The Role And Importance Of Education In Penitentiary

Abstract

Prison education seeks to address challenges of the correctional facility, with a focus on the function of education in this context and its implications for human personality development. Education shapes a person's style and helps to mold the future, but it is the values, standards, and lessons that are transferred that make the difference, generating unique personalities. The correctional environment is distinguished by limited rights, visible lifestyle changes, and significant adaption issues for detainees. The article provides some theories concerning the impact of incarceration on the individual's personality development and the negative repercussions of liberty restriction. At the same time, this article seeks to highlight the importance of educational action and its future footprint at the time of release. Acquiring the values and social norms of living in the community are essential landmarks that result in the success of socio-professional reintegration. The development of a person's personality begins when the individual is able to make choices in order to know how to go in a direction unanimously accepted by society and in accordance with it.

Keywords: Detention, environment, education, penitentiary persons deprived of their liberty, socialization

Introduction

Education has a strong presence in the social ensemble, influencing both collective and individual behavior. Education transmits social experience not just from one generation to the next, as well as from one individual to the next, with the ultimate goal of both homogeneity and differentiation of people. The value of education may be seen at any moment and in every sector of social life. The level of education received has an impact on the fate of each individual and society. Education is a specific type of individual action, an involvement or direction of the person, through offering support and assistance in the acquisition of societal norms and values. It is an act that occurs throughout human existence; via education, we seek the purposeful growth of a person's biopsychic capacity as well as the molding of a kind of personality demanded by current conditions and societal perspectives. We might argue that it is a social phenomenon, especially human, that arises with society in response to a certain need - that of human growth as a human person, as a worker, and as a social being. Education entails the passing of values from society to the individual; it is a discipline, nurturing, and training activity for the person both for himself and for society. It is an organized activity carried out on the premise of a social project that entails a conscious effort on the part of the taught and the educator. Education is based on knowledge, and "scientific knowledge is the hallmark of the maturation of the human spirit and has as a consequence the revelation of rigorously demonstrated truths" (Otovescu, 2009, p. 87).

The definition of education from a sociological perspective allows highlighting the dynamic aspects of the training activity - permanent development of personality in modern and postmodern societies. We take into account the fact that education is an aspect of the socialization process through which people acquire the behaviors necessary for participation in social life (Constantinescu & Constantinescu, 2006, p. 46).

Education has many benefits, both for the individual and for society - it improves career prospects, stimulates the economy and can even extend life expectancy. Moreover, according to studies, education has the role of making people happier! Education is very important in society, it is the basis for the support of culture, individual training and the evolution of humanity. However, education means much more than formal training - it can start from birth and manifest itself in all social environments in which the individual is present. "Education is a deliberate action of socio-organization on the ability to process information, specific to each individual, in order to guide it in a feasible direction, pre-established" (Popovici, 2003, p. 12).

Some authors considered that “education is a fundamental psychosocial activity with a specific structural core based on the subject-object correlation (educator-educated) and which evolves, in optimal conditions in the direction of self-education, is a higher stage of humanization” (Cristea & Constantinescu, 1998, pp. 120-121).

Education has had and always has multiple roles. Thus, the main meanings of it are found in the economic prosperity of each individual, of each society, because a well-educated workforce brings prosperity to both the individual and the society to which he belongs. It has a well-established role and profound social implications, as it is the main way in which values, social norms and traditions are passed down from one generation to the next, giving each individual the opportunity to accumulate knowledge and develop attitudes and the skills needed to become an informed and active citizen. Education in a person's life has a special role, developing countless sensitive, emotional, but also pragmatic aspects of life. This educational action is highlighted as a social phenomenon through which existential data and feelings are transmitted, as well as general information about culture and society, helping to form a purpose in life.

Education takes on a broad aspect when it comes to the adult and becomes a major goal when the adult is serving a custodial sentence. All detainees must have access to education: this must include basic education, vocational training, creative and cultural activities, physical education and sport, social education and the possibility of attending a library. Prison education should be similar to that carried out abroad, for appropriate age groups, and the possibilities for education should be as wide as possible, it should take into account the overall development of the person, taking into account his or her social environment. , economic and cultural, and all those involved in the administration of the penitentiary system and in the management of detention facilities should, as far as possible, support and encourage education. It is noteworthy that in some prisons, education plays a marginal role, that it has only a limited contribution and very few resources. There are situations where it is limited to evening or literacy classes, with personal development and general elements of education clearly lacking. Prison education will need to be able to limit the harm that incarceration does to the individual. There are many detainees whose past experiences in education have been very limited and negative; thus, in the light of equal opportunities, he must be entitled to special support in order to remedy his disadvantaged educational situation. In this environment, education is of particular importance, as it is necessary to focus on rehabilitation, being able to encourage and help those who strive to give up criminal activity.

Problem Statement

Although the penitentiary environment offers an educational program to persons serving a custodial sentence, most of the time it does not achieve its intended purpose. It has been observed that, not infrequently, people who have served a sentence have returned to the prison environment, because they did not have the ability to shape their own existence and to play an active role in the process of personal development. Above all, prison education services must seek to enable the entitlement to education, which serves everyone and is the key to their fulfillment as a person fit to operate in line with their community's social standards. Education in this environment must stimulate their positive potential and make them aware of new possibilities, with the mission to help them decide for themselves that giving up delinquency is a major step towards social and professional reintegration.

Educational activities have a special role and importance because they help the inmates to express themselves and develop their mental and physical skills, they will reflect on their qualities and positive potential, it will make them feel more human and more connected. by the society outside the penitentiary.

Research Questions

The main research questions are directly related to the research objectives:

• What are the factors that determine the participation in small numbers in educational programs?
• What teaching methods can be used to improve the educational act?

In the research action we started from the that in the penitentiaries the curricular area must be folded according to the needs of the detainee and not a general one, the participation and enrollment in courses should be voluntary and not in order to obtain benefits, thus shaping the variable independent of the use of the curricular area, but also of the dependent variables related to the degree of involvement in the educational instruction process shown by the detainees, the degree of knowledge acquisition, the depth of their understanding and the extent to which they are internalized and applied in attitudes and behaviors.

Purpose of the Study

The educational purpose / purpose of the research is to identify and facilitate those who serve a sentence, to actively participate in the completion of educational programs, to guide and support the application of enrollment in various professional qualification courses, to help them train and inform .

The aim of this research is also to analyze the educational act offered to persons serving a sentence, as well as a comparative study between the different education systems in the penitentiaries of different European countries. The study aims to identify the best and most effective educational activities, activities that result in a successful socio-professional reintegration of those who have served a custodial sentence.

The purpose of the study is based on the fact that the person serving the sentence as a result of violating a rule protected by criminal law suffers an impact with dramatic, frustrating effects that can affect the individual who reintegrates into society. Practically, the re-education activity carried out with these persons must be a continuous one throughout the punishment, following that upon release it will be taken over by other competent institutions.

The main objectives of the research are: identifying the factors that prevent participation in educational programs during detention and identifying the best ways in which the educational act achieves its purpose and fulfills its objectives, assessing the frequency of involvement in educational programs; assessing the quality of the programs implemented and their impact on socio-professional reintegration.

Research Methods

Depending on the proposed purposes and the hypothesis formulated, during the research a multitude of research methods were used, among which we list: questionnaire-based survey, direct observation on the persons participating in the educational act carried out in the penitentiary, their interviewing.

The main method of data collection was the method of observation, which involved the intentional, methodical and systematic monitoring of those who participate in the courses, but also the observation of their involvement in the educational instructional process.

The observation method is very relevant, because it mainly follows the frequency of students in the educational act, active involvement, the conditions in which the educational act takes place as well as the determining motivation. The observation took place in the penitentiary, during classes. Thus, 40 students participated in the educational program, respectively two groups, each group having a staff of 20 participants, which were observed regarding the involvement in this educational act, the active participation, as well as the interest shown regarding the accumulation of knowledge. transmitted. Through natural observation, the behavior of persons serving a sentence of detention during class was followed, and systematic observation specifically identified the behavior manifested during the program and how they interacted during class. Thus, most were captivated by the knowledge transmitted, asked additional questions to clarify some issues, provided feedback in accordance with the requirements of the educator and behaved appropriately. Of those observed, six participants were identified as not involved, the rest showing interaction and participation, even having a decisive role in individual and group activities.

The interview method was applied to the same number of participants, but after the end of the class. The aim of this method was to identify the decisive motivation to participate in the educational programs carried out in the penitentiary environment. A series of closed questions were also used, as well as open-ended questions, following the answers, identifying in particular the topics that detainees would like to cover, the most numerous of which were those on effective communication, managing delicate situations, the way in which they could obtain a professional qualification and those on moral training for release.

Also, by interviewing the people serving the sentence using the semi-structured interview, we aimed to highlight the way they experience detention, by: assessing the frequency of involvement in educational programs, assessing the quality of programs and their impact on socio-professional reintegration, but also assessing the perception of the future.

The experimental aim was to confirm or refute the research hypothesis. Short term”. At the same time, we can emphasize that if detainees were to take vocational training courses in accordance with the requirements of the labor market, it would be much easier to identify a job. Accessing and obtaining a job means that the person who has served a custodial sentence acquires those professional skills that play a key role in his or her socio-professional re-education.

Professional competence is a relative characteristic of the person, because it consists in the optimal fulfillment by the respective person of the specific tasks of the job for which he was employed by an institution or a firm, and these tasks, as it is known, are more or less variable during the professional life of the person in question, who manages to adapt more or less easily to new situations. Professional competence must also be seen both in terms of operationality, successful completion of certain activities and potential, is the possibilities of developing existing skills in the employee, so that he assimilates new general and professional knowledge and solves new problems (Constantinescu, 2004, pp. 209-210).

Findings

Although the law on criminal enforcement provides for the responsibility of penitentiary institutions to organize various educational, cultural, counseling activities during detention in order to facilitate social reintegration, they can only be put into practice to a small extent due to external factors that are to the detriment of individuals. owned. Interviews conducted by specialists with people who were serving their sentences or having been executed in a state of recidivism, highlight aspects that make the success of re-education programs much more difficult. Thus, the penitentiary environment does not offer them the chance to rehabilitate due to their transit through several penitentiary institutions, in addition to the trauma of continuous rehabilitation, they are no longer able to be included in any educational program, being a great waste of time in terms of working with detainees. on the reintegration side; those with a low level of education consider that the programs are aimed at those with a higher level of training and for this reason they do not understand its objectives and areas of learning; on the other hand, those with a high level of training consider these programs far too childish, do not see what they have to learn, are too unattractive and do not present an interesting activity. A very high risk is that they do not understand the effectiveness of the programs, their purpose and objectives, choosing to enroll in them only to obtain facilities, few consider that they are beneficial and that they are learning something new. Another problem is the duration and structure of the programs, respectively an hour / week and there is no overlap of them so that they have to choose which of them to participate.

From the few mentioned aspects, a very obvious aspect is revealed, namely the fact that the criminal policy does not aim at preparing for reintegration for how much is required. It is observed that the repression-centered system does not achieve its goal, which is why a reorientation of the activity is necessary, focused on the socio-professional reintegration of the person serving a custodial sentence. This reintegration must start with the person entering the penitentiary, by applying psychological questionnaires, sociological surveys and psychosocial programs carried out with detainees throughout the detention period, programs adapted and individualized according to the person, imposing both a individual as well as a group program. In order for the programs to be as efficient as possible, it is necessary for the penitentiary to have a multidisciplinary team that collects a series of data on the psychological profile of the detainee, namely: thoughts, beliefs, education, environment, so that the individualized program be folded on the need for reintegration and prevention of recurrence. At the same time, it is necessary for this education to be continued even after the release from the penitentiary by preventing the social marginalization of the former detainee, this taking place both regarding the person who executed a sentence but also for the members of the society. Society must promote a tolerant attitude, consider him a person whose problems are solvable, not label him and understand that they have been deprived of their liberty in order to be rehabilitated.

Such a principle of social inclusion is successfully applied in Norway, where only 20% of detainees are repeat offenders and the crime rate is the lowest in the world. That is why criminologist Bob Cameron said that Norway puts re-education and social reintegration first.

Conclusions

The extent to which education in the penitentiary reflects the qualities of the best education will increase the possibility for at least some detainees to continue their studies after release. In this sense, it is appreciated that "the whole community should be involved in ensuring a qualitative educational process". (Constantinescu, 2018, p. 108).

At the same time, the process of introducing in the penitentiary what is best in foreign education is favored by the fact that teachers and other educators in the criminal institution are employed by foreign education authorities. What is important is that they should not be professionally isolated and have direct and meaningful links with the outside pedagogical environment. The teacher no longer has the role of communicating knowledge, but of determining the active participation of students, considering them resources and not passive participants or recipients. It is also important to draw up a study file for each detainee participating in the curricula, which records the level of education, detailed planning of the studies and the results obtained during the detention. Even if there is a situation that some of the courses have not been fully attended for various reasons, especially those involving the transfer of a detainee from one penitentiary to another, the parties will be registered and the file will accompany the student to the penitentiary where will continue the execution of the sentence, in this way the educational act can be continued so as to avoid the situation of being "the only school in the world and of all time that issues graduation diplomas to illiterates".

The fundamental idea of the study is to promote the best practices of education, to identify the best educational solutions for persons serving a custodial sentence. "Prisoners are sent there and someone has to guard them, ensure their daily living, teach them something good, treat their illnesses, especially mental ones" but also their educational needs”.

Thus, when detainees cannot leave the penitentiary to attend classes, the penitentiary must have adequate spaces in order to be able to create a study environment, different from the rest of the establishment. It is necessary to have materials commonly used in adult education and to take into account educational considerations, such as: the needs of the candidate, his ability to take the course, the authenticity of his efforts. Such an education system would provide special protection after serving the sentence and a greater chance for socio-professional reintegration, and its purpose is to increase vocational training resources in the prison environment.

Among the general objectives we mention: the improvement of educational skills through pro-social and professional training, the education of detainees with skills specific to social reintegration and the reduction of the risk of post-execution recidivism.

Among the notable results that should be recorded following the application of quality education, we emphasize: those who have served a sentence are fully integrated, the risk of recidivism is greatly reduced, the state costs of detainees are reduced, the prison population is reduced.

As the research results represent a concrete picture of the educational situation, we sought to highlight mechanisms, criteria and examples of good practice in some prisons in Romania and some European countries, for educating detainees to prevent recidivism.

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