Education has borne the burden of prisoners’ reform since the early days of modern prison. Several studies attest to its transformative potential, taking a short-term perspective. Rarely the experience of being a student, while incarcerated, is examined in the context of the wider biography. This paper uses perspective transformation theory as a point of departure to study how imprisonment influences adult learning. Building on biographical narratives of ten foreign national students of a Second Chance School at the largest Greek remand establishment, and participant observation of relevant class discussions, we argue that imprisonment impedes perspective transformation, strengthening structural inequalities and distorted views of incarcerated students’ position in the social world, that extend far beyond the prison’s walls. We further discuss the perceived importance of the educational relationship, and the ethical implications that educators who work in prisons should consider, as part of their work.
Education has borne the burden of prisoners’ reform since the early days of modern prison. Several studies attest to its transformative potential, taking a short-term perspective. Rarely the experience of being a student, while incarcerated, is examined in the context of the wider biography. This paper uses perspective transformation theory as a point of departure to study how imprisonment influences adult learning. Building on biographical narratives of ten foreign national students of a Second Chance School at the largest Greek remand establishment, and participant observation of relevant class discussions, we argue that imprisonment impedes perspective transformation, strengthening structural inequalities and distorted views of incarcerated students’ position in the social world, that extend far beyond the prison’s walls. We further discuss the perceived importance of the educational relationship, and the ethical implications that educators who work in prisons should consider, as part of their work.
