Education at the Crossroad:  Carceral and Racial Intersections in the Lives of Women and Girls

Explicit and implicit biases contribute to inequity and significant achievement gaps in education. Research has shown a connection between success in early childhood education and imprisonment. Education is equitable when outcomes are similar for all students regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, class, language, ability, or sexual orientation. Unfortunately, America’s system of public education has become less equitable despite attempts to achieve equity through various means, including integration and privatization. This has contributed to a disparate number of Black women entering America’s criminal legal systems where education is rarely available and typically undervalued. America remains the world’s largest jailer and women are proportionately the fastest growing population in its prisons. This course examines factors that create women’s pathways into the criminal legal system and how higher education might intervene at any point along the continuum. How does interaction with the criminal justice system shape the future quality of life for women with previously poor educational outcomes? What educational interventions are effective in criminal justice settings? What core practices lead to these women’s success in educational programs, particularly college? What short and long-term outcomes are achieved when such opportunities are available?

This course reviews the historical causes and consequences of the American Criminal Legal System related to the intersection of gender, race, and education.