Service-Learning, the Arts, and Incarceration

Abstract

This paper describes three different service-learning approaches the authors utilized in graduate art education students and incarcerated residents at a municipal jail facility. By situating our experiences within feminist theory, we analyze and unpack the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Through an analysis of teacher and student journal entries we came to see that our level of responsiveness to residents needed to increase as compared to our considerations of the university students.  We came to see the significant knowledge that the residents hold about excellence in teaching and created an opportunity for the university students and ourselves to learn from the residents.  We also identified three areas, breaking stereotypes, awareness of privilege, and showing empathy, that created change in the university students.  We believe that service-learning in pre-service teacher preparation programs allows university students to learn from and with residents, thus helping to create more empathetic future teachers.