Emilie Owens is exploring the educational experiences of girls in prisons

In her PhD project, ‘Gender, access, equity: The educational experiences of girls in incarceration,’ Emilie Owens explores the nexus between the carceral and education systems in this country by considering the experiences of girls in incarceration. Despite their potential and aspirations, many of these young women report feeling unwelcome in educational settings.

Here Emilie discusses the impetus behind her research topic, the urgent need for measures to foster inclusivity and understanding within our schools and how her findings will change the way she works.

Describe your project and why you chose this topic

The project was prompted by my work as a teacher in a children’s prison in Naarm (Melbourne). All children in prison suffer harm at the hands of the state that incarcerates them. However, I found that the harms experienced by incarcerated girls and young women are amplified by the inequitable access to programs and facilities because of their gender. A key aspect of my research was to highlight this injustice in both its material and epistemic dimensions.

Most of the students I worked with had negative experiences with schooling. Few had felt welcomed, and many had been actively excluded. I wanted to hear from them how they understood and experienced education, and what it was about school that made them actively seek to avoid it, thinking that it wasn’t for them. How is it that schools, supposedly nurturing spaces, so powerfully alienate this group of children and young people?

What are you hoping to achieve with your research?

I am wary of tying the research to impacts and achievements. I’d like to think of the research more as an entry point for teachers and other educators who are similarly distressed by the punitive nature of our education system and the classed and racialised carceral creep taking place across the continent. I hope that the knowledge and insight of the girls and young women I worked with as part of the research can contribute to an anti-carceral understanding of education.

Why did you decide to do your PhD at Deakin?

I completed my Master of Education at Deakin, and my supervisor on that project – Piper Rodd – encouraged me to apply for a research scholarship to continue the work that I had begun during that course.

How has your experience with your supervisors been?

Both of my supervisors, Professor Amanda Keddie and Dr Piper Rodd, have been incredibly supportive of the research and the different directions it has taken. Interestingly, because I started the research in mid-2020 at the height of COVID-19 lockdowns, we have never actually had a face-to-face meeting. This has worked well for us – during the project Amanda has had a period of teaching abroad, I’ve had a baby – so the flexibility of working online has suited us well.

What has been a highlight of your PhD?

Attending the Sisters Inside conference in Meanjin (Brisbane) at the end of 2023 was a highlight not just of my PhD, but of my scholarly life. I can’t think of a better word than transformative to describe its impact. Learning from formerly incarcerated women and their supporters forced me to critically reevaluate the work I am doing. The generous reflections of staunch abolitionists like Debbie Kilroy and Angela Davis helped me reconceptualise the way I understand my role as both a teacher and a researcher.

What are your plans once you complete your PhD?

I plan to return to teaching in the children’s prison once I complete my PhD. One of the challenges I am thinking through is how to create learning environments within that place that work against the carceral system.

Emilie Owens