ABSTRACT
This study examined incarcerated fathers’ relationships with schooling to see how their experiences impacted their literacy involvement with their children. Findings suggest that fathers may have had positive K–12 experiences despite being incarcerated and that incarcerated fathers value and engage in sustained literacy practices with their children. This finding held regardless of their ethnicities. For example, out of the 80 participants in this study, 6% stated that reading was their weakest subject in school and 11% said that reading was their strongest. The fathers spent an average of between four and seven hours of reading homework assistance per week with their children before incarceration. While incarcerated, many of the fathers continued to read to their children over the phone during incarceration and reported that they enjoyed doing so. This study dispels common literary misconceptions of imprisoned men, particularly those of color, that people assume struggle with reading. Data collected through a pragmatic convergent mixed-method research design included a quantitative survey, and a qualitative phenomenological interview of eighty incarcerated multiracial fathers in a mid-American prison.
