Phase One: Describe a Practice Problem A Description of the Practice Need Schools and Prisons in America are two of the highest populated institutions in America, those two facets originated the School to Prison pipeline. The School to Prison pipeline mainly impacts marginalized youth in oppressed neighborhoods. With the development of new policies and practices it is constantly shifting children out of the public-school system and into the criminal justice system. Children in poverty-stricken communities do not have equal access to educational opportunities.
They also have less qualified teachers, out dated curriculum materials, no advanced courses offered, as well as a lack of extracurricular activities. Those factors correlate to higher unemployment rates, an extensive amount of school drop outs, individuals remaining in poverty, and others becoming incarcerated. Why is it of interest to the Student. I grew up in a blighted area and attended a poorly subsidized public school. The building had heating and cooling malfunctions, there were no extra educational opportunities outside of the classroom, in addition to the evident absence of enthusiasm from the Teachers.
I became cognizant on how several of my peers had converted their attention from concentrating on our education to partaking in criminal activity. Consequently, they were constantly under heavy surveillance when they did appear in class, and was heavily scrutinized by the staff. My cousin was personally impacted by this invisible system. His Father was incarcerated for a vast amount of his adolescent years, and had difficulty coping with the situation. He lived in a rough neighborhood, which was scarce in community programs.
There were also not any after-school activities offered for him to engross in. Due to the lack of so he begun to hang around delinquents. Shortly after, he went to prison and was in and out all throughout High School so he became behind in his assignments, and ultimately decided to drop out of school completely. This continuing reoccurrence in illegal behavior with adolescents sparked my curiosity on why there was an upsurge of children in oppressed vicinities heavily intertwined with correctional facilities.
Formulation of a Question to Answer the Practice Need These apprehensions led to me to propose my practice need for research on what are some of the critical factors that leads to the school to prison pipeline in urban communities? How can Social Workers assist in diminishing the relation between schools and prisons? Phase Two: Locate Evidence to Inform Practice Annotated Bibliography Salole, Abigail Tsionne, and Zakaria Abdulle. “Quick to Punish: An Examination of the School to Prison Pipeline for Marginalized Youth. Canadian Review of Social Policy. 72 (2015): 124-68. ProQuest. Web. 26 Jan. 2017.
In the first Research article, which was a qualitative research study, that investigated if overly monitoring “at risk” children in school with a plethora of surveillance cameras, security personnel and strict policies created a prison atmosphere in the schools for marginalized youth in Toronto. By interviewing troubled teens, it allowed them to divulge of their personal experiences which helped reiterate the connection of schools and prisons.
The findings depict that there is a deficiency of support from various systems in the children’s lives from their family, school, and or their communities. It reveals how schools in oppressed areas have shifted their focal point from promoting educational success and intellectual creativity to an institution that is centered on strict rules and conformity. Converting the focus on “at risk” students without fostering genuine love, and encouragement it can decrease their interest in their academics and possibly deter them away from school altogether.
Hatt, Beth. Still I Rise: Youth Caught between the Worlds of Schools and Prisons. ” The Urban Review 43. 4 (2011): 476-90. ProQuest. Web. 26 Jan. 2017. This Qualitative research study occurred in the United States, and focused on how strict restrictions in the school setting has led to an increase in African-American and Latino youth being suspended, dropping out of school and being sent to prison. The researchers questioned Fifteen youth who were in prison and had them converse their individual accounts on the shift from their academics and on to criminal behavior.
Throughout this investigation, it discourses how the Zero Tolerance policy Act has strengthened the relationship between the schools and prisons. With the increased presence of school police officers and security devices, students directly enter the criminal justice system through schooling policies and practice. They discover the reason imprisoned youth became interested in criminal activities was based off their external struggles outside of the classroom for things such as shelter, food and reliable income increased their interests in the economic gains of drug trafficking.
Mayes Pane, Debra. “The Story of Drama Club: A Contemporary Counternarrative of a Transformative Culture of Teaching and Learning for Disenfranchised Black Youth in the School-to-Prison Pipeline. ” REMIE Multidisciplinary Journal of Educational Research 5. 3 (2015): 242,n/a. ProQuest. Web. 2 Feb. 2017. The focal point of this qualitative research study concentrated on Teachers in urban communities and what effects would transpire if the Teachers reformed their values of schooling and created alternative ways for disenfranchised students of color to learn.
Teachers developed “The Drama Club” which was an after-school enrichment program for “At risk” children. The expectations of this program were to promote their students societal and academic achievement. The teachers provided extra attention, genuine care, and support to the children through academic lesson plans, outings and group activities. The researchers conducted a Pre-and Post-interview to assess if the students gained a positive attitude after the program, and all the students felt respected, and established an interest on their education.
The Teachers who participated in the Drama Club learned, that by being open-minded and displaying extra attention to their alienated students it could have a positive influence on their intellectual development. Phase Three: Synthesize Evidence and Identify Next Steps Practice Need and Rationale To decompose the School to Prison pipeline economically disadvantaged students ought to receive the suitable resources that will help them flourish throughout their educational careers.
Offering After-School tutoring, extracurricular activities can enhance their social skills and would produce a constructive outcome. Marginalized children in specific are shunned to the side due to their criminal records, yet during this phase in their life It is critical for them to interact closely with an encouraging role model who will guide them back on track academically. When you implement positive reinforcement to their negative actions, as well as offer multiple outlets for them to vocalize themselves can be exceedingly valuable for them.
A Description of the Evidence Found The results from the Research evidence varied from Micro, Mezzo, and Macro modifications that is essential to terminate the Pipeline. In the (2015) “Quick to Punish: An Examination of the School to Prison Pipeline for Marginalized Youth. ” Research article the researchers identified the reason for the School to Prison Pipeline was since there was a deficiency in support for marginalized youth. The Research that was conducted in (2011) “Still I Rise: Youth Caught between the Worlds of Schools and Prisons. conveyed that adolescents who live in impoverished areas, and face challenges with acquiring the basic needs such as shelter and food are more prone to engage in criminal activity.
Lastly, the evidence found in (2015) “The Story of Drama Club: A Contemporary Counternarrative of a Transformative Culture of Teaching and Learning for Disenfranchised Black Youth in the School-to-Prison Pipeline. ” Discovered that if Teachers created innovative alternatives of learning for racialized children it would generate a positive relationship with the student and can intensify their interest in their academics.
Conclusion Marginalized children no longer interpret school as a “Safe Haven” but on the contrary as training grounds for the adaptation to the norms of “prison behavior”“. Hence, the evidence that is most advantageous is to evaluate Schools with stringent policies and rules to remain cautious but put forth more of an effort in creating a friendlier, caring environment for the Students. Employing loving tactics with marginalized students will allow the students to conceptualize that their School Staff values their social, cultural, and intellectual strengths.
Social Workers employed in school settings can offer additional assistance for adolescents and their families that may alleviate external issues heavily affecting them outside of the classroom. This may also increase Teacher motivation since Troubled Students would be more attentive in class. If Teachers, Faculty, Parents, Communities, began to transform our perception on Schools in penurious areas it would be the first step in producing a beneficial difference for the youth.
