Ashley Appleby
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About Ashley
Appleby's research focuses on the intersection between contact with the criminal legal system and the experience of education. Within this broad intersection, she is interested in how justice system contact impacts short and long-term educational motivations and outcomes, as well as how to best provide high-quality higher education in prison. Appleby has worked with the International Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, Petey Greene Program, and NJ-Step Programs. She is a member of the Advisory Board for Teaching and Learning in Prison Education, along with a member of the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Contributions
In the News
Publications
Considers how instructors navigate the practical constraints associated with teaching in the correctional environment. Findings emphasize the complexities associated with adapting to and navigating correctional policies related to the provision of credits, degrees, and compensation similar to traditional on-campus course offerings.
Explores how instructors navigate and adapt to technology restrictions when teaching for higher education in prison programs. Findings highlight the prevalence of the digital divide and the issues surrounding digital equity for non-traditional students completing college courses, credits, and degrees while incarcerated.
Discusses the process of preparing offering a course for currently incarcerated students while navigating the restrictions at the intersection of the university operating in the correctional space. Findings suggest there are substantial burdens on instructors and higher education in prison programs to continue to provide high-quality education while navigating such tensions.
Recommends four metrics to inform the continued success of higher education in prison programs, including reentry partnerships, changes in program policy, financial and technological literacy training, and gender responsive and trauma-informed practices to best provide support for student success throughout education and reentry.
Provides a brief history and description of postsecondary prison education programs, details the policies associated with mass incarceration that simultaneously impact postsecondary education programs in prison, and highlights research on prison education programs.