‘There is nothing for me’: A qualitative analysis of the views towards prison education of adult male prisoners convicted of a sexual offence
| Published date | 01 September 2023 |
| Author | Jane Slater,Belinda Winder,Anne O'Grady,Phil Banyard |
| Date | 01 September 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12521 |
Received: 3 March 2022 Accepted: 13 January 2023
DOI: 10.1111/ho jo.12521
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
‘There is nothing for me’: A qualitative analysis
of the views towards prison education of adult
male prisoners convicted of a sexual offence
Jane Slater1Belinda Winder2Anne O’Grady3Phil Banyard4
1Jane Slater is Lecturer in Criminology,
Department of Criminology and Criminal
Justice (CCJ), Nottingham Trent
University
2Belinda Winder is Professor of Forensic
Psychology,NTU Psychology, Centre for
Crime, Offending, Prevention &
Engagement (COPE), Nottingham Trent
University
3Anne O’Grady is Principal Lecturer,
Nottingham Institute of Education,
Nottingham Trent University
4Phil Banyard is Professor Emeritus in
Psychology, Nottingham Trent University
Correspondence
Jane Slater, Lecturerin
Criminology, Department of Criminology
and Criminal Justice (CCJ), Nottingham
Trent Uni versity.
Email: jane.slater@ntu.ac.uk
Abstract
This current study examined the perceptions and lived
experiences of prisoners (n =24) who do not engage
with prison education. United Kingdom and interna-
tional research highlights that prisoners who attend
prison education programmes have lower recidivism
rates and increased employment opportunities upon
release (Abeling-Judge, 2019; Bozick et al., 2018). This
qualitative study interviewed adult males who are serv-
ing a custodial sentence for a sexual offence in England
and Wales. The data were analysed thematically with
two key themes emerging from the rich dataset: (i) ‘Poor
quality education’, highlighting the limitations of prison
education and lack of quality provision; (ii) ‘We are
sex offenders’, explored non-engagement with prison
education due to their ‘sex offender’ label. The find-
ings highlight how current prison education provision
needs to focus on a programme of study relevant to an
individual.
KEYWORDS
education, prison education, prisoners, qualitative, sexual offence,
thematic analysis (TA)
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and
reproduction in any medium, providedthe original work is properly cited.
© 2023 The Authors. The Howard Journalof Crime and Justice published by Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Howard J. Crim. Justice. 2023;62:391–407. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hojo 391
392 THE HOWARDJOURNAL OF CRIME AND JUSTICE
1 INTRODUCTION
Prison education in England and Wales aims to give prisoners the skills they need to unlock
their potential, gain employment and become an asset to their communities (Ministry of Jus-
tice, 2019). The Ministry of Justice (2018) asserts that the prison education system should focus
on putting prisoners on the path to employment when they are released. Although employment
has been highlighted as one outcome of participating in prison education, there are other bene-
fits for prisoners. Clark (2016) suggests that prison education should address deeper personal and
social development needs rather than simply focusing on job skills relating to a specific employ-
ment route. In addition, prisoners who participate in prisoner education are 32% less likely to
reoffend when compared with prisoners who do not attend education while incarcerated (Bozick
et al., 2018). Despite there being several reasons to engage with prison education, over recent years
there is evidence of a declining picture of engagement, with a drop of 12% in the year 2017–2018
in England and Wales (Skills Funding Agency, 2018).
1.1 Prison education
Prison education has the potential to provide personal growth and development for a prisoner;
education can build personal skills along with confidence, which has been identified as crucial
for long-term desistance from crime (Terry & Cardwell,2015). Additionally, engaging with prison
education provides mental health benefits for prisoners, as prison life can be difficult and educa-
tion gives them purpose and can relieve the boredom often associated with prison life (Hughes,
2009). Furthermore, engaging with prison education has been shown to have a calming effect on
prisoners and can provide an incentive for good behaviour (Ross, 2009). Moreover, prisoners may
engage with prison education to help them cope with the pains and deprivations of prison life
(Maruna, 2010). Therefore, prison education can be seen as a potential break from the prison cul-
ture, a space where prisoners can interact with others as learner, as opposed to prisoner (Szifris,
Fox & Bra dbur y, 2018). Thus education can improve prisoners’ behaviour while in prison and
can significantly contribute to the development of the person as a whole (House of Commons,
2022). The positive transformative potential of prison education, then, can provide wider bene-
fits beyond employment, that improve prisoners’ lives, such as their ability to cope with prison
life or improved family relationships (Nichols, 2021). Therefore, engaging in prison education can
be a positive way to help prisoners cope with their sentence and limit the damages of prison life
(Behan, 2014).
Although prison education is accessible to all prisoners in England and Wales, numerous fac-
tors inside a prison establishment make attending education an option that is only available to
25% of prisoners (Schuller & Watson, 2009). The 2019 annual report by HM Chief Inspector of
Prisons noted that staff shortages and operational constraints had reduced prisoners’ access to
education and work. The report also states that there are too few activity places in some prisons,
or they were not filled or not used effectively (HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, 2019). Interestingly
these challenges pre-date the Covid-19 pandemic which saw the wholescale shutdown of educa-
tion provisions in prisons and significant challenges to establishing a meaningful education offer
(Ofsted, 2022). Education courses are constantly being interrupted, cancelled, or changed at short
notice (Farley & Pike, 2018). In addition, security restrictions, and inconsistent staffing can pre-
vent prisoners from accessing education, resources and support (Lee et al., 2017). Consequently,
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting