Investigation of the effectiveness of prison education among female prisoners

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Barbara Di Blasio
Adrienn Ács-Bíró

Abstract

In our study, we present the empirical data used by international research to prove the effectiveness and usefulness of education in prisons. The goal of our research is related to this, the establishment of female prisoners’ profile of from the point of view of education and training, which is also a neglected area on international level. In our study, we used a measuring device that can be easily incorporated and applied in the prison education system. With the Cognitive Profile Test, we measured three main areas: cognitive abilities, information processing, school skills. We sought the answer to the following question: to what extent the current school preparation supporting reintegration contribute to the social reintegration of women after release. Based on our results, the studied group shows a significant difference compared to the characteristics of the adult population serving as reference group. Deficiencies in the cognitive areas necessary for the development of a life management strategy supporting reintegration are significant. It was confirmed that women’s strengths in education (attention, holistic thinking) and their advantageous skill level has not been exploited yet. There is no targeted help for their weaknesses (school skills, abstraction, sequential thinking), so the impact of the improvements is contingent. Our research confirmed that the methodology of prison education organized on the model of the majority school is not very effective for female convicts who struggle with a complex network of problems.

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Di Blasio, B., & Ács-Bíró, A. (2022). Investigation of the effectiveness of prison education among female prisoners. Iskolakultúra, 32(10), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.14232/iskkult.2022.10.45
Section
Study

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