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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.

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] By 2015, over 20,000 students and prisoners had studied on Inside-Out programs and it had expanded to over 130 institutions, including Ohio State University and Stanford University. The first international programs e were established in Canada in 2011.[3]

In 2014, the first Inside-Out program was launched in the United Kingdom at Durham University, followed by the University of Teesside and the University of Kent. 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 that did not acknowledge that it drew upon methodology pioneered by Inside-Out led to a letter to the editor from academics at Durham, Teesside, Kent and other UK universities 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.[4][5][6][7]

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.[8] As of November 2023, Inside-Out courses are taught in the Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[9]

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. ^ Dorian Geiger (29 January 2015). "The Exchange Program That Puts College Kids in Classrooms with Prisoner". Vice.
  4. ^ Helena Pozniak (9 November 2016). "The criminology course opening the door to education for prisoners". The Guardian.
  5. ^ 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)
  6. ^ "Durham University's Inside-Out scheme sees students study with prisoners". BBC News. 30 January 2016.
  7. ^ Sally Guyoncourt (25 January 2016). "Prisoners study alongside Durham University undergraduates in unique criminology course". The Independent.
  8. ^ "The International Network". The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Higher Education Partners". The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
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