Academic Profile

I joined the Law School as a Lecturer in Criminology in September 2011. Prior to taking up this position, I taught political education and history in Irish prisons for 14 years. While teaching political education in prison, I developed an interest in political activity among prisoners. In 2006, I was awarded an Ad Astra scholarship to undertake a PhD at the UCD Institute of Criminology. My doctoral research examined the level of civic engagement and political participation among prisoners in Ireland, with a particular focus on the extent to which they have exercised their franchise since legislation enabling prisoners to vote was introduced in 2006. I completed my PhD in 2009 and was the first Ad Astra scholar to graduate from the UCD School of Law.

I have lectured at University College Dublin; OSCAIL, the National Distance Education Centre and was a teacher trainer with the Irish Curriculum Development Unit.

Qualifications

• PhD, University College Dublin, Ireland
• MA, Adult Education, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
• Higher Diploma, Adult Education, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
• M.Litt., History, Trinity College, Dublin
• BA, History and Politics, University College Dublin

Teaching and Learning

I believe a research-led approach to teaching enhances the educational experience for both students and lecturer. My teaching reflects areas of interest in criminology and penology. In both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, I encourage students to become reflective learners in order to challenge them to critically consider deeply held assumptions and to locate the criminal justice system in general and the penal system in particular in a wider social, political and cultural context.

I have a keen interest in module and programme development. In my various positions, I have always been interested in designing new courses and exploring innovative ways of presenting established modules, and updating programmes. I am very interested in identifying areas where the provision of courses, materials, and approaches to teaching and learning are in need of revision and development. This inevitably involves a dialogue with students about the ongoing development of modules and creating programmes that meet their needs.

The modules I teach are:

Undergraduate	Postgraduate and MA
Understanding Criminology	Issues in Comparative Penology (Convenor)
Understanding Criminology: Advanced Level Introduction
Punishment and Penal Policy
Prisons and Imprisonment (Convenor)

Research Interests

• Punishment and prison
• Penal history
• Collateral consequences of imprisonment
• Comparative penal politics and policy
• Prison education

Member of the Centre for Criminological Research.

Key Publications

Behan, C. (2012) Still Entitled to our Say: Prisoners’ Perspectives on Politics, The Howard Journal.

Behan, C. (2011) The benefit of personal experience and personal study: Prisoners and the Politics of Enfranchisement. The Prison Journal, 91(1), 7-31.

Behan, C. and O’Donnell, I. (2008) Prisoners, Politics and the Polls: Enfranchisement and the Burden of Responsibility. British Journal of Criminology, 48(3), 319-36.

Behan, C. (2008: 2nd edn), From Outside to Inside: Pedagogy Behind Prison Walls. Wright, R., ed., In the Borderlands: Learning to Teach in Prisons and Alternative Settings. San Bernardino: California State University.

Behan, C. (2007) Context, Creativity and Critical Reflection: Education in Correctional Institutions. Journal of Correctional Education, 58(2), 157-69.

Recent Invited Papers and Keynote Lectures

June 2013: Howard League Spring Seminar
Title: Citizenship by Civic Virtue?: Prisoners and the Politics of Enfranchisement

February 2013: School of Law Symposium on Imprisonment
Title: Education Inside: Learning for Liberation?

January 2013: Justice, Equality and Political Engagement Network,
Title: ‘Felons of our Land’: Prisoners, Politics and Protest in Modern Irish History

September 2012: Faculty of Social Sciences International Affairs Research Symposium
Title: Penal Policy, Citizenship and the Collateral Consequences of Imprisonment

Professional Activities and Recognition

• Member, Advisory Board, Irish Probation Journal
• Member, British Society of Criminology
• Member, Correctional Education Association
• Member, European Prison Education Association
• Member, European Society of Criminology