Computer Science Behind Bars: Lessons Learned from Teaching Incarcerated Students in Prisons and Jails

Abstract

SIGCSE TS 2025, February 26-March 1, 2025, Pittsburgh, PA, USAEducational programs for incarcerated individuals, often called "behind bars" initiatives, have been shown to improve participants' social and economic outcomes upon release. Since its founding in 2018, MIT's Education Justice Institute (TEJI) has offered accredited classes for incarcerated students, with an increasing focus on computer education. Our courses have been delivered both in person and remotely (e.g., via Zoom). In this poster, we share insights into the challenges present in the incarcerated education environment, and highlight how remote learning offers unique advantages to incarcerated students. We also present preliminary findings from two years of data collected across four recurring computer science courses. This poster aims to foster a dialogue with the broader computer science education community, focusing on: (i) qualitative insights gained from extensive interactions with incarcerated education systems, (ii) preliminary empirical results obtained through IRB-approved surveys, (iii) common challenges faced during data collection, and (iv) an opportunity to seek feedback and pose questions to computer science education experts