Formerly incarcerated students comprise a population that has been largely overlooked, when it comes to the recognition of their higher education promise and potential (Strayhorn et al., 2013; U.S. Department of Education, 2021). This lack of recognition contributes to the perpetuation of race- and class-based inequities and discounts the talents and potential of a multitude of individuals. In order to advance social justice and equity for this marginalized group, further exploration of their experiences with higher education is warranted. This exploration is increasingly timely, as the reinstatement of Pell eligibility for incarcerated students may place many more incarcerated individuals on a trajectory to continue pursuing their degrees at higher education institutions located outside of prison walls post-release. Although much research has been done on higher education courses offered in prison, relatively little is known about the experiences of formerly incarcerated students as they pursue higher education after prison release (Donaldson & Viera, 2021; Livingston & Miller, 2014; McTier et al., 2020b; Strayhorn et al., 2013).This qualitative study used the theoretical framework of social capital to explore the experiences of formerly incarcerated students as they have transitioned out of prison and into on-campus learning at institutions of higher education. The study was primarily aimed at obtaining a better understanding of the barriers and supports that formerly incarcerated students experience as they pursue higher education, focusing specifically on the ways in which they are able to cultivate a sense of belonging. Additionally, the study explored the motivations behind formerly incarcerated students’ decisions to continue pursuing higher education after their release from prison as well as their expectations for the future post-graduation. Data were collected through surveys, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated undergraduate and graduate students, and publicly accessible articles and video featuring the higher education experiences of formerly incarcerated students. Findings revealed that formerly incarcerated students’ decisions to continue higher education after prison were influenced by several factors, including personal transformations that led to the revaluation of higher education and the desire for better professional prospects after prison. Additionally, the decision to continue higher education was influenced by the acquisition of meaningful social capital that occurred through in-prison education. Connections to faculty members and fellow students made the task of earning a college degree on campus seem more attainable. Pertaining to barriers to experiencing a sense of belonging on campus, students who were formerly incarcerated dealt with culture shock during their transition from prison to on-campus learning; concerns over being stigmatized and perceived negatively by others; limitations and restrictions imposed on them by the halfway houses in which many of them lived; and a lack of shared experience with others on campus. Conversely, formerly incarcerated students found support and a sense of belonging in the context of the program in which they were involved, which offered them a sense of family and access to multi-faceted support services. Positive relationships with faculty also facilitated the cultivation of a sense of belonging among formerly incarcerated students, as did instances where they were able to leverage their life experiences in order to educate, inform, and mentor others on campus. Notably, the program provided various resources and opportunities to form meaningful connections with others, including other formerly incarcerated students, program staff, and faculty connected to the program. In this way, social capital acquisition—in the form of meaningful and supportive relationships fostered through the program—was most instrumental in facilitating a sense of belonging within their institution of higher education. Findings also showed that the higher education experiences of formerly incarcerated students had an overall positive effect on their perceptions of post-graduation opportunities. Through their higher education experiences, and more specifically through their time in the RISE-UP [a pseudonym] program, participants expanded their perspective on what they thought possible for themselves and gained confidence that their goals for the future were attainable. The program facilitated widespread networking and other opportunities for students, which led them to acquire a great deal of social capital. This social capital they acquired was most important in shaping their positive expectations for their post-graduation futures. As formerly incarcerated students are not a homogenous group, findings differed slightly based on factors such as gender, age, race/ethnicity, and campus attended. Findings of the current study show that in higher education spaces formerly incarcerated students have much to contribute but often face considerable barriers, particularly when it comes to establishing a sense of belonging. The findings have many important implications and suggest that by adopting certain policies and practices universities, administration, and faculty could help to better meet the needs of formerly incarcerated students and thereby increase their chances of academic, professional, and personal success. Future research should be conducted to further understand the experiences of diverse groups of formerly incarcerated students situated in various higher contexts. / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

Submitted by Neusa Fagundes (neusa.fagundes@unioeste.br) on 2018-03-01T14:50:26Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Maria_Faria2016.pdf: 3996848 bytes, checksum: bf214d7ae6e87d831d103990f85d0820 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-01T14:50:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Maria_Faria2016.pdf: 3996848 bytes, checksum: bf214d7ae6e87d831d103990f85d0820 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / “The writing is free? Contributions of lyric poetry to beyond the bars”: is a research that longs to contribute, through the reading and writing of lyric poetry, to the educational formation of incarcerated students These students study at a State Center of Basic Education for Young people and Adults (Centro Estadual de Educação Básica para Jovens e Adultos – CEEBJA), located in a penitentiary in Paraná. The development of this study is supported by three specific goals: i) to work the concept of literature, lyric poetry and language resources, encouraging the student to read and comprehend poetical texts; ii) to propose pedagogical practices that help the student to write and express himself through the writing of daily life poems; iii) to encourage the student to read and write poems, comprehending the writing activity as a possibility to express himself during the teaching-learning process behind the prison bars. The research was based on theoretical assumptions that point to the humanizing role that literature plays, accordingly to what is proposed by Antonio Candido (1995), giving to the student the opportunity of learning more. That will help him develop a wider perspective of the world. The theoretical support of this work was based on intellectuals such as Michel Foucault (2013), Paulo Freire (2003), Antonio Candido (1995), G. W. Friedrich Hegel (1980), Massaud Moisés (2003), Salvatore D’Onófrio (1995), Cesare Beccaria (2009). And, to support the elaboration of our Proposal of Pedagogical Expansion, we consulted the propositions of the Método Recepcional by Maria da Glória Bordini (1993) and Vera Teixeira Aguiar (1993), combined to the Reception Theory, by Hans Robert Jauss (1994) and Wolfgang Iser (1979). Therefore, this is a bibliographic qualitative research, in which the procedures were developed through a research and action method. As a result of this didactic-pedagogical process, it is possible to notice that the classroom work with lyric poetry can happen in an didactic and spontaneous way, being useful to the humanization and emancipation of the students reached by this practice. / “A escrita é livre? Contribuições da poesia lírica para além das grades”: trata-se de uma pesquisa que busca contribuir, por meio da leitura e escrita de poesia lírica, na formação educacional de alunos encarcerados. Esses alunos estudam em um Centro Estadual de Educação Básica para Jovens e Adultos – CEEBJA, localizado em uma penitenciária no Estado do Paraná. Esse estudo se propôs desenvolver três objetivos específicos: i) trabalhar a concepção de literatura, de poesia lírica e de recursos da linguagem, estimulando o aluno a ler e a compreender o texto poético; ii) propor práticas pedagógicas que auxiliem o aluno a escrever e a se expressar por meio da escrita de poemas do cotidiano; e iii) estimular o aluno a ler e a escrever poemas, compreendendo a escrita como uma forma de expressividade possível no processo de ensino-aprendizagem atrás das grades da prisão. A pesquisa se sustentou em pressupostos teóricos que apontam o papel potencializador e humanizador da literatura, segundo o entendimento de Antonio Candido (1995), trabalhado pelo viés da poesia lírica, que pode ser posta a serviço da educação, oportunizando ao aluno privado de liberdade aprender mais, tanto para si, quanto para a sua vida social. Isso o auxilia a ter uma visão mais ampla de mundo. A base teórica do trabalho foi buscada em pensadores como Michel Foucault (2013), Paulo Freire (2003), Antonio Candido (1995), G. W. Friedrich Hegel (1980), Massaud Moisés (2003), Salvatore D’Onófrio (1995), Cesare Beccaria (2009). E, para embasar a elaboração de nossa Proposta de Aplicação Didática, recorremos às proposições do Método Recepcional de Maria da Glória Bordini (1993) e Vera Teixeira Aguiar (1993), articuladas à Estética da Recepção, concebida por Hans Robert Jauss (1994) e Wolfgang Iser (1979). Trata-se, portanto, de uma pesquisa bibliográfico-qualitativa, cujos procedimentos foram desenvolvidos por meio da pesquisa-ação. Como resultado desse processo didático-pedagógico, percebemos que o trabalho em sala de aula com a poesia lírica pode ocorrer de forma didática e espontânea, servindo para a humanização e a emancipação dos alunos alcançados por essa prática.