The Journey Begins
The 2019 inaugural doctoral residency began with ignorant anticipation. Students entered residency with some expectations for the experience and were awed by the presence of program director, Dr. Barbara Holmes, and the team of expert faculty leading instruction. Supportive faculty quickly engaged students in scholarship, the doctoral process, and academic dialogue, motivating the cohort and cementing their identities as doctoral students. The competence of this journey equates to survey details, which detail the strengths and needs that motivate doctoral students to complete their journeys (Holmes et. al 2016).
Holmes, B. H., McAuley Brown, L. T., Parker, D. M., Mann, J., Woods, E. L., Gibson, J. A., … Hall, D. (2016). Decoding the persistence and engagement patterns of doctoral students who finish. Proceedings of Clute International Conference of Education, Washington D.C., USA, 311-1 – 311-11. ISNN: 2157-9660
Problem of Practice
A 2014 study showed that thirty percent of incarcerated adults had attained less than a high school diploma, and inmates scored at the lowest levels in both the literacy and numerical evaluations (Statistics, 2014). African American students are three times more likely to be suspended or expelled than white students (Nelson & Lind, 2019). Additionally, current research reveals one in three black men will experience prison in their lifetime (The Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, 2019). Books such as, “Multiplication Is for White People”: Raising Expectations for Other People’s Children address the problem. At-risk minority students do not identify with prosocial education, and rather find their identities other aspects of American life, many times negative paradigms that impact successful education (Deput, 2013). The issue of African Americans males in the jails, prisons, and probation caseloads continues and in part directly correlates with education (Bender, 2018). To change the plight of the School to Prison Pipeline and the Achievement Gap, there must be emphasis on racial identity development in the school curriculum and school culture (Tatum, 2017).
Bender, K. (2018, July 15). Education opportunities in prison are key to reducing crime. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/news/2018/03/02/447321/education-opportunities-prison-key-reducing-crime/
Deput, L. (2013). “Multiplication is for white people”: Raising expectations for other people’s children. New York, NY: The News Press.
Nelson, L., & Lind, D. (2019, July 15). Justice Policy Institute. Retrieved from The school to prison pipeline, explained: http://www.justicepolicy.org/news/8775
Tatum, B. (2017). Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?: And other conversations about race. New York, NY: Basic Books.
The Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights. (2019, July 15). Race and Incarceration. Retrieved from The Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights: https://www.prisonerhealth.org/educational-resources/factsheets-2/race-and-incarceration/
The Department of Education. (2019, July 17). U.S. PIAAC Survey of Incarcerated Adults: Their Skills, Work Experience, Education, and THe Training. Retrieved from National Center for Educational Statistics: https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2016040
Research Questions
The purpose of studying educational strategies to change the impact of the School to Prison Pipeline is to explore the notion of positive identity development and its correlation to the issues of The School to Prison Pipeline and the Achievement Gap. These problems have disproportionately impacted African American students. School is often where their legal struggles are exacerbated, with disciplinary totals doubling their population within school systems (Gonzalez, 2012). This study will examine African American males and whether positive identity development can help change the problems in this area.
RQ1: How does the School to Prison Pipeline and the Achievement Gap apply to criminal justice disparities?
RQ2: Why aren’t current efforts in schools working towards ending The School to Prison Pipeline and the Achievement Gap?
RQ3: What can positive identity development, culture, and curriculum do to assist with ending The School to Prison Pipeline and the Achievement Gap?
Gonzalez, T. (2012). Keeping kids in schools: Restorative justice, punitive discipline, and the school to prison pipeline. Journal of Law and Education, 281-336.
