‘Never really had a good education you know, until I came in here’: educational life histories of young adult male prisoner learners

Abstract

This article focuses on the educational life histories of nine prisoner learners aged between 18 and 21 years which were collated as part of doctoral work which sought to access the life histories of adult male prisoners who were attending a prison school while incarcerated in prison. The nine life histories of the young men were collated not only in two Dublin prison sites: St. Patrick's Institution (mainly) but also Mountjoy Prison and their educational life histories are explored in this article with the specific aim of offering insights into young adult male prisoner learners' experiences of education. Negative experiences of compulsory education were reported by the nine prisoner learners interviewed, none of whom had completed upper second level education. The average age of the young adults was 19 years. Two had no experience of secondary school education and six of the nine reported being expelled from school. The intergenerational impact of imprisonment and cycle of disadvantage was illustrated across many of the life history interviews. Prisoner learners reported having experienced stressful events in their childhood, events which included, inter alia, the separation of parents, being removed from parental care and witnessing alcohol and drug misuse and violence in the home. Two of the prisoner learners reported learning to read and write in the prison school and a profile of one prisoner learner, Nick, aged 20, is included in this article.

Keywords:

• educational life history
• prisoners
• prison education
• educational disadvantage
• early school leaving

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of Dr Paul Downes in the undertaking of this research

Notes on contributors

Jane Carrigan recently completed her PhD entitled “Prisoner Learners' Perspectives of Prison Education within the Total Institution of the Prison: A Life History Methodological Approach” through the Educational Disadvantage Centre, St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra. Jane's research interests include educational disadvantage, health inequalities, penal reform and the effect of state policies on the lives of individuals. She is currently the Programme Director of Postgraduate Programmes in the Journalism & Media Faculty in Griffith College Dublin.

Catherine Maunsell is a Senior Lecturer in Education: Psychology and Human Development and is College Director of Quality Promotion and Assurance in St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra. She maintains an active research profile in the broad field of education and social inclusion on themes including widening access to lifelong learning and prison education. She has particular research interests in the rights of children and young people and those most marginalised, in relation to their engagement with societal institutions including the education and justice systems and in relationships, sexuality and sexual rights from a developmental perspective.

Notes

1. Although under-18s are incarcerated in the Irish prison system, and were at the time of data collection present in St. Patrick’s Institution, they were not approached to participate. On 1st May 2012, Frances Fitzgerald, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs announced the end to the sending of 16-year olds to St. Patrick’s Institution and signed an order to that effect. In July 2013, Alan Shatter, Minister for Justice, announced the planned closure of St. Patrick’s Institution.