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Exploring the history of prisoner education
Exploring the history of prisoner education

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10 Summary of Session 8

In this final session of the course, you have looked at the rise of the penal reform movement of the late 1800s and its consequences for prison education. The Gladstone Committee of 1895 presented an opportunity for doing something meaningful and worthwhile which was largely missed. The 1897 scheme for education in local and convict prisons was evidence of how far ambitions for prison education had receded. You also learned about the concept of ‘historical perspective’ and thought about how an historical perspective on prison education might be valuable for those involved in the provision of prison education today.

You should now be able to:

  • outline the reasons for penal reform at the end of the 1800s
  • assess the extent to which the desire for penal reform resulted in meaningful change, especially for prison education
  • understand what is meant by ‘historical perspective’ and reflect on how knowledge about the history of prison education can usefully inform debate and practice in the present.

There remains much that needs to be done to improve the provision of education in prisons and to ensure that prisoners are able to access and make the best use of their learning. Prison education can deliver great benefits to society. A joint study by the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education published in 2017 showed that prisoners who engaged in any form of learning activity while inside had lower levels of re-offending one year after release; that is, 34% for prisoner learners compared with 43% for prisoner non-learners (‘Exploring the Outcomes of Prisoner Learners’, 2017). Prison education can deliver great benefits to the individual – as Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski’s story shows (see below). Prison education requires courage – from prisoners, who are willing to try, and from the policymakers, who need to invest.

Congratulations, you have now completed this free course. In learning about the history of prison education you have been introduced to some of the fundamental concepts of historical study, and you have developed some important skills which you can use for further study.

A success story

This is a colour photographic portrait of a smiling man, framed against the elaborately designed frontage of a prison entrance. He faces to the left, and wears a grey denim jacket over a blue t-shirt. The shot is taken from below, so that we see him in a head and shoulders view, with the prison towers outlined against a blue sky.
Figure 9 Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski. Stephen’s story shows exactly how life-changing education can be. His journey has taken him from a prisoner, to an OU student, and now to an OU member of staff supporting the Students in Secure Environments team.

Read more about Stephen’s story in the following article: From prisoner to OU student and staff member [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]