NCJ Number
87649
Date Published
1981
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This discussion of the development of an educational curriculum within prison considers the factors which affect curriculum development, the current curriculum in British prisons, the needs of inmates who are students, and recommendations for future curriculum development in the United Kingdom.
Abstract
The variety of prisons and the internal and external forces which affect educational programs in prisons makes it impossible to generalize accurately about the system. The curriculum in prisons results from both ideological attitudes and from such practical considerations as the prison's location and the resulting availability of teachers, the length of the sentences of the prison population, the available space, the cost, and the cooperation of the prison guards and other staff. The three basic types of prison education currently provided are remedial education, recreational arts and crafts, and academic education. Curriculum planners must be concerned with several factors, including the wants and needs of the student population. Prisoner students have expressed the following needs and wants in their educational curricula: choice, assessment, achievement, relationships with the larger world, a useful occupation of time, milestones which give a sense of progress, widening horizons, and a sense of self-respect. Curriculum planners must also be aware that a closed prison cannot provide a broad education in the sense that the outside world can and that prisoners' educations are subject to the control of others. Literacy and numeracy are the most urgent needs for prison education in the United Kingdom. In addition, greater standardization of curriculum in different prisons could be helpful in a system where prisoners are likely to be transferred. Additional recommendations are included.