An Autoethnographic Approach to Developing Human Connections: A Prison Educator’s Lived Experiences

Abstract

Storytelling and reflective practices have been recent buzzwords in the fields of education and family and consumer sciences. The point is to tell our stories and inform the public about the infinite number of ways educators and family and consumer sciences professionals impact our schools and communities. Through this autoethnographic study, the researcher details how making human connections and the sharing of these stories has the potential to improve correctional institutions, education programs, and student-teacher relationships. Lessons learned and experiences easily translate to public education, higher education, and industry. Journey with the researcher through his memories and reflections as an educational administrator in a federal prison. The researcher’s goal is to foster personal growth, safer prisons, and the building of human connections in all aspects of work, community, and family.