ISBL – Costo de la planta piloto

As reflected in the earlier sections, correctional education programmes and activities are offered basically with the intent of assisting inmates in two aspects: to help them better adjust to prison life, and enhance their knowledge, skills, and attitudes which will contribute to their employability and reintegration to the society after release. This implies that prison education has both immediate and future impact on the lives of inmates.

To achieve both outcomes, care should be taken in designing appropriate activities and delivery mechanisms for the participants of the programme. These activities and delivery mechanisms, in turn, are highly dependent on the nature of the students in the classrooms, the type of contents selected, and the way the contents, objectives and learning experiences of students are organised. In addition, most inmates in correctional institutions are adults, at least by age, and have diversified educational backgrounds and needs which make the design of activities and the delivery mechanisms even more complex (Gehring in Moeller et al. 2004:42-43; Munoz 2009:3). Another issue worth considering is the variation of crimes committed among inmates. This situation, together with others mentioned above, makes the design and delivery of education complex and demanding. Hence, when one thinks about education in prison, he/she has to consider that there is a huge difference among the inmates in the crimes they committed and design activities and delivery mechanisms accordingly. In this regard, education design in prison should be need-based drawing on a wide range of teaching and delivery modes to address individual needs of inmates (Schuller 2009:6). In other words,

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whatever the difference may be, inmates should be provided with an education that can help to resolve their problems for their successful rejoining to the larger community. In the Hamburg Declaration on Adult Learning (UIE 1997:5), it was stated that "Adult learning should reflect the richness of cultural diversity and respect traditional and indigenous peoples' knowledge and systems of learning." Moreover, literature in the field of education assert that unlike that of children, adult learners have greater individual difference among themselves and enjoy if they could take part actively in the education process and want to apply what they have learnt immediately (Gehring in Moeller et al. 2004:43; UIE 1997:24). Hence, the design of instruction for adults should be based on their individual needs, participatory and functional. This evidence shows that adults need active involvement in their learning. Similarly, Gehring (in Moeller et al. 2004:43) reported adults seek education for meeting particular needs, enjoy if they could take part actively in the education process. This even needs to be underlined in this context as most individuals in correctional institutions are not only adults but also have special characteristics as inmates.

Beyond taking part in decisions on what they want to learn, adults should be helped to transform the condition they are in. Several studies have suggested transformative learning model of prison education (Behan 2007:60; Brookfield in Behan 2014:21; Costelloe 2014:34). In correctional settings too, Behan, argues for an alternative approach, transformative learning.

Among others, the scholar believed that the inmates could be helped to revitalise their bond (the bond they had with the community but broken) through critically reflecting on their actions which provide inmates with “transformative experience” and enable them to learn not to commit a crime again (Behan 2007:160). As a result, Behan (2007:161) believed that the most significant education in a correctional institution is “non-traditional and informal education.” This is to mean that given their age and the condition they are in, inmates need flexible, participatory and relevant educational programmes rather than tightly scheduled, teacher-centred and education full of factual contents. A recent study by Costelloe (2014:34) shows that prison education should follow transformative learning model which, “… must have a particular goal, a particular content and a

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particular style, the particularities of which should be grounded in transformative learning.” This means the education provided in correctional institutions may not necessarily be the same as the one provided in other institutions outside correctional institutions.

With regard to methods of teaching and learning, Ültanır and Ültanır (2010:11) suggest that methods that enhance the self-directing nature of individuals should be used while facilitating adult learning despite the fact that “lecturing sometimes has a place” even in educating adults. Knowles (s.a:49) noted that since adults are rich in experience, the methods used should help them explore these experiences and hence should be more “participatory and experiential” than using “transmittal” techniques such as lecturing and assigned reading. That is, the methods most appropriate for adults are those in which adults as learners actively engage and participate.

It is even suggested that the education provision for adults should follow "…individual- centred pedagogy" (UIE 1997:24) to address the individual needs of adults in general and adult inmates in particular. For Alamprese (s.a:6), for instance, relying on just individual instruction wouldn‟t suffice. This scholar argues that serious consideration should be made in balancing individual and collaborative learning as adults prefer the latter rather than competing with one another (Alamprese s.a:6). Alamprese further argues that although individual instruction is supported for adults to address their unique needs, cooperative learning that promotes teamwork should not be forgotten for adults prefer learning through experience sharing. Findings of the research by Foley and Gao (2004:13) showed the mixed use of individual and group instruction, with the former being the major strategy used to effectively teach adult learners.

In the process of rehabilitation, the role of teaching inmates is vital as it “…has the power to transform lives” (Bhatti 2010:36). Thus, more than the case in other settings (outside the prison), various activities and methods of teaching should be used in prison classrooms if rehabilitation and effective reintegration are desired. This also applies to the selection of teachers who are appropriate for such context. As to Penal Reform International (2001:144), except in conditions where resources couldn't allow and where prisoners themselves could be used to support each other, professional teachers in

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adult and remedial education are needed in prison contexts. The necessity of hiring professional teachers with such readiness emanated from the diversified needs of human beings in general and the special attention needed for inmates to smoothen their successful reintegration in particular.

Due to the unique nature of correctional institutions, teachers teaching inmates are expected to be competent in convincing inmates about the importance of education and inspiring them towards its achievement (Gunn in Tam, Heng & Rose 2007:130). According to these scholars, among the characteristics needed for effective contact between teachers and inmates in prison settings are “openness, sincerity, respect and friendliness” (Tam et al. 2007:134). In relation to this, Cantrell (2013:6) believes that prisons are institutions which produce selfish people who are dangers to the community, and education in such a context is provided to change that. In so doing, the scholar forwarded a recommendation on how classrooms in prisons should run. Cantrell (2013:6) stated:

As in any classroom, teaching in prison requires a partnership between the students and teacher. Because prison is a violent and oppressive environment, it is important that our classrooms become a safe space where students are free to express, explore, internalise, and/or reject ideas-both those new and long held. According to this scholar, teachers should encourage inmates to be free to express and reflect on their views regarding different issues. Similar traits of prison educators were reflected by findings of research by Tam et al. (2007:135). For these researchers, successful inmate educators should, first of all, accept values of correctional education and comprehend its structure. Bhatti (2010:34) mentions the need for mutual respect between teachers and inmates as this could enhance teachers‟ joy in serving inmates. Above all, inmates need educators who can understand their condition and help them be well acquainted with what is happening outside the correctional institutions. In this regard, while some recommend volunteers, students, professors and teachers from local schools and universities as teachers in prisons (Jovanic 2011:80), others suggest to use inmates as teachers as “inmate tutors can relate better than outside teachers to other prisoners” (UNESCO 1995:39). Hence, to make a balance between the two

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worlds: in and outside of correctional institutions, it is better to mix teacher professionals from outside and inmate tutors who can best understand inmates and their conditions. Though trained teachers are important, inmate tutors are crucial too in assisting teachers who come from outside as they have a good understanding of the prison setting and the condition of inmates (Munoz 2009:7; Thomas in Behan 2007:158).

Moreover, prison education should also take into consideration the issue of women and people with disability in prison. This is because educational needs of women are different from that of men and there might be disability problems among inmates. Although there is a lack of research on the relevance of educational provision for women and disabled people, the existing few research show that most penal institutions are not serious to address the special educational needs of inmates with disability and women in their institutions (Munoz 2009:24). Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN 1948:2) and article 6(1) of the Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners (UNCPCTO 1957:2) however prohibit discrimination based on gender. In this regard, the later document in article 8 (a) clearly states that accommodations and service provisions should be given to women inmates separately (UNCPCTO 1957:2). The same is true for people with disability as indicated in the document. According to Munoz (2009:11), the problem is not related entirely to the failure to support them, what makes the problem even worse is the difficulty associated with identifying people with special needs. Though this is also true outside the prison, these people are facing far more problems in the prison settings as prisons “invariably fail to recognise, understand or support their specific needs" (Munoz 2009:12).