Shaping Hope: Higher Education in Prison

By Mary Vandergoot

Shaping Hope explores education behind bars and its transformative impact on individuals, communities, and society. Drawing on years of research, teaching, and advocacy, this book challenges misconceptions, and amplifies the voices of incarcerated students and the educators who work with them in prison. It makes the case for a more just and equitable future for those whose life journey takes them on a detour through prison.

Too often the stories that emerge from the experience of prison are those of wasted years and extreme difficulty adjusting to a normal life after release. Education changes these stories. Prisoners committed to learning skills, developing their minds, and participating in constructive social endeavors inside prison shape a new future for themselves.

Urgent, deeply human, and ultimately hopeful, Shaping Hope shows us that education behind bars builds a better world for all of us.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H8WL76ZS
• ISBN13: 9798181036208
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 332 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"