Great American city: Chicago and the enduring neighborhood effect

Establishing causal relationships is an elusive process for criminal justice researchers. Elimination of rival causal factors tends to be the most problematic area. This practice note first describes the methodology of a recent study conducted by the authors and then elaborates on the methodological problems inherent in the search to establish a causal relationship between course work and attitudinal change among students enrolled in introductory criminal justice classes.     

Moral Dilemmas and Worst-Case Scenarios: Using Post-Apocalyptic Fiction to Teach Criminal Justice Ethics

Criminal justice courses offer ideal opportunities to present students with contemporary issues that ideally will encourage reflection on moral dilemmas. In a criminal justice ethics course, students encounter complex aspects of the topic, such as the application of theories of ethical reasoning beyond merely an understanding of the malfeasance, nonfeasance, and misfeasance of practitioners in the system. A supplemental book, whether fiction or nonfiction, assigned in addition to a criminal justice ethics textbook may facilitate deeper understanding of theories of ethics. The ideal supplemental reading should reflect the range of ethical theories detailed in the main text. In the present article, the authors discuss and evaluate the use of post-apocalyptic fiction, a popular contemporary genre, as supplemental reading in criminal justice ethics courses. A sample criminal justice ethics course writing assignment, a grading rubric, and a discussion of the multiple assessment measures are provided. Assessment results suggest that the supplemental reading helps students meet the course learning objective, which requires students to identify and apply theoretical models of ethics to specific ethical and moral situations.     

Service-Learning: Implications for the Academic,Personal, and Professional Development of Criminal Justice Majors

An exploratory senior and alumni survey was administered to better assess the experiential learning opportunities, including Service-Learning, offered to students in a criminal justice department. This article highlights the academic, personal and professional development of students, based on the perception of criminal justice majors in the department who completed a Service-Learning course. Educators continue to assess the academic outcomes for students and the benefits to the community. What may be less appreciated is how Service-Learning can also benefit students in their professional skills development. This article illustrates these potential benefits, and also discusses why Service-Learning courses are a critical part of development for criminal justice majors.     

Included? The Status of African American Scholars in the Discipline of Criminology and Criminal Justice Since 2004

This article provides a re-examination of the progress of African Americans in criminology/criminal justice doctoral programs since 2004. It focuses on African-American faculty, their scholarly research, and involvement in professional associations. Recent trends in African Americans enrolled in doctoral programs also are analyzed. Findings indicate that the representation of African-American faculty and doctoral students in criminology and criminal justice programs has increased although both continue to be under-represented in programs at predominantly white institutions. Evidence of increases in their contributions to the body of knowledge and service to professional associations was notable. The article concludes with strategies and recommendations for ensuring that inclusion continues to matter in the next decade.     

Teaching Criminal Justice Online: Current Status and Important Considerations

The most significant change to impact the pedagogy of criminal justice students in recent years has been the development of online classes. Online coursework is now a commonly accepted method of accessing criminal justice students and the sustained growth in online classes is expected to continue in the future. However, there is currently a lack of research that focuses on online classes in criminal justice. In response, we present and assess the modest literature regarding criminal justice online classes and highlight important themes. This leads into a presentation of important considerations along the following pedagogical continuum: Planning the online course (i.e. asynchronous timing, technological developments), implementing the online course (i.e. maintaining an online presence, managing student interactions and expectations), and identifying effective means to measure learning outcomes (i.e. measuring success, quality matters). Policy implications for online coursework that are likely to impact future criminal justice educational practices are then discussed.     

Community College Students With Criminal Justice Histories and Human Services Education: Glass Ceiling,Brick Wall,or a Pathway to Success

In spite of open access to community college education, specifically human service associate degree programs, students with criminal justice histories do not necessarily have an unobstructed pathway to obtaining the degree and admission to the baccalaureate programs in human services and social work that are almost always selective. The first obstacle may arise when a student must be placed in the field internship. This may mark the first time in a student’s educational career where he or she must disclose his or her ex-offender status. While higher education plays a well-documented role against recidivism, students who are ex-offenders who are enrolled in community college programs and also have their sights set on transfer, professional credentialing, and professional employment, may face similar barriers. There is a paucity of research related to students in community college with criminal justice histories and a clear need for qualitative and quantitative study in the area. The author calls for more active advocacy and community education roles for community college professionals in this arena as well.     

The Utility of the Correctional Tour: Student Perceptions and the Propensity for Academic Growth

The utility of taking students on tours of correctional facilities remains an unexplored topic within criminal justice. Yet, there is ample justification for reinforcing the pedagogical link between theory and practice through direct observation of criminal justice processes. This becomes particularly salient in the area of corrections, a highly isolated, self‐sustaining, and misunderstood criminal justice system. In this study, 69 students attending criminal justice classes were asked to complete pre‐visit and post‐visit questionnaires associated with tours of correctional institutions. Key themes of the study include students' perceptions of institutional punishment philosophy, and student perceptions of select facility and offender characteristics. Almost 86% of students changed their views in some manner, with a significant portion of students identifying rehabilitation and incapacitation as key philosophies following a prison tour. Stereotypes of prisoners and correctional settings were frequently based on media representations and changed following exposure to the prison tour. These findings are presented with pedagogical implications.     

Using chipendale in the classroom

One of the most common complaints among criminal justice educators is that students have very poor writing and research skills. In particular, educators cite that students’ papers are poorly organized, are replete with grammar and spelling errors, are missing key elements in their discussions, and are often plagiarized. Despite the need for research and writing classes, very few social science faculty members teach writing‐intensive courses because of the amount of time such a course requires. Accordingly, this paper presents a model criminal justice writing class that outlines specific teaching methods to overcome the most common problems found in criminal justice writing and research.     

Student Learning Groups: Does Group Composition Matter?

There has been a shift in university teaching over the past decades to emphasize student achievement and persistence through high-impact practices and collaborative learning. While research supports the efficacy of these pedagogical strategies, it can be difficult to implement them on large campuses. Yet, many criminal justice professors assign students to work in small groups. This study, conducted at a university with a large underrepresented student population, found that the composition of student groups in one criminal justice class can affect the perceived benefits students receive in that class, in other classes, and in general. We found that students placed in a small group with classmates who shared some criminal justice classes reported more student-initiated collaborative learning, expanded support networks, and improved grades in shared courses compared to students in small groups with classmates who shared no classes. This simple intervention has the potential to mimic learning-communities with similar benefits.     

Integrating Gay,Lesbian, Bisexual,and Transgender Issues into the Undergraduate Criminal Justice Curriculum

Although criminal justice has made strides to incorporate issues of race, ethnicity, class, and gender into both research and teaching, the same cannot be said about issues of homosexuality. Prior research indicates criminal justice students are more homophobic than their peers in other majors and that bias against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) persons continues in the criminal justice system. As a result, this article argues that criminal justice educators should integrate issues of sexuality into criminal justice curricula as part of diversity education within the discipline. Few programs currently do so. This article outlines four methods for infusing justice‐related GLBT content into criminal justice classes, including: The teachable moment; incorporating GLBT‐relevant material in required courses; incorporating GLBT‐relevant material into diversity courses; and the development of new electives. These strategies can help combat heterosexism and homophobia.     

The use of multiple intelligences in criminal justice education

This research explores Gardner's (1983) theory of multiple intelligences (MI) as it relates to career choice among criminal justice majors. The identification of the predominate intelligences of criminal justice majors may help students identify what types of careers suit them best, based on their MI strengths and weaknesses. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire of the population of enrolled criminal justice majors during spring 2001. The results of chi-square analyses indicate that criminal justice majors are predominately intrapersonal. Additional findings suggest there are significant differences between career choice and predominate intelligences.     

Clickers and Online Homework in the Criminal Justice Classroom: A Test Study

The criminal justice discipline has few studies that explore the use of technology as a supplement to traditional face-to-face instruction. Using a sample of criminal justice students enrolled in two sections of the same 300-level foundational criminal justice course, this study examines the impact of clickers and online homework on student performance in the course, as well as observes student perceptions of the integrated technology. Results reveal that while students perceived the technologies as helpful to their learning, the addition of technologies to the one section of the course had little impact on student performance indicators such as test scores and final letter grades. Potential explanations for these findings and directions for future research are discussed; and suggestions on how to potentially make these supplemental tools more useful are provided.     

Executing the mentally ill: The criminal justice system and the case of Alvin Ford and the death penalty and racial bias: Overturning supreme court assumptions

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the benefits and detriments of student internships in criminal justice programs that grant a baccalaureate degree. The authors reviewed contemporary literature and studies of internships for liberal arts majors in general and for criminal justice students in particular. Subjects addressed include selection criteria for students' eligibility, orientation of students before the internship, agency selection, the standard of care expected of faculty supervising students, techniques of maintaining the standard of care, benefits to academic departments, students and agencies, and legal liabilities of internships.     

Freshman interest groups in criminal justice education

Freshman group programs have been promoted by many institutions of higher learning. However, few empirical evaluations of such programs have been reported in the scholarly literature, and none have focused on programs in criminal justice education. Subjects in this study included 130 students enrolled in an introductory criminal justice course at one institution, a portion of which (32 students) were also enrolled in sections of a group program called Freshman Interest Groups. Results showed that students enrolled in this program did better in the course than their freshmen peers and upper-class students, which analyses showed was largely due to higher attendance.     

The Great Books in Criminal Justice: As Ranked by Elite Members of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

Attempts to define the core body of knowledge in criminal justice have provided diverse and disparate explanations of what could be considered as central to the discipline. Previous efforts have focused on frequently cited authors and works, required learning for students and the personal beliefs of individual scholars. The present work adds to this body by examining the works considered by an elite sample of criminal justice educators as classics in the field. Based on a survey of Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Presidents, Fellows and Bruce Smith Award winners the classic books in criminal justice are identified. Results show that a wide range of works and authors is identified, with relatively little consensus either across the sample or with previously identified works and authors. Comparison of presently identified works with those frequently cited and commonly required for doctoral students shows that only a minority of works identified by others are also considered classics by our elite sample.     

Classical Literature for the Criminal Justice Classroom

When students are confronted with primary sources to be critically evaluated, a path toward independent inquiry and, ultimately, self‐awareness, is forged. Primary sources challenge intellectual passivity in that they force the mind to take charge of its own thinking, and such independent thinking is the means by which intellectual freedom and strength are achieved. In incorporating primary sources into the criminal justice classroom, one place to start is with the Classical world. This paper shares some practical teaching tips, tricks, and tools for teaching Classical primary texts about “justice” to students of criminal justice. Sample materials used in undergraduate classes from five lessons centering on the question of justice are also discussed.     

Supplementing the ‘College Experience’ with Program-Based Learning Communities

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to examine the benefits of a learning community created for first-year students enrolled in a criminal justice degree program at an urban community college in the Northeast. Quantitative and qualitative survey data were collected from three cohorts of students in the program-based learning community. Survey questions examined students’ satisfaction with the learning community structure and their perceptions of social networking and academic skills gained from participation in the learning community. Quantitative data from the college’s records were used to compare the academic progress and retention of criminal justice students in the program-based learning to other first-year criminal justice students. Our findings indicate that participants had positive experiences in the learning community reporting satisfaction with the learning community structure and significant social networking and academic benefits from their participation in the learning community. Findings also indicated that program-based learning community students exhibited greater academic progress and were retained at higher rates than other first-year criminal justice students. This study substantiates the positive impact of program-based learning communities on students’ satisfaction, their academic success toward degree completion, and retention.     

An Evaluation of Three Interdisciplinary Social Science Events Outside of the College Classroom

This article describes three interdisciplinary events held outside of the classroom to examine social psychological concepts in the criminal justice system, with undergraduate students enrolled in criminal justice and psychology courses. These events can most accurately be described as using a synthetic interdisciplinary approach, in which the disciplines of psychology and criminal justice remain clearly identifiable in looking at phenomena like occurrences of bystander apathy, while enabling a holistic view of these phenomena. First, 75 students celebrated the life of Kitty Genovese, a famous victim of bystander apathy. Later in the semester, the same students competed in a game-show-like review session. Finally, 45 students explored the intersection of the mental health and criminal justice systems with professionals from various fields. Overall, students enjoyed the social interaction with their peers across the majors, as well as with their professors and professionals in the field. Students also indicated that the interactive learning techniques enhanced their new understanding of the intersection of the disciplines. Future research should investigate the offering of interdisciplinary events to students within and across academic divisions to build community and enhance students' understanding of their educational and career opportunities.     

“I was giving someone who didn’t have a voice a voice”: exploring qualitative mini-research projects as a tool to teach students about aging

ABSTRACT

In the study of gerontology, fieldwork with older adults is often used to enhance students’ understanding of the aging process. While assignments based on interactions with older adults are a common practice in teaching students enrolled in gerontology studies, we know less about the impact of such activities on students from other disciplines. This paper summarizes students’ experiences with an assignment offered to a diverse cohort of undergraduate students who took a course in social gerontology. To complete this assignment, students had to interview an older adult, summarize the life story of the participant, apply a theoretical perspective to the older adult’s life story, and reflect on the process. Analyzing data derived from 72 assignments and 10 semi-structured interviews with students who were enrolled in the course, this paper examines students’ experiences with this assignment. Specifically, we identify what aspects of the assignment students found beneficial, what aspects they found challenging, and in what ways this assignment helped students to enhance their understanding of aging. Our findings suggest that students found it challenging to recruit an older adult for an interview and struggled with the semi-structured nature of the interview process. All students found the actual interview process to be extremely rewarding and beneficial for their learning. In discussion, we provide some recommendations on how to offer this type of assignment to a diverse group of students enrolling in the courses on social gerontology.     

Perfecting Lessons Learned for Criminal Justice Online Graduate Education: Reflection,Integration, and Application

Criminal justice programs are seeing an increase in the number of online classes both at the graduate and undergraduate levels. At the graduate level, criminal justice online education requires students to achieve mastery of higher ordered thinking and advanced analytic skills. Some students may believe that online education is simply a matter of reading postings and writing simple responses to queries. In order to counter the view that modern online courses, particularly those at the graduate level, are not academic enough, online graduate faculty must find ways to engage students through useful course design and meaningful assessments that promote deep learning. Such engagement requires faculty and students to show reflection in design as well as the integration and application of course materials in a consistent and significant way. This paper will discuss our attempts to reframe graduate criminal justice online classes in order to enhance student engagement and, ultimately, their deeper learning.