The Prison Tour Pedagogy: Getting It Right

Prison tours are a popular tool for teaching about the realities of prison. The limitation of most "prison tours," and hence, of most evaluations of them, is that they involve a single tour of a single prison by a single group. A better strategy—and test of its impact—would be to incorporate multiple institutions representing a broad range of prisons and prison features. The author created a unique and extensive prison-touring program. Over 33 years, he escorted nearly 3,000 students on 113 weeklong excursions, with each trip including detailed visits to eight to ten very different institutions. Surveys were administered to all 99 student participants before and after their participation in one of four weeklong excursions conducted during an entire academic year. The impact of the experience on student attitudes about convicts, staff, prison, justice policies, and reform was positive, dramatic, and enduring. (The full one-hour documentary about this program, Prison Through Tomorrow's Eyes, can be screened online at https://vimeo.com/92949779.)