It is suggested here that resilience, hope for release, and education are thus connected.

Authors

• Joshua T. Ellsworth, Duquesne University
  Presenting Author

• Rick R. McCown, Duquesne University
  Presenting Author