All About Mentoring Spring 2011 - SUNY Empire State College

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The evidence of education’s influence on
these women’s lives was multifaceted, varied
in color and texture, and woven throughout
their experiences. It was embedded in their
self-perceptions, in the approaches they
have taken to their struggles, and in the
recounting of their successes. It also was
undisputedly positive and good. According
to one participant:
It made me think, give people a chance.
Let them in and not be so negative. I
think that when I was doing drugs there
was a lot of negativity. Everything was
bad, and ‘oh my life is horrible.’ Just
that whole perspective has changed.
That people are actually really awesome,
everybody has their own personality and
[I] just take them as they are. [The world]
is a better, wonderful place and I actually
get to see it when I’m still alive. There are
so many things I want to do and I can’t
wait to do them. My life was a small
box before.
The major change for these participants was
in whom they understood themselves to be –
as learners, as workers and as contributors
to the wider community.
Thus, while trade-related or academic skill
level contributes to success, the women
emphasized the significance of pure grit
and confidence in their ability to be
successful at actually getting the position,
or to be patient and persevere if not hired.
Overwhelmingly, their voices turned to
reflections of positive attitude, ability to
concentrate, work ethic, openness, honesty,
oral and written communication skills,
maturity, enthusiasm, and dedication to life
as the more meaningful elements of survival
and sustainability. The existing literature
referencing college-level education’s
influence on attitudes of released women
is scarce. However, there is research that
points to the positive effect of learning
experiences on women during incarceration,
particularly with regard to the lasting effects
of instructors’ care and encouragement in
the classroom (Mageehon, 2003; Reisig,
Holtfreter & Morash, 2002; Rose, 2004;
Severance, 2004).
The women interviewed in this study
credited their demonstrated resolve to
succeed in their journeys to their learning –
to the long awaited, but undeniable belief
they had gained in themselves through the
rigor of study, and in the hearts of those
who taught them and learned with them.
The exposure to new and different learning
opportunities actually changed their earlier
views of themselves as women and as
learners, hence the transformative learning
that Kegan and others have described
(Kegan, 2000, p. 48).
For most of the women, this transformation
seemed to grow from their very early
positive learning experiences, which were
reversed somewhere along the journey, to the
joy that learning brought once again. They
communicated a wealth of newly acquired
skills, but also seemed to have changed their
frame of reference for knowing.
I hope that this study will be used as a
guide for higher education, colleges and
community leaders who have interest in
the development of initiatives that address
transitioning for women from prison. If
there is continued effort to deliver the
learning opportunities and environment
necessary to encourage and promote
collaborative solutions for these re-entry
women, their possibilities for personal and
social adaptation may improve, and their
struggle to successfully forge a meaningful
pathway and call community “home” may
be realized.
Note
All quotes are taken from personal
interviews of women that I conducted
between August and October 2008.
References
Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger,
N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (1986/1997).
Women’s ways of knowing: The
development of self, voice, and mind.
New York, NY: Basic Books.
Bloom, B., Chesney-Lind, M., & Owen, B.
(1994). Women in California prisons:
Hidden victims of the war on drugs.
San Francisco, CA: Center on Juvenile
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Erisman, W., & Contardo, J. B. (2005).
Learning to reduce recidivism: A 50-state
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Kegan, R. (2000). What “form” transforms
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Kegan, R. (1982). The evolving self:
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Mageehon, A. (2003). Incarcerated women’s
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199.
Pew Center on the States. (2008). One in
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Reisig, M. D., Holtfreter, K., & Morash, M.
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Rose, C. (2004). Women’s participation
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Severance, T. A. (2004). Concerns and
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Taylor, K., Marienau, C., & Fiddler, M.
(2000). Developing adult learners:
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Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Taylor, K., & Marienau, C. (1995).
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women’s adult development. In K.
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change. New Directions for Adult and
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CA: Jossey-Bass. No. 65, pp. 5-12.
Weis, L., & Fine, M. (2000). Speed bumps:
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suny empire state college • all about mentoring • issue 39 • spring 2011