Survey on prison education and training in Europe : final report
According to international conventions and recommendations, prisoners have the same right to education as other citizens. The provision of education and training opportunities in prison presents an opportunity to enable prisoners to address the gaps in their learning and thereby to support their transition to the outside world. It is also anticipated that 'filling the gap' can help in the prevention of a further criminal trajectory by improving their chances of employment on release and providing skills and competences to support their transition to the 'outside world'. Learning opportunities can give a sense of purpose and direction to individuals during their sentence and enhance the 'normalisation' of life in prison. This study was commissioned by DG Education and Culture (DG EAC) of the European Commission, with the aim of providing an overview of the current 'state-of-play' of prison education provision in Europe. It sets out the findings of an electronic survey of national coordinators of prison education (or equivalents), as well as a small number of interviews with both national and international stakeholders and a small-scale review of relevant documents. In addition four case studies were carried out in Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Romania and Sweden. Collectively, the findings demonstrate key factors of success, lessons learned and serve to highlight the different level and nature of challenges different countries face in relation to prison education
eBook, English, 2012
EUR-OP, Luxembourg, 2012