Community Justice & Engaged Pedagogy: Inside-Out Program Evaluation
Community Justice & Engaged Pedagogy: Inside-Out Program Evaluation
Project Summary
Since 2018, the Inside-Out Program at Boston College has partnered with the Suffolk County House of Correction to offer courses that bring college students together with incarcerated men or women to study as peers behind prison walls. The core of the Inside-Out Program at Boston College is a semester-long academic course, meeting once a week, through which "outside" students (from BC's Chestnut Hill Campus) and the same number of "inside" students (incarcerated at the Suffolk County House of Correction) attend class together inside prison. The program evaluation aimed to understand students’ reasons for participating in Inside-Out, how participation in the Inside-Out program impacts students, and the relationship between Inside-Out and principles of student formation in the Jesuit Tradition.
Approach
This was a participatory evaluation, which was co-authored by an instructor from the course and two former students, all of whom were involved in the project from initial conception through data aggregation and analysis to writing.
Timeline
Boston College offered its first Inside-Out course at the Suffolk County House of Correction in the fall semester of 2018. The evaluation includes four semesters of the course, from Fall 2018 to Spring 2020. The program is ongoing.
Measurement & Metrics
The evaluation measured students’ reasons for participating in Inside-Out and how participation in the Inside-Out program impacts students. Data included anonymous student evaluations, student impressions of the course at the end of semester ceremony, and a mix of individual and group projects.
Key Findings
- Boston College offered its first Inside-Out course at the Suffolk County House of Correction in the fall semester of 2018.
- Evaluation included more than 65 students who have participated in courses offered through the Boston College Inside-Out Program
- Students experienced impacts aligned with social, intellectual and spiritual/ moral formation, including growth in: self-knowledge, a sense of connection and community, dedication and commitment to learning, critical thinking, openness to new ideas, and intellectual humility
Publication
Program Coordinator
Matt DelSesto
Project Support
Funding: Hearst Foundations
Partner: Suffolk County House of Corrections