Around 100 incarcerated students are currently studying at Curtin University from prisons across the country. These students face considerable barriers not just within the prison environment, but in higher education as well. Students are not allowed to access the internet (including Blackboard, Curtin’s online learning management system), and some have no access to computers at all. The Library works with the Prison Outreach team to seek accessible formats for courses, such as print-based resources. However, license contracts, copyright restrictions, and digital-only formats in reading lists present additional barriers to student access.
To support our incarcerated students, here are some best practices we suggest to staff when selecting teaching and learning materials in their course or workshops:
- Use “openly licensed” material, including Open Educational Resources. This is material that has been licensed for free use and/or adaptation.
- When assigning an eBook, make sure there is a print version available.
- When assigning a streaming video, make sure it is legally allowed to be downloaded and watched offline.
- Contact the Library when selecting course materials – we can help find resources that can be equitably accessed.
Library staff have also made a foray into peer-tutoring in prisons with the help of the very enthusiastic UniPASS peer learning facilitators (PLFs). Upon discussions with the Prison Outreach team, Amanda Smith, the Library’s peer learning coordinator for Curtin University Library’s UniPASS program, learnt about the isolation that incarcerated students experience. Unlike on-campus and even online students, most incarcerated students study on their own, without being able to share ideas, thoughts and experiences with other students in their course. Consequently, Amanda asked the PLF team if any of them would take on the job of being a paid academic mentor/tutor for 2 incarcerated students. Rupert Cotter, senior PLF, took on the role initially, using some great techniques to run tutoring sessions online (supervised by Prison Education staff) in a physics unit in 2022. This year, Senior PLF Connor Davidson went through the rather arduous induction and approval process to enable her to tutor a student face to face at Boronia Pre-release Centre for Women. Both Rupert and Connor found the idea initially challenging, however have had a truly rewarding and educational experience and given a huge amount of academic and social support to a small number of incarcerated students.
Offering incarcerated students access to university education can provide a sense of purpose and direction and increases the chance of a brighter future on release from prison. Given the challenging educational environment experienced in prisons, the Library is proud to support this worthy effort through our collections and learning support.
Written by Lydia Dawe, Copyright Officer and Amanda Smith, Peer Learning Coordinator
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