Transformational learning and identity shift: Evidence from a campus behind bars
| Published date | 01 July 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14624745221087702 |
| Author | Amy E Lerman,Meredith Sadin |
| Date | 01 July 2023 |
Transformational learning
and identity shift: Evidence
from a campus behind bars
Amy E Lerman and Meredith Sadin
(Goldman School of Public Policy), University of California-
Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
Abstract
Identity-driven theories of desistance provide a useful model for understanding change
in a carceral context. However, these theories often are not grounded in specificpro-
grammes or practices that might catalyze identity shift, and tend to focus narrowly on
recidivism as the sole outcome of interest. In this study, we examine the role of prison
higher education in identity-driven change through the process of transformative learn-
ing. Using administrative information on college-level course completion and an original
longitudinal survey of prison college students, we show evidence of both between- and
within-subjects shifts in individuals’sense of self-efficacy, as well as their broader civic
orientation. We further explore the role of identity using a sur vey experiment that ran-
domly assigns individuals to a “student”versus “prisoner”identity label. We find that
identity labelling has significant effects on both confidence in accomplishing one’s
goals and perceived likelihood of recidivism. We supplement these quantitative findings
with qualitative interviews of prison college alumni. Our study suggests that access to
higher education can be consequential for those in prison, and provides a broader
framework through which to analyze the effects of prison programming that extends
beyond recidivism.
Keywords
rehabilitation, higher education, transformative learning, prisonization, civic orientation
Corresponding author:
Amy E Lerman Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley, 2607 Hearst Ave #205A,
Berkeley, California, 94720.
Email: alerman@berkeley.edu
Article
Punishment & Society
2023, Vol. 25(3) 683–706
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/14624745221087702
journals.sagepub.com/home/pun
Henry, a middle-aged man who had recently been released from state prison, described
how higher education during incarceration had fundamentally changed his perceptions
of both himself and his place in the world: “[College] provides an opportunity not just
to escape the [prison] yard, but to enlarge your vision…The horizon, it’s just like
your perspective, right? If you’re up high, my God! Look at all of this! So, it elevates
your perspective, I believe.”
1
Other graduates of the college programme echoed this
belief. For instance, Ahmed talked about how college classes in prison had changed
his self-perception, making him believe “I could achieve anything if I put my mind to
it. The light went on in my head, working things clearer and thinking things through.
For every action, there’s a reaction.”Despite these and other compelling qualitative
accounts (e.g. Parotta and Thompson, 2011; Kuhlmann, 2006), however, we still have
limited empirical evidence on whether and how transformational learning can occur in
a punitive prison setting.
In this study, we assess whether prison higher education can shape two key outcomes
during incarceration: self-efficacy, or perceptions of students’capacity to positively shape
their own life chances, and civic orientation, or perceptions of their capacity to positively
contribute to others. We test for these effects using an original, longitudinal survey of 329
students in a college programme run by Mount Tamalpais College (MTC, formerly the
Prison University Project) at San Quentin State Prison, a men’s medium-security
prison. Our empirical setup enables us to estimate both between- and within-subject
effects. We find that the experience of higher education in prison can shape both self-
efficacy and civic orientation, resulting in a heightened sense that students can succeed
in their own lives and positively impact the world around them.
In addition, we investigate the role of identity change as a potential mechanism to
explain these results. We do this in two distinct ways. First, we present evidence from
a survey experiment that tests whether priming social identities—that of a “prisoner”
versus that of a “student”—affects students’perceptions of themselves and their
future. We then supplement our quantitative findings with qualitative interviews con-
ducted with 27 prison college alumni. This mixed method approach provides a rich
picture of prison higher education, helping elucidate the process of transformational
learning in corrections.
Our findings have implications for both research and practice. Extant literature sug-
gests that shifts in mindset and identity can play a critical role in desistance from crim-
inality (Maruna, 2001, Shapland and Bottoms, 2011, LeBel et al., 2008, Stone, 2016)
and assist in the process of successful reentry (Opsal, 2012, Hickert et al., 2021).
However, existing research falls short in two important ways. First, identity-driven the-
ories of desistance frequently do not shed light on the specific interventions or pro-
grammes that might provide the “hook for change”central to many desistance
narratives (Giordano et al., 2002; Harding et al., 2019; see also Parotta and Thompson,
2011; and Kuhlmann, 2006). Second, studies of prison higher education rarely extend
beyond a narrow focus on recidivism as the primary indicator of change.
Our work serves to fill these gaps. First, we focus on the role of prison higher educa-
tion as providing a potential catalyst for identity shift. Second, our work provides a frame-
work that moves away from conceptualizing prison programmes as merely removing
684 Punishment & Society 25(3)
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