Description

The Case for Higher Education in Prison: Working Notes on Pedagogy, Purpose, and Preserving Democracy

College programs inside prison comprise important sites of personal, interpersonal, and sociopolitical transformation that reach beyond the overt confines and consequences of imprisonment. Correctional education can serve as an important crossroads for civic engagement and cultural exchange in our quest to discern and redress persistent social inequalities and to unearth the pathways that often lead the incarcerated into prison. This article draws from the work of college educators and students inside a maximum security prison and explores broader questions related to the role of education for civil society, equality, and the preservation of democracy.