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Prison Education - General
One of the most innovative and vibrant areas of education services in which the Vocational Education Committees are involved is the Prisoner Education Service. While education and training have been provided in prisons for many years, it was only in 1968 that the service as we now know it commenced. The service expanded greatly in the 1970’s and 1980’s and is now provided in sixteen prisons. Ten Vocational Education Committees are involved. Staffing is provided by VEC’s while funding comes from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Two hundred and fifteen wholetime teacher equivalents are employed in helping over 50% of the 3,000 prisoners access education. The aims of the service are based on the premise that prisoners are seen as members of society or of the community at large even if they are temporarily cut off from it and as such shall have access to a wide range of education services and facilities to enable them.
* To cope with their sentences
* To achieve personal development
* To prepare for life after release
* To establish the appetite and capacity for further education after release
These aims present many difficulties and challenges for the teachers in the prisons. What are the most relevant Courses and Programmes? What are the most effective teaching methods to employ when one considers the wide range of age (from 16 years upwards) and academic ability of the prison learner. One must also take into account that approximately 80% of the prison population may have left school before the age of sixteen. In addition, there can be a high turnover of learners through early release, often without much notice. This alone can cause great difficulty for teachers when they are planning their programmes.
That the difficulties referred to above have to a large degree been successfully overcome is a reflection of the ability and willingness of everyone concerned to adapt, innovate and be creative in meeting the needs of the learner. The quality of the planning process in the Prison Education Service and the level of professional staff development can be held as models of good practice for any other sector in the education system. Teaching methods are geared to the needs of both young people and adults. Students themselves are enabled to identify their own needs and actively participate in the planning of their own learning programmes. This requires a very flexible approach from teachers who in addition to actual instruction will have to take on the role of facilitators of the learning process.
The range of subjects and programmes available in the Prison Education Service is dependent on the type and size of each institution. An article such as this does not allow for a detailed description of Courses provided. The following list is merely to outline the breadth and diversity of the subject range on offer:
* Languages
* Personal Development
* Physical Education
* Literacy/Numeracy
* Home Economics
* Art
* Computers
* Music
* Woodwork
Programmes offered include Junior and Leaving Certificate, FETAC, Open University, City and Guilds, VTOS etc.
While the more “formal” education provision outlined above has been most beneficial to the student it would not of itself equip the student for re-integration with the community on release. Further initiatives have been implemented in the form of Pre-Release and Post-Release Courses. The difficulties encountered by prisoners in re-integration into the outside community are manifold. They include, employment, self image and self confidence, relationships, finance etc. Pre-Release courses address these issues among others. The need to support prisoners on their release is also a vital factor in helping integration back into the community. Post-Release Programmes can help bridge this gap by providing guidance and support to ex-prisoners in accessing educational opportunities and advising and counseling them in areas such as job opportunities, personal development, Social Welfare. The success of the Pre-Release and Post Release Courses has been due to the close links which have been forged with a wide range of Agencies, Partnerships, Community Groups and Public Bodies.
Vocational Education Committees are proud to have played a major role in the development of the Prison Education Service. This has been done in partnership with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Apart from the employment of the Teaching Staff in prisons VEC’s are able to make available to the Service a number of other educational opportunities, for example, Literacy, VTOS. In some cases prisoners may be able to avail of other courses provided by VEC’s in the wider community. Some programmes are validated and certified by VEC’s particularly in Schemes where the bigger prisons are located. One major initiative promoted by the City of Dublin VEC is the Pathways Project which aims to achieve social and educational re-integration of prisoners and ex-prisoners. A similar project is run by Cork City VEC at the old Sunbeam Factory. In its Strategy Statement for the future, the Prison Education Service acknowledges the fact that Vocational Educational Committees together with the Public Library Service make the largest contribution to and are the mainstay of the Service. The challenge for VEC’s in the future is to explore ways in which it can help further enhance an education service whose success to date has not received the public acknowledgement or recognition it so rightly deserves. |