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Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program

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The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program (Inside-Out) is an international educational program based in Philadelphia at Temple University.[1] Inside-Out was established by Lori Pompa in 1997 to bring traditional college students and incarcerated persons together in semester-long courses to explore and learn about issues of crime and justice from behind prison walls. The program was founded on the hypothesis that incarcerated and non-incarcerated students might mutually benefit from studying together as peers.

The program provides individuals on both sides of the prison walls the unique opportunity to engage in a collaborative, dialogic examination of issues of social significance through the particular lens that is the "prism of prison." Through college classes and community exchanges, the program seeks to deepen the conversation about and transform our approaches to understanding crime, justice, freedom, inequality, and other issues of social concern. Inside-Out creates a paradigm shift for participants, encouraging transformation and change in individuals and, in so doing, serves as an engine for social change. Since its inception, students of Inside-Out both inside and outside have time and again claimed that the experience transformed the ways they viewed themselves and the world.[citation needed]

History

The idea for the Inside-Out program came from a visit by Temple University professor Lori Pompa and a group of undergraduate to the Pennsylvania state correctional facility in Dallas, PA, in 1995. Following a panel discussion with a group of prisoners, one of the panelists suggested that the discussion could be expanded to a semester-long course.[2]

In 1997, this became the first Inside-Out program, launched as a partnership between Temple University and the Philadelphia Prison System. In 2002 this expanded to take in Craterford Prison, a state facility. The program at Craterford became the Craterford Think Tank, and in 2004 this launched training sessions for instructors from other universities to expand the program.[2]

In 2014, the first Inside-Out program was launched in the United Kingdom at Durham University. A similar program, called Learning Together was launched by the University of Cambridge, outside of the Inside-Out scheme. A profile of the Cambridge scheme in the Guardian in 2016 led to a letter to the editor from academics at Durham and elsewhere saying: "We welcome the contribution that any UK colleagues make in developing prison education opportunities here but urge them to acknowledge Inside-Out and the role it has played in shaping their project if drawing so heavily upon it." The original article was amended after publication to acknowledge that the Inside-Out program at Durham had pioneered such work in the UK, prior to the Cambridge scheme.[3][4]

Inside-Out courses

As of November 2023, more than 1,200 Inside-Out courses have been held around the world. Over 150 higher education institutions, partnered with over 200 correctional institutions, have hosted courses. Courses cover a wide range of academic disciplines, including: African-American studies, anthropology, communications, criminal justice, economics, education, English, gender studies, history, law, natural sciences, nursing, philosophy, political science, psychology, public health, religious studies, social work, sociology, theater, visual arts, and women’s studies.[5] Inside-Out courses have been taught in the United States, Canada, Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom,[6]

Inside-Out Instructor Training Institutes

Since 2004, The Inside-Out Center has trained higher education instructors to teach courses to incarcerated and non-incarcerated persons. The Inside-Out Instructor Training Institute are comprehensive seven-day, 60-hour intensive training programs that covers everything necessary to develop a course in the Inside-Out model: curriculum development, setting parameters, institutional relationships, group dynamics, interactive pedagogical approaches, and more. Three or more of the days provide an opportunity to learn this educational method through observation, hands-on experience, dialogue, and engagement with an Inside-Out Think Tank, a working group of inside and outside alumni based in a jail or prison, who have years of experience in the Inside-Out methodology. Trainings are followed by consultation to assist in on-site program development. As of 2017, 46 training institutes have been held and more than 700 faculty members from around the world have attended.

References

  1. ^ Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program Homepage
  2. ^ a b "About Us". Inside-Out. The Story of Inside-Out. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  3. ^ Helena Pozniak (9 November 2016). "The criminology course opening the door to education for prisoners". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Professor Fiona Measham, Dr Kate O’Brien, Dr Hannah King, Dr Ivan Hill, Diana Scott (Durham University); Dr Caroline Chatwin, Dr Camille Stengal, Dr Marianne Duggan (University of Kent); Tom Raymen (University of Plymouth); Dr Eric Baumgartner, Dr Laura Goldsack (University of Teesside); Dr Joey Whitfield (University of Leeds); Dr Anne Schwan (Edinburgh Napier University) (15 November 2023). "The Inside-Out prison education programme was a true trailblazer". The Guardian – Letters.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "The International Network". The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Durham University's Inside-Out scheme sees students study with prisoners". BBC News. 2016-01-30. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
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