Volunteering in an Aotearoa New Zealand Prison: Expanding Sociological Criminal Justice Learning

Abstract

This article outlines an evaluation of a student-volunteer program at a corrections facility in Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim of the volunteer program was to offer students the opportunity to think critically on the criminal justice system and to give back to the community. This article explores the volunteering project evaluation in terms of the potentials and limitations of service-learning initiatives and unpacks the implications for teaching sociological criminology. While learning in a community setting is a powerful tool, this evaluation indicates that student learning initiatives may need to be adapted to initiate increased reflection upon the role of structure and agency in shaping lives, and to develop a framework that encourages students to engage in a critical consideration of taken-for-granted assumptions (about who is ‘dangerous’, about what ‘rehabilitation’ means). These findings point more broadly to some of the challenges in teaching sociological criminology in the contemporary era.