Education in prison: from the individual reintegration model to the transformative approach

Abstract

This work is a summary of a broader pedagogical analysis and proposal on teaching and learning models in prison. The central focal point of the research has been to know in detail the profile and the particular situation of the inmate students in order to give a better respond to the educational purpose of promoting the personal and social development of people. In the first place, we have worked on different theoretical approaches of the education inside the prison, to place the context that we have analyzed within a general paradigm. Below, based on in-depth interviews with some of the inmates of Mont de Marsan prison, and completing it with other references and data, we have begun to analyze both the context of the prison school and the differential characteristics of the students, to identify the difficulties, needs and motivations derived from it. Finally, we have established some critical conclusions, since, together with the development of some improvement proposals, the main objective of the work is to consolidate the basic ideas to transform the current educational model in prison.