We Are the Products of Our Experiences: The Role Higher Education Plays in Prison

Abstract

As of 2012, an estimated 2.2 million people were incarcerated in jails and prisons in the United States. Prisoners are disproportionately likely to come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, to be members of racial/ethnic minority groups, to have held a low-skill, low-paying job (if any at all) at the time of arrest, and to be less educated than their counterparts in the general population. Data suggest that better educated prisoners are less likely to relapse into criminal behavior after release from prison. Education leads to jobs and trades which help people step away from crime. This paper reflects on life and prison experiences for some prisoners that led to shifts in perceptions of the role of higher education in prison. This article draws on the importance of higher education in prisons, but also adds a new dimension by drawing on the benefits of inside-out college courses in prison that include university students, requires the same course work, and provides college credit for both sets of students. This article seeks to demonstrate that experience and education are the most effective tools for change. If penal policy is left as it stands, there will be no change for the overwhelming majority of men and women who are eventually returning to prison communities. In this article [the authors] address how their experiences shaped their understanding of the 'fast life', their prison and educational experiences, as well as those of former and current prisoners, the glaring connections between education and recidivism, and possible solutions for penal education policies.