A New Landscape: Rethinking Education Models for Incarcerated Youth

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 14

Session Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

It is widely recognized that young people of color and those in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods remain overrepresented in juvenile facilities across the country. This trend persists even as overall numbers of incarcerated youth decline and evidence shows that delinquency patterns are shared across races/ethnicities. An urgency remains for scholarship that explores the nature of education models in carceral settings and whether instructional support can generate positive, long-term academic outcomes. Available research shows that personalized instruction and vocational education can positively impact the educational trajectories of incarcerated students. Authors expand upon this scholarship, drawing upon an array of research methodologies, theoretical approaches, and examples to assess how education for incarcerated students is evolving in a changing social and political landscape.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Section 7: Social Context and Structural Inequalities

Chair

• Julio Ángel Alicea, Rutgers University - Camden

Discussant

• Victor Rios, University of California - Santa Barbara

Papers

• A Qualitative Study of Student Learning Experiences in the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court Schools System - Annie Le, Stanford University; Julio Ángel Alicea, Rutgers University - Camden; Kacy Martin, University of California - Los Angeles; Conor Sasner, First Focus on Children

• College Access, Advocacy, and Health: Factors That Matter for Youth and Young Adults Moving From Juvenile and Adult Prisons Into College - Morghan Vélez, California State University - Fresno

• Reflections of Academic Experiences of Incarcerated African American Males - Adam R. Jeffers, Zayed University