Pathways to Reentry and Transformation in California Higher Education

• In Event: Sociology of Education Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 3. Building Civic and Community Engagement in Education

Abstract

California is home to the largest carceral system, the largest higher education system, and the most elaborate reentry to higher education program for formerly incarcerated (FI) students in the United States. This research proposal, grounded in the theoretical framework of racialized organizations, investigates higher education reentry programs, their organizational make-up, resources, and effects on formerly incarcerated students. I examine the organizational make-up of three reentry higher education programs that are part of the same larger Underground Scholars (UGS) program at three public R1 universities, leveraging organizational differences to understand variation in FI student outcomes. To do so I utilize a mixed methods approach including quantitative analysis of student outcomes in the program; qualitative interviews with UGS leadership, institutional stakeholders, and students in the program; content analysis of historical documents and multimedia of the programs; and campus observations.

Author

• Jarrod Levell Brown, University of California-Merced