Breaking barriers beyond the classroom: A look into the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program

Editor’s note: Sydney Nelson, who was interviewed for this article, is a writer for The Runner. We acknowledge this and have taken steps to prevent conflicts of interest or potential bias from influencing the article.

For most students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, lessons and lectures take place inside classrooms. But for students enrolled in ARTS 3200: Bridging Divides – Communication for Social Justice, the classroom looks very different.

Through the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, students attend class at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre alongside incarcerated students. The course, taught this spring by communications instructor Lubna Yusuf Moosa and criminology instructor Paula Hirschmann, brings together inside and outside students to discuss communication, social issues, and justice through shared learning and dialogue.

The program challenges the traditional classroom atmosphere and supports students in scrutinizing their assumptions about the justice system and people within it.

KPU collaborated with the area First Nations, Corrections Canada, and Vancouver Island University on instructor training. Since the pandemic, training has been offered online via the Inside-Out Centre, the program’s website reads.

The following responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Meet an instructor, Lubna Yusuf Moosa

What can you tell us about the program?

The Inside-Out program started way back in 1997 by Lori Pompa of Temple University. She taught criminology and she took her class on a one-day trip to a prison. The entire discussion was so enriching and insightful that one of the inmates suggested, “Why don’t you convert this into an entire semester or a course?”

It then took many years for it to take shape and take the form of Inside-Out. Pompa worked really hard towards it because she wanted to pursue this, which eventually turned into a full-semester course.

It started in the United States, and then they also began providing instructor training. From there, it started spreading across many countries.

That is how Inside-Out began — from a one-day field trip for students to an entire semester.

How did you get involved with teaching the course this semester?

In 2019, Pompa led an instructor-training program in Nanaimo to help people understand this dynamic. 

This is not a regular university course. It’s more like a course that takes place inside a prison setup — with the classroom divided between university and incarcerated students.

Usually, the programs are conducted all over the place, but, in 2019, they conducted training at Vancouver Island University. I was very fortunate to have been able to participate — I believe there were two instructors from KPU who participated. That’s how I became eligible to teach Inside-Out at KPU.

Then a few years later, I was able to teach this course for the first time. The course is usually taught by two instructors, and I taught the course for the first time in fall 2023 with Nicola Harwood, now the creative writing department chair. I taught Inside-Out again in spring 2024 and 2026, and this is my third time at Surrey Pretrial. 

How did you decide on the course topic this year?

This year’s topic is “Bridging Divides” — something both Paula and I found interesting. Since Inside-Out is taught by two instructors, we have to be very open to the topics we teach.

When I was teaching with Harwood, it focused more on creative writing and communication. Then I taught it with criminology instructor Michael Ma, and it was more criminology and communication.

This time, I’m teaching with Paula, who is also a criminology instructor. We had to sit down and think about what would be a good fit, where I could bring in my communication aspects and Hirschmann could bring in her justice-related aspects.

The great part about Inside-Out is that there’s flexibility with the way you run the course. Both instructors add their expertise in a way that would be helpful for the course.

What do you hope students take away from the program?

Before you enter the prison, I’m sure you have this preconceived notion about what a prison system looks like. You might have ideas based on something you watched on Netflix or something you saw in the media — and that becomes what you expect.

On the very first day, both inside and outside students feel a bit of uncertainty. They don’t really know what they’re getting into.

A lot of our students come from different programs. Some are from science, but we also have many students interested in criminology. 

What we want by the end of the semester is to bridge this divide. We want to break those barriers and the stereotypical representations people have in their minds.

We try to bring people together. Each one of us is human, and everybody should get a chance and an opportunity to increase their awareness about certain topics.

It’s just a little thing that we are trying to do towards bringing that understanding and human angle to the entire prison and justice system we have.

Why should KPU students enrol in the program?

It’s way different from a regular KPU class. You don’t have computers or phones with you. So you are forced to write things down, which is something many students may not have done in years.

You are present in the moment and share your ideas. It’s also a course that allows a bit of vulnerability. You’re able to share your own experiences about things that are really close to your heart. It would be an eye-opening experience, especially for KPU students.

If you really think about it, those of us sitting outside are very privileged in many ways. We often see things from a certain perspective. Being able to look at things from a different perspective opens a window to the world outside.

Even if you don’t become a correctional officer down the line, it is still an experience that you will carry all your life.

The unique part about this entire course is that you sit in a circle, and sitting in a circle builds that sense of community, so you can share better. There’s nobody at the top of the pedestal and nobody at the bottom of it — it changes the entire dynamic.

What does the coursework entail?

There are no exams, but there are assignments and readings. Since we’re talking about building community and bringing a human angle, we also have to understand that the incarcerated folks inside the prison may not all have the same educational background. 

So we have to bring in material that the inside participants are able to relate to. We try to bring in material that everyone would be able to understand.

Yes, there are projects, but they are more creative than your regular projects. 

Meet a student, Sarah Gawthrop

Why did you decide to take the course this year?

I’m a fourth-year creative writing major, and one of my instructors, Nicola Harwood, had taught the course before and talked to us about it. 

It sounded very intriguing to me when they proposed it, and I always had it in the back of my mind. This is literally my last semester, so I thought it’s now or never.

I just thought it would be a good experience for me to hear stories from people who are outside of my usual experience. I identify as a humanist, empath, politically minded, and social justice-oriented person, so it felt like the program aligned with my values.

What do you hope to learn from the program?

A few weeks ago, the inside students received little paper cards with their KPU student IDs, and it was really exciting to see. Some of them were so excited because this is a fully accredited course for them as well — and they are now enrolled KPU students.

The Canadian justice system is not super just. Even with many of the inside students, the reason they are there is often related to a lack of resources, money, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

We have plastic chairs that we sit on in class, and some of the outside students complain that they are hard on their backs. One day, the inside students said, “This is luxury. All we have to sit on, in any other area, are stools with no back.” It’s a reality check for us.

This class becomes a little break and reprieve in their daily life of working, being in their cells, and going to court.

You have your idea of what incarceration looks like from movies, and some are more accurate than others. It’s been very sobering to witness, and I think that’s been the primary role — to be a witness.

Meet a student, Sydney Nelson

Why did you decide to take the course this year?

I decided to take the course this year to fill in my academic schedule. I was kind of nervous and not fully sure what to expect in terms of how they would be teaching the content and everything.

It’s really about applying every communication concept I’ve learned from my public relations and journalism courses. 

A huge part is justice, which Paula teaches us. We talk about social issues happening in the world and how those can be applied to how we view the justice system. Since there are two different instructors with two different backgrounds, the course also focuses on their areas of expertise.

What do you hope to learn from it?

I’ve had courses with Lubna, specifically for the communications side of what’s required for my journalism degree.

With that being said, I found that there was a bit of repetition from some of the first-year communication courses when we were talking with the inmates. It was a nice refresher that reminded me what active listening really is and how to go about practising it, especially applying that to a more real-life situation outside of campus, compared to practising it in the classroom.

A huge part of active listening is choosing what words to say and knowing when and when not to speak, depending on the person you’re talking to. When you’re practising that with your classmates at KPU, it can be a bit easier in the sense that there may be less barriers between you and the other person.

I felt like the opportunity to take this course would be a fun challenge for me, including speaking with people who have different backgrounds and experiences. Hearing different perspectives and other people’s views on certain things has been really enjoyable.

It’s just a really fun course to take. Going into it, I definitely had biases and stereotypes about the justice system in my head. Getting to speak with the inmates was really eye-opening.

All the correctional officers are super kind. They’re really good at communicating and keeping everything calm in the prison.

For anyone who wants to learn more about the justice system or firsthand experiences on how being in a courtroom for the first time may feel, it’s a great opportunity.