"Can I Get Some Harder Work?": Former Juvenile Offenders Narrated Educational Experiences in Juvenile Correctional Facilities

Authors

Deneil D. Christian, Tennessee State University
Joshua L. Adams, Arizona State University
Carl M. Miedich, Liberty University

Abstract

Adolescents in the juvenile justice system have a right to comparable education as their peers in public school settings. Interestingly, the existing literature indicates that this is not always the case. This study explored the experience of earning a high school diploma or equivalent in a juvenile correctional facility in Pennsylvania. We framed our study within Bandura’s social cognitive theory. This study was guided by the following research question: How do former youth offenders describe their experiences obtaining a high school diploma or equivalent in a juvenile correctional facility in Pennsylvania? This qualitative study employed a hermeneutic phenomenology research design. Purposeful criterion and snowball sampling were used to recruit ten former juvenile offenders in Pennsylvania for this study. We collected data through survey responses, one-on-one semi-structured interviews, and reflexive memos. Our findings indicated that having access to academic support was crucial to the participants’ educational experiences. Implications of the study’s findings, limitations, and recommendations for future research are also discussed.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Christian, Deneil D.; Adams, Joshua L.; and Miedich, Carl M. (2024) ""Can I Get Some Harder Work?": Former Juvenile Offenders Narrated Educational Experiences in Juvenile Correctional Facilities," Qualitative Criminology (QC): Vol. 13: No. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/qc/vol13/iss1/4