Public Sociology as a Course Objective: The School to Prison Pipeline

• In Event: Bridging Work in the Community with Work in Academia

Abstract

How can teachers in higher education connect course work to the community in ways that enhance learning for the student while also delivering meaningful service to the community? In this paper, I discuss community service as a learning activity tied directly to a major course project. Focusing on a course called the School to Prison Pipeline, I describe the course project, as well as the learning objectives and the strategies that laid the foundation for that project. Although typically work in the community entails physical or other labor outside the classroom, students in this course used intellectual labor to provide a meaningful service to their communities in Nebraska. In post course evaluations, students were uniformly positive about the course and the course project. Feedback from community members was also positive. Moreover, the social problem upon which students focused received renewed attention from important stakeholders.

Author

• Laura S. Logan, Hastings College