Empowering Women Through Higher Education: A Qualitative Examination of Personal & Social Impacts of Higher Education

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Prison education programs provide the opportunity for eligible men and women to work towards earning their college degree while incarcerated. The current study explores the perceived impact of prison education programs within the lives of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women. This qualitative analysis will examine social and personal impacts of higher education at both individual and wider social levels. Analyses will explore these impacts both within the internal prison and post-release environments. I will look at changes in women’s social roles and self-perception. I will do this by conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with women who have had experience in a prison education program including both participants and completed graduates. Interviews will be conducted with prison education participants following their release from prison. I will also interview a sample of prison education faculty and Department of Corrections employees who work at institutions offering a prison education program. These interviews will provide a more comprehensive perspective of the impact of prison education within the prison environment and beyond. Data will be analyzed using qualitative software. Outcomes will be assessed for common themes providing a portrait of the current impact of prison education programming for women and their social environments.

Author

• Jillian Baranger, Boston University