An Exploratory Examination of the Impact of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the feelings and reactions of university students enrolled in the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Inside-Out is a nationally recognized program that has provided the framework for college courses to take place inside the walls of prisons and jails. Both college and university students and residents of correctional facilities take a college-level course, together, inside a correctional facility. Throughout the semester, students are required to write reflection papers that detail their observations, analyses, and reactions to the class sessions. The current research analyzed these papers to explore how the course was impacting students. Findings indicate that students had a wide range of reactions to the course, and often found themselves questioning their beliefs, punishment philosophies, and thoughts on the criminal justice system as a whole and the corrections system specifically.

Criminal justice policy inside-out: An initial case study in education among police and incarcerated men

“…This study seeks to add to the small but growing literature surrounding the efficacy and potential of Inside-Out to spark cognitive shifts in programme participants. Although existing studies (Allred, 2009; Hilinski-Rosick and Blackmer, 2014; Van Gundy et al ., 2013) of the programme indicate it has at least some effect on changing participant perceptions around a number of important criminal justice issues, there is much to be explored on how these courses impact the participants. Our study not only helps to address this lacuna, but expands the field to include outside participants who are not college students, but rather criminal justice practitioners.…”

“…Despite the rapid growth and popularity of Inside-Out Prison Exchange programmes, with hundreds of universities and correctional institutions participating and over 30,000 students having taken an Inside-Out course (Inside Out Center, 2018), there is a paucity of work examining the outcome and effectiveness of the programme. While existing studies (Allred, 2009; Hilinski-Rosick and Blackmer, 2014; Van Gundy et al ., 2013) indicate that the programme has at least some effect on changing participant perceptions around a number of criminological and criminal justice issues, there remains significant need for more examination of how these courses impact their participants and their potential for reducing stigma and changing relationships between social groups. Importantly, to our knowledge, this is the first study of an Inside-Out programme in which the outside participants are not college students but rather police cadets.…”

Street Participatory Action Research in Prison: A Methodology to Challenge Privilege and Power in Correctional Facilities

“…All 17 students concluded prison was designed to punish and warehouse offenders rather than rehabilitate and prevent recidivism. For most university students, this course was the first time they encountered people in prison and it is through the context of the Inside-Out class that change occurred in attitudes of who we incarcerate, what purpose prisons serve, and the realization that most people in prison are more similar to than different from free persons (see also Hilinski-Rosick & Blackmer, 2014). Similarly, for most inside students, this course was the first prison educational experience where they felt their voice or informed opinions mattered.…”

The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program: Intersections between Feminism and Communication

“…The benefits and impact of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program have been well-documented (Davis and Roswell 2013;Howley 2013;Allred et al 2013aAllred et al , 2013bWerts 2013;Hilinski-Rosick and Blackmer 2014;Maclaren 2015;Davis 2011;and Pompa 2011). As Simone Weil Davis states, "In student feedback from dozens of Inside-Out courses conducted around the country, again and again, both inside and outside participants use the word transformational (Davis 2011, p. 204).…”