“Living More Through Knowing More”: College Education in Prison Classrooms

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 321-339
Author(s):  
Meghan Elizabeth Kallman

A growing national focus on prison reform has led to a resurgence of interest in carceral education. However, and although college education prison is different from college education in the community, relatively little scholarship has explored why or how these variations exist, what they mean, or how they have changed over time. The present paper aims to help fill this gap, exploring the significance of this context for adult learning. I ask: how does the context of a prison shape classroom dynamics and student learning? In answering the question, I employ qualitative and ethnographic methods that focus on giving voice to the perspective of the student-inmates themselves. I find that the isolated and oppressive characteristics of the prison can, paradoxically, offer unique opportunities for learning and scholarly achievement among incarcerated students. The paper’s findings invite reflection about the types of educational strategies often employed in prisons, and provide baseline data on some important social dynamics within prison classrooms.

2000 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila Banks ◽  
Elizabeth Bell ◽  
Emely Smits

This paper, the second of two companion papers, describes a collaborative research study conducted by academic and fieldwork educators of an undergraduate educational programme in occupational therapy. The study examined the perception of student occupational therapists' ability to integrate and apply academic and theoretical knowledge in fieldwork education sites following the introduction of Integration Tutorials and Seminars to the curriculum. The literature review supports the need to develop educational strategies to improve this integration process. The qualitative research design consisted of guided interviews with preceptors and students during two consecutive fieldwork education experiences. Inductive data analysis revealed three themes that contribute to understanding students' ability to integrate academic learning during their fieldwork education: the fieldwork learning environment; preceptor influence on student learning; and the student learning process over time. The discussion section raises implications for academic and fieldwork education approaches.


2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1814) ◽  
pp. 20151512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias Franz ◽  
Emily McLean ◽  
Jenny Tung ◽  
Jeanne Altmann ◽  
Susan C. Alberts

Linear dominance hierarchies, which are common in social animals, can profoundly influence access to limited resources, reproductive opportunities and health. In spite of their importance, the mechanisms that govern the dynamics of such hierarchies remain unclear. Two hypotheses explain how linear hierarchies might emerge and change over time. The ‘prior attributes hypothesis’ posits that individual differences in fighting ability directly determine dominance ranks. By contrast, the ‘social dynamics hypothesis’ posits that dominance ranks emerge from social self-organization dynamics such as winner and loser effects. While the prior attributes hypothesis is well supported in the literature, current support for the social dynamics hypothesis is limited to experimental studies that artificially eliminate or minimize individual differences in fighting abilities. Here, we present the first evidence supporting the social dynamics hypothesis in a wild population. Specifically, we test for winner and loser effects on male hierarchy dynamics in wild baboons, using a novel statistical approach based on the Elo rating method for cardinal rank assignment, which enables the detection of winner and loser effects in uncontrolled group settings. Our results demonstrate (i) the presence of winner and loser effects, and (ii) that individual susceptibility to such effects may have a genetic basis. Taken together, our results show that both social self-organization dynamics and prior attributes can combine to influence hierarchy dynamics even when agonistic interactions are strongly influenced by differences in individual attributes. We hypothesize that, despite variation in individual attributes, winner and loser effects exist (i) because these effects could be particularly beneficial when fighting abilities in other group members change over time, and (ii) because the coevolution of prior attributes and winner and loser effects maintains a balance of both effects.


2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjörn Bildtgård ◽  
Marianne Winqvist ◽  
Peter Öberg

The increasing prevalence of ageing stepfamilies and the potential of stepchildren to act as a source of support for older parents have increased the interest in long-term intergenerational step relationships. Applying a life-course perspective combined with Simmel’s theorizing on social dynamics, this exploratory study aims to investigate the preconditions for cohesion in long-term intergenerational step relationships. The study is based on interviews with 13 older parents, aged 66–79, who have raised both biological children and stepchildren. Retrospective life-course interviews were used to capture the development of step relationships over time. Interviews were analysed following the principles of analytical induction. The results reveal four central third-party relationships that are important for cohesion in intergenerational step relationships over time, involving: (1) the intimate partner; (2) the non-residential parent; (3) the bridge child; and (4) the stepchild-in-law. The findings have led to the conclusion that if we are to understand the unique conditions for cohesion in long-term intergenerational step relationships, we cannot simply compare biological parent–child dyads with step dyads, because the step relationship is essentially a mediated relationship.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 328-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa S. Ball ◽  
Linda Kilger

Author(s):  
Pamela Lee Grant

The purpose of this chapter is to provide information about the use of caring and trust within the undergraduate classroom as it may apply to self-directed learning. Some evidence of the relationship between caring and trust is provided through a recent study by the author. Malcolm S. Knowles' Designs for Adult Learning demonstrates the use of both caring and trust within the self-directed learning framework. The method used by Knowles takes a caring approach to student learning that is based in trust between the educator and student.


2010 ◽  
pp. 947-961
Author(s):  
Danilo M. Baylen

This chapter presents a case study in which an onlineexperience for adult learners facilitated improved understanding of blogs and its applications to K-12 classrooms. Data were primarily derived from archived documentation provided by students as components of several completed course assignments. The case studyillustrates and examines how the online experience, specifically the creation and maintenance of a blog, supported student learning about use and application of a specific technology. The chapter discusses processes and results given the contexts of adult learning and instructional technology as well as suggests directions for effective practice.


Author(s):  
Rachelle Dene Poth

Studies have focused on social presence and its meaning in both traditional face-to-face classroom settings as well as an online learning environment. Technology usage is increasing in classrooms, making opportunities for learning available to many more people than in prior years. The theme of social presence continues to be studied as an important element in fostering student learning and growth. In particular, the focus is on the meaning of social presence, how to develop it as an instructor or learner in the learning community, and how social presence can positively impact all members of the learning community. The main questions that this chapter addresses are: Why study social presence? What is the meaning of social presence? What is the research behind social presence? How does an individual cultivate and project social presence in a learning environment?


Author(s):  
Barbara H. Davis ◽  
Terri Cearley-Key

This chapter describes the Teacher Fellows Program. This program is a school/university partnership that has provided comprehensive mentoring and induction support to more than 400 teachers over the past 20 years. The program is grounded in social-constructivist, cognitive-developmental and teacher development theories. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods have been used to determine the program's effectiveness over time. Results from analyses of the data indicate the program (a) improves teacher retention, (b) increases teacher effectiveness, (c) fosters collaboration between the university and public schools, and (d) impacts student learning.


Author(s):  
Ed Hessler

My focus is both narrow and incomplete, for it is limited to a single area of learning: science, and it is in the form of a working list, a beginning of things one might write down, not in any particular order—so that they might be remembered and edited over time, with colleagues. Improving schools, teacher preparation, and professional development are important national priorities as we enter a new millennium. Past emphasis on targeted innovations in the short term are now conceptualized into the idea of continuous improvements that are connected in the long term. Today, the idea of improvement itself is being challenged. “Improvement,” the term of the technocrat, is being recast in the context of student learning—that is, how can we educate our young or learners of any age?


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