Malawi Prison Service offers correctional education programmes to the incarcerated individuals as a vital component of crime fighting strategy. Although the role of correctional education is to fight crimes, relapse in criminal behaviour which results in the re-incarceration of ex-offenders continues to be a predicament, thereby questioning the relevance of correctional education programmes after imprisonment. Therefore, this mixed methods study analysed the transformative outcome of correctional education programmes on ex-offenders in Mzimba, Malawi using the empowerment theory. The study utilised questionnaires, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews as data collection tools, whereby quantitative data was analysed using SPSS version 20 while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Quantitative findings revealed that there is positive correlation between correctional education and successful re-integration of ex-offenders. On the other hand, the study found that criminal record negatively correlated with ex-offenders employability. Qualitative findings confirm that correctional education improves socio-economic status, behaviour and offender re-integration upon release. The study recommends that Malawi prison service should partner with other stakeholders in designing and implementing correctional education programmes.
Malawi Prison Service offers correctional education programmes to the incarcerated individuals as a vital component of crime fighting strategy. Although the role of correctional education is to fight crimes, relapse in criminal behaviour which results in the re-incarceration of ex-offenders continues to be a predicament, thereby questioning the relevance of correctional education programmes after imprisonment. Therefore, this mixed methods study analysed the transformative outcome of correctional education programmes on ex-offenders in Mzimba, Malawi using the empowerment theory. The study utilised questionnaires, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews as data collection tools, whereby quantitative data was analysed using SPSS version 20 while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Quantitative findings revealed that there is positive correlation between correctional education and successful re-integration of ex-offenders. On the other hand, the study found that criminal record negatively correlated with ex-offenders employability. Qualitative findings confirm that correctional education improves socio-economic status, behaviour and offender re-integration upon release. The study recommends that Malawi prison service should partner with other stakeholders in designing and implementing correctional education programmes.
