The College of Education, Health and
Human Sciences
Announces the Final Examination of
Marquetta Rena Nebo
for the degree of
Doctor of Education
November 6, 2014 at 4:00 pm
405 Ball Hall, University of Memphis
Memphis, TN
Biographical Sketch
Bachelor of Science, Criminal Justice, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Master of Education, Counselor Education, University of Mississippi
Advisory Committee
Dr. Beverly E. Cross, PhD, Holder of the Chair of Excellence, Education, Health & Human Sciences, Committee chair
Dr. Mark W. Conley, PhD, Professor, Instruction & Curriculum Leadership
Dr. Brian Wright, PhD, Assistant Professor, Instruction & Curriculum Leadership
Dr. Sheila Flemming-Hunter, PhD, Adjunct Member, Instruction & Curriculum Leadership
Major Field of Study
Instruction & Curriculum Leadership
Period of Preparation: 2010 – 2014
Comprehensive Examination Passed: April 2013
The New Female Inmate: What is influencing the trend toward the incarceration of college-educated females and what does this mean for the stability of American families?
Abstract
In the United States, the female prison population growth has far outpaced the male growth in the past-quarter century. In 2010, over 200,000 females were behind bars, most of them being mothers and uneducated (Owen, 2010). Consequently, more than half of the states have been sued to provide women with services equal to those provided to male inmates such as vocational and post-secondary programs (Morash et al, 1998). In Ohio, research indicated that post-secondary education had a more positive effect on female offenders than their male counterparts (Shuler, 2002). Today, there is a new trend of college-educated female offenders serving time throughout the United States.
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the shared experiences of three (3) college-educated females who were incarcerated and mothers. The central research question was: what is influencing the trend toward the incarceration of college-educated females and what does it mean for the stability of American families? Data were collected by conducting interviews, life maps and analytic memos with participants who had a minimum of two years of college-level coursework from a regionally accredited college or university, been incarcerated for at least a year, have at least one child and served their time at Mark Luttrell Correctional Center in Memphis, Tn. Findings suggest that while there were negative aspects of their life before and during incarceration, the totality of those experiences gave positive meaning to their life trajectory, future and family.