NCJ Number
207587
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 55 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2004 Pages: 191-209
Date Published
September 2004
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The importance and nature of a correctional teacher's interest in and compassion toward inmate students is examined in this Canadian study that included a review of the relevant literature and interviews with seven correctional teachers at the 2003 Alberta Correctional Education Conference.
Abstract
This report contains teachers responses to several key questions on the questionnaire used in the interviews. The question about the meaning of care for students elicited responses regarding feeling for students in dealing with their problems and helping them to achieve educational goals while building their sense of self-worth. A question about examples of teacher caring for students yielded teachers' stories about practical acts that helped an inmate deal with stressful events in their lives outside of the classroom. When asked about how caring affects the teacher-student relationship, the teachers noted its importance in motivating students to learn based upon the experience of self-worth and the desire to fulfill the teacher's expectations. Other key interview questions pertained to the consequences of attempting inmate educational programs that are not infused with caring teachers, the importance of a prison climate that supports caring interactions between staff and inmates, and the necessity for teachers to understand and practice limits in dealing with inmates' problems that do not deal directly with classroom activities. The discussion of the implications of these findings advises that teachers must be trained in the importance of, appropriate expressions of, and the boundaries for interacting with inmates, since inmates can be manipulative and time-consuming with staff who show an interest in them. Suggestions are offered for future research. 20 references