Care Full Experiences in Correctional Education – Mapping Complexities Through Autoethnography
Date
2021-08-27
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Abstract
Autoethnography is a method of research that aligns its focus on the narratives of the researcher’s lived experience, with/through the lens of culture and society (Adams, et al., 2015). This study involves using memory as data in mapping my former role as a correctional educator engaging in care with my student inmates, adopting autoethnography as both method and methodology. Additionally, the complexities that grew through/up/within this study, such as having had a father who was previously incarcerated, are highlighted as opportunities that unveil connections. This study is put to work through the concepts of Deleuze and Guattari (1987/2005), such as the rhizome, assemblage, becoming, difference and plugging-in, which have served as the emergent analysis that encourages the reader to plug-in. The objective is not vested in a final answer nor resting place, alternatively, the specific, the particular, the nuanced presentations of this autoethnography of care with student inmates is offered. This study pursues two research questions: What is the experience of a correctional educator in developing and maintaining care with incarcerated students? And, how do correctional educators’ experiences of internal and external conflicts shape the conditions for care in correctional education? Later, while exploring the findings of this study, a third question was added to capture the intricacies that were definitive of this work: What complexities, and discoveries, of self and others, existed and emerged through the reciprocal care between myself, as a correctional educator, and my student inmates? The study is posited upon my early articulation in recognizing that we take ourselves, our whole selves – upbringings, lived experiences, values, personalities, etc.- with us, wherever we go. This study seeks to disrupt what I previously thought was true, replacing these with new truths such as: that research methods and methodologies can be flexible in their flows, that there is value in the non-normative that allows us to see/be/know differently, that care and compassion know no boundaries and that what we think might have been our biggest downfalls in life, turn out to be our greatest strengths that guide us to lead ourselves and others in remarkable ways.
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autoethnography, correctional education, care in correctional education, caring and compassionate leadership, Deleuze and Guattari
Citation
Oostvogels, A. (2021). Care Full Experiences in Correctional Education – Mapping Complexities Through Autoethnography (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.