A Full Circle Channel to the Complete 'School-To-Prison Pipeline'
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2017 Prison to School to Redemption: A Full Circle Channel to the Complete ‘School-to-Prison Pipeline’ Kristen Alana Antoine Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Antoine, Kristen Alana, "Prison to School to Redemption: A Full Circle Channel to the Complete ‘School-to-Prison Pipeline’" (2017). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4345. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4345 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. PRISON TO SCHOOL TO REDEMPTION: A FULL CIRCLE CHANNEL TO THE COMPLETE THE ‘SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE’ A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Human Sciences and Education by Kristen Alana Antoine B.S., Louisiana State University, 2003 Masters of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, 2013 August 2017 This paper is dedicated to the men and women in the Louisiana penal system who are serving life sentences or are serving excessive sentences due to the present Louisiana laws. Especially those who have chosen rehabilitation and redemption despite the grimness of their circumstances. Please continue to better yourselves and enhance the lives of those around you. There are people who sympathize with your cause, and we will continue to fight for restorative justice and penal reform. Pastor Hicks, Ronnie, Neal, and Randy continue to be role models for the Angola community. Your presence is a beacon of light in darkness. Swann, please continue to be an example of positive societal integration for the returning citizens who get the opportunity to return to society. Offenders who have committed crimes of violence in their past are not necessarily currently violent people. Changes come in all shapes and forms, and opportunity for parole eligibility should be afforded to anyone who has served 20+ years in prison no matter the charge. ii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I’d like to thank God for the attitude, aptitude, and opportunity to write about something meaningful and powerful in my pursuit of higher education. To my parents, Mr. Allen and Dr. Sandra Antoine, you have always encouraged me to carve my own path and be the best person I can be. Thank you for giving me the education background, love and support, as well as the social awareness to make decisions that can evoke chance within my community. To my siblings, Tonya and Allen Jr., thank you for your love and support throughout this process. My cousins and friends, Tyra, Teirsen, Stephanie, and Brittany you all were sounding boards and confidants that never let me down. Your love has given me peace on many stormy days. To my prison family, especially Fox Rich and the boys, thank you for your continued encouragement and for setting a positive example for others within the situation of incarceration. I cannot forget my work family in East Baton Rouge Parish Schools who continually encouraged and pushed me when I was tired and ready to stop. You all kept me sane. To Dr. Sulentic Dowell (Dr. D), God could not have blessed me with a better advisor. Our meeting was happenstance, but I believe you were put in my path for a reason. I will be eternally grateful for all of the guidance, discipline, and encouragement you have given me. To my committee members, Dr. Mitchell, Dr. Tobin, Dr. Wheeler, and Dr. Copeland, thank you for agreeing to participate on my committee and challenging me to dig deeper in my thinking and writing. To my Keith, you have given me purpose and taught me how to live, love, grow, and learn. Thank you for all that you are and all that we are together. Finally, I’d like to acknowledge Big Freedia, Master P, No Limit, and other various New Orleans Bounce artists that got me through long days and nights of reading and writing. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... ii Abstract….………………………………………………………………………………………..vi Chapter 1: A Historical and Current Perspective of Mass Incarceration in the United States: Micro and Macro Perspective. .........................................................................................................1 A Historical Overview of the Growing Prison Industrial Complex ............................................2 Personal Experience with Louisiana State Penitentiary Angola ................................................19 Personal and Professional Stakes ...............................................................................................34 Self-Efficacy and Social Learning Theory .................................................................................36 List of Terms Used in Study .....................................................................................................39 Use of the Term Black Versus Use of the Term African American ..........................................40 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................40 Chapter 2: Review of Literature ...................................................................................................42 School-to-Prison Pipeline ...........................................................................................................42 The Myth of Black Progress .......................................................................................................44 Defunding of Higher Education and Prison Industrial Complex Funding in Louisiana ............50 Post-Secondary Correctional Education (PSCE) .......................................................................54 New Orleans Baptists Theological Seminary: Angola Extension ..............................................76 The Louisiana Life Sentence and Its Impact on Current Numbers at Angola ...........................79 Education and Religion as a Path to Redemption ......................................................................81 Summary: The Baylor Study .....................................................................................................83 Chapter 3: Methods .......................................................................................................................86 Narrative Inquiry ........................................................................................................................86 The Appropriateness of Case Study Research ...........................................................................87 Why Use This Method? ..............................................................................................................88 Parameters of the Study ..............................................................................................................90 Data Analysis .............................................................................................................................96 Ethics of Representation ............................................................................................................97 Chapter 4: Data Collection/Analysis .........................................................................................100 Written Interview Protocol for Currently Incarcerated Participants ........................................100 Personal and Academic Self-Concept Inventory (PASCI) Survey Questions ........................116 Response to Article: Beyond the School-to-Prison Pipeline and Toward Penal Realism .....122 Data Analysis and Coding .......................................................................................................129 Summary .................................................................................................................................138 Chapter 5: Discussion/Conclusion .............................................................................................139 Post-Secondary Correctional Education and Participant Self-Efficacy ..................................139 Participant NOBTS Experience at Angola ..............................................................................140 School-to-Prison Pipeline and Participant Experience ............................................................142 iv NOBTS and Prison Cultural Shift ...........................................................................................144 Current Louisiana Legislation ..................................................................................................145 Future Perspective: Where Do We Go From Here? ...............................................................146 Redirecting the Pipeline ...........................................................................................................148 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................................154 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................157