This study examined curriculum and instructional strategies that would address the educational needs of African American males in a college composition course. Traditional roles of didactic teacher expecting students to absorb facts are unbeneficial for African American males. As I began teaching a composition course, with a predominant population of African American male students, I understood the modern curriculum model was ineffective in engaging students and developing academic and personal potential. I searched for another curriculum, which accommodated Afrocentric ideals of the African American community and the learning styles of the men. Central to Afrocentric values are cooperation, a spirit of collectivity, relationships, and respect; these values can be incorporated into a post-modern approach to curriculum development for a college composition course. The question, ‘What is College Level Writing’ posed by Sullivan and Tinberg, provided four principles that college writing possess. These principles were used to evaluate whether components of Afrocentric and Doll’s curriculum supported college writing skills. Hip hop is one literary life experience to utilize in the classroom. The learner is asked to reflect, interact and question cultural and academic concepts through discussions and student based learning. Incorporation of Afrocentric ideals through dialogue, alternative viewpoints and information strengthen instruction and learning. Doll encourages thinking and self-identity growth. By utilizing Doll post-modern curriculum, Sullivan’s four principles of college composition and Afrocentricism for my African American male students, I am able to design a culturally responsive pedagogy. / Department of Educational Studies

For nearly three decades, the United States of America has been the consistent leader in incarceration rates worldwide. A number of structural social problems have contributed to this reality (e.g., the school-to-prison pipeline, the 1994 Crime Bill, and aggressive surveillance and policing of poor and minority neighborhoods). Recently, a number of structural solutions have presented themselves in effort to decarcerate prisons and consider pathways for returning citizens with emphasis on housing, healthcare, and education. This dissertation focuses on the education component with an eye toward higher education-in-prison programs (HEPPs). The last decade denotes an inflection point for mass incarceration and HEPPs in part due to increased funding from public and private sectors as well as bipartisan support for making higher education accessible for incarcerated people. In the midst of cross-sector support for these programs, the colleges and universities providing the core elements – teaching and learning – have been mostly silent actors. This study looks at partnerships between prisons and higher education institutions and centers the voices and narratives of higher education faculty and administrators responsible for leading HEPPs. Drawing on the civic mission of higher education, as well as participants’ conceptions of their work, this study considers how faculty and administrators describe the intent and function of their HEPPs and the extent to which they align with the civic mission of higher education. Through a qualitative multisite case analysis of three higher education institutions in New York State, the findings of this study reveal that these programs view themselves as being responsive to historical structures of inequity in higher education and broader society. They also conveyed a desire for their programs to become an institutionalized component of their college or university. There were five patterns, across cases, that provided insight into these programs and multiple levels including: (1.) program professionals, (2.) program place and space, (3.) programs in service to the institutional mission and civic mission, (4.) program attentiveness to external factors, and (5.) program conceptualization: the two-way partnership misnomer. These patterns might also prove relevant to university partnerships more broadly. The study concludes with implications for theory, practice, and future research related to HEPPs with emphasis on the need to situate all aspects of these programs not, as they often are, in economic and workforce metrics, but rather in the experiences of faculty, staff, and students participating in college-in-prison as well as returning citizens attending college.

Never before has the learning experience of incarcerated persons been captured by one of their fellow inmates. Public perception is that prisoners should be denied access to educational opportunities and be punished for the crimes committed. In this groundbreaking study, situated in the qualitative paradigm, I recorded the learning experiences of a group of inmates who are studying at undergraduate level, via distance learning. This phenomenological study originated from my experience of studying while incarcerated, and is aimed at increasing our knowledge of, and enhancing our understanding of incarcerated persons. The study focuses on the learning experiences and challenges encountered by these students. Data was collected from the participants using qualitative methods and analysed using content analysis. Interpretation of the data revealed a number of factors which impede the studies of these students. The investigation is of importance to all persons involved in the Corrections environment but also the general public as inmates return to their communities upon release. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Never before has the learning experience of incarcerated persons been captured by one of their fellow inmates. Public perception is that prisoners should be denied access to educational opportunities and be punished for the crimes committed. In this groundbreaking study, situated in the qualitative paradigm, I recorded the learning experiences of a group of inmates who are studying at undergraduate level, via distance learning. This phenomenological study originated from my experience of studying while incarcerated, and is aimed at increasing our knowledge of, and enhancing our understanding of incarcerated persons. The study focuses on the learning experiences and challenges encountered by these students. Data was collected from the participants using qualitative methods and analysed using content analysis. Interpretation of the data revealed a number of factors which impede the studies of these students. The investigation is of importance to all persons involved in the Corrections environment but also the general public as inmates return to their communities upon release. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)