Teacher-Student Relationships in Court-Mandated Adult Education: A Phenomenological Study

In this study the author examines the experiences of teachers working with court-mandated students in General Educational Development (GED) and Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs. While there is no reliable data on the number of students in court-mandated education programs, there were 5.1 million individuals in community corrections programs (probation and parole) in 2009 (Pew Center on the States). While this number dropped, for the first time since 1980, during 2009 to 5.02 million (U.S. Department of Justice, 2010), it is up from 4.6 million in 2000 (U.S. Department of Justice, 2004). Part of this increase in the number of community corrections clients comes from states realizing that probation and parole are more cost effective than incarceration (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). Data from 2003 indicates that, at that time, 30.6% of probationers did not have a high school diploma or GED diploma, compared to 18% of the general population (U.S. Department of Justice, 2003). If that number has relatively remained unchanged, the some 1.6 million individuals in community corrections programs do not have a high school diploma or GED diploma and are potential students for adult educators working in community education programs. While there is a considerable body of literature on adult correctional education, this literature almost exclusively deals with teachers and students working within incarceration settings, where students are in jail or prison. There is a lack of research on the experiences of teachers working with students who are in community corrections programs such as probation and parole. Empirical findings are, therefore, unavailable to guide theoretical conceptualization, instructional practice, program design or policy. While there may cursorily appear to be no difference between these two populations (those who are incarcerated and those in community corrections), it has been suggested that a substantial difference exists between them in the amount of time they have for activities such as education (Mottern, 2011). With states seeing a correlation between a reduction in criminal recidivism and attainment of the GED diploma (Anderson, 1995; Brewster & Sharp, 2002; Case, 2006; Steurer & Smith, 2003), community corrections clients are being mandated by the courts to attend educational classes. By mandating community corrections clients to become students, states are directly increasing the number of students to be served by adult educators in community programs. As these pressures make GED attainment a priority, adult educators within the community will likely see an increase in the number of students in their classrooms who are court-mandated to attend classes. The current literature is silent on what teachers may expect when working with these students. This research looks at the experiences of teachers who are already working with this special population and what others may expect. This study is designed to begin filling a void in the research literature on the experience of GED/ABE teachers working with adult students in community corrections programs who are mandated to attend education programs. While some research has been undertaken regarding students' experiences with education while incarcerated (Batchelder & Rachal, 2000; Boshier, 1983; Clements & McKee, 2000; Gee, 2006; Mageehon, 2003; Moeller, Day, & Rivera, 2004; Montross & Montross, 1997; Parsons & Langenbach, 1993; Rose, 2004; Schlesinger, 2005) and with teachers' experiences working with incarcerated students (Adams, 1970; Edwards-Willey & Chivers, 2005; Fox, 1991; Kratcoski, 1982; Mearns, 1997; Wright, 2005), there is no outstanding research on teachers' experiences working with students in community corrections programs who are mandated to attend educational classes. Empirical findings are, therefore, unavailable to guide instructional practice in this area. Purpose and Research Question The purpose of this study is to examine the experience of GED/ABE teachers who work with adult students in community corrections programs who are mandated to attend educational classes. …