Learning to be Correctional Educators: A Narrative Inquiry
Open Access
- Author:
- Gearhart, Crystal Marie
- Graduate Program:
- Lifelong Learning and Adult Education (DED)
- Degree:
- Doctor of Education
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- November 05, 2021
- Committee Members:
- Esther Prins, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Craig Campbell, Major Field Member
Peter Forster, General Studies, Outside Field & Outside Unit Member
John Holst, Major Field Member
Heather Toomey Zimmerman, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- narrative inquiry
corrections education
corrections educators
formal learning
nonformal learning
informal learning
adult education
prison
corrections - Abstract:
- Much of the public does not realize that incarcerated individuals have the opportunity, and at times are mandated, to participate in adult education programming. Thus, teaching in the corrections setting is something that many people never consider as a career option. There are no undergraduate or graduate majors that can prepare someone to teach in corrections. Yet, most corrections educators come from K-12 backgrounds that do little to prepare them to teach in jails and prisons. Prior research has explored how adult basic education teachers in non-carceral settings participate in learning activities and pursue professional development; however, there is scant research that focuses on corrections educators as adult basic education teachers and how they learn to teach in correctional facilities. The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to understand how six adult education teachers in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PA DOC) describe how they learn(ed) to be corrections educators. The goal of this research was to explore how formal, nonformal, and informal learning experiences shape(d) participants’ teaching and development as corrections educators based on their narratives. Additionally, participants’ previous professional experiences were examined to determine whether and how they played a role in their growth as corrections educators. Knud Illeris’s theories on experiential and workplace learning were the theoretical framework for this study. This study indicates that informal and nonformal learning experiences played a significant role in the participants’ development as corrections educators. Though every permanent full-time teacher within the PA DOC must attend formal training programs, participants in this study did not find those experiences to be as influential as the nonformal and informal learning they experienced through mentoring by veteran corrections educators and developing their skills through trial and error. In addition, participants did not think their previous professional experience helped prepare them to be corrections educators. This study highlights the importance of informal and nonformal learning experiences for corrections educators, and provides insights into potentially beneficial professional development and training opportunities such as fostering and encouraging mentoring relationships, opportunities for corrections educators to network, and more workshops focused specifically on the corrections education classroom.