Transformational Self-Care: A Higher Education in Prisons Initiative Self-Study

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 4:15 pm - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Self-Studies of Critical Transformations in Teacher Education

Abstract

Urban teacher preparation programs and higher education in prison partnerships are uniquely positioned to confront the values of privilege and access while vocalizing the impact education can have on students, faculty, and program administrators. The New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) initiative provides higher education courses toward a college degree for incarcerated students. As a long-standing initiative with students reaching high levels of success, NJ-STEP has struggled to clearly identify and codify our practices beyond the anecdotal. This three-year self-study is designed to systematically gather that evidence as we are continuing to understand how education in carceral spaces impacts both the learner and the educator, as both are operating in confinement, thus redefining the phrase safe-spaces.

Authors

• LaChan V Hannon, Rutgers University - Newark

• Ashley N. Gwathney, Rutgers University - Newark

• Chris Agans, Rutgers University - Newark

• Nia Tuckson, Rutgers University - Newark

• Christina Walling, Rutgers University - Newark

• Latoya Hamlin, Rutgers University - Newark