With the Second Chance Pell pilot program extended to 2020, a new report released by Ithaka S+R details the need for comprehensive research into higher education for incarcerated individuals.
Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit research organization that works to advance knowledge and improve teaching and learning, released the report “Unbarring Access: A Landscape Review of Postsecondary Education in Prison and Its Pedagogical Supports.” An overview of existing research, the report noted the lack of available data and the need to further examine methods and outcomes.
Meagan Wilson, one of the authors of the report, said that other than recidivism metrics, little is known about the programming offered. While it appears to be a positive contributor in curtailing mass incarceration, to maximize effectiveness much more needs to be documented in order to develop effective pedagogy.
This report examines existing research and policies. It is part of a two-phase project by Ithaka S+R to gain greater insight in higher education in prisons.
“We don’t know how to successfully implement pedagogical supports in these programs because we don’t know about the programs themselves,” said Wilson. “We know about places like Bard College that have a presence, but we don’t even know all of the schools that are doing this. There are so many community colleges or small programs that are doing this in rural or isolated locations and we don’t have an aggregate number.”
The goal, she said, is to quantify the need, see how the landscape is changing and develop adequate supports. This is a crucial time, she added, as technological developments have created change in the scholarly landscape. Typically, prisoners do not have access to the internet, but there is the possibility of providing tablets for study purposes.
“We can’t evaluate which strategies are more effective because we don’t have an aggregate idea of which types of programs are more successful and what the needs are of students inside prison. That hasn’t been recorded,” Wilson said.
