Creating learning communities in correctional education prison settings: An ethnographic case study

This ethnographic case study attempted to identify if a positive learning environment, such as a learning community, exists in prison classrooms, if identifiable elements of a learning community and social learning theory can be determined and, if these elements exist, whether they contribute to the ability of inmate students to learn and meet their educational goals.; Data from correctional education classroom observations were collected from 57 student inmate participants at a Washington State correctional facility. From that sample 22 student inmates submitted writing sample data. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 12 student participants from those who submitted student writing samples. The conceptual frameworks of analysis linked characteristics associated with social learning theory and learning communities to emergent properties generated from data. The research supported an enhanced presence of factors associated with a learning community environment, such as collaboration, teamwork, and learner cohesion. These classroom-based relationships were also seen to be mitigating factors acting against the standard perception of prison-based interpersonal relations, which are frequently characterized by competition, mistrust, and rivalry. Analysis of data related to social learning theory concepts emerged as weak to nonexistent, which can be attributed to the need for more hours of classroom observation. However, analysis of the data related to learning communities indicated support for the concept of learning communities in correctional education classrooms. These learning communities were a natural formation neither created nor developed by the prison administration.