Barriers to participation in vocational orientation programmes among prisoners

Abstract

This study investigates the barriers to prisoners' participation in vocational orientation programmes, as well as the predictors of different types of barriers. Survey data derived from a project in a remand prison in Belgium (N=468) provided the empirical evidence for the analyses. The results indicate that facing situational and informational barriers are most common. Based on the different kinds of barriers, various types of non-participants can be distinguished and multinomial logistic regression analyses are conducted to identify in what way participants of vocational orientation programmes differ from various types of non-participants. For instance, prisoners with a poor understanding of the Dutch language and those who never/rarely receive visitors participate less in vocational orientation programmes as they are more likely to be confronted with informational barriers. Paths for future research and implications for policy and practice will be discussed.

Prisons as Schools: Inmates’ Participation in Vocational and Academic Programs in Chinese Prisons

“…We consider prison call and visit as pull factors because families could drive inmates into education programs through constant encouragement, care, and comfort. As mentioned earlier, inmates with frequent contacts with the outside world tend to be associated with greater participation in prison education (Brosens et al, 2015; Velasquez, 2016). In fact, the mere presence of family members, even just their voice, could remind inmates of their current status and future responsibilities, and, thus, may work as incentives for inmates’ participation in correctional education.…”

“…The push–pull perspective is most explicitly developed in the sociology of education to explain individuals’ motivations and decisions in education (see Elster, 1979; Gambetta, 1987). This perspective has been adopted by researchers of prisoner rehabilitation to further our knowledge on reasons behind inmates’ participation in rehabilitation programs or the barriers thereof (e.g., Brosens, De Donder, Dury, & Verté, 2015; Brosens, De Donder, Dury, & Verté, 2016; Costelloe, 2003; Eikeland, 2009; Manger, Eikeland, & Asbjørnsen, 2013; Manger et al, 2010).…”

“…For the larger population of inmates, researchers have found that prisoners with a generally healthy and frequent contact with the outside world, through visitors and prison phone calls, are more likely to participate in rehabilitation programs (Brosens et al, 2015; Brosens et al, 2016; Brosens, De Donder, Vanwing, Dury, & Verté, 2014; Jackson & Innes, 2000). It is possible that prison visits and phone calls act as pull factors for inmates’ participation because they provide inmates with information, encouragement, emotional support, and a sense of duty to others.…”

“…Studies have shown that participation is affected by a range of additional variables operating at both individual level and institutional level. At the individual level, inmates’ participation have been found to be influenced by gender, age, race, peer pressure, support from correctional officers/staff, language proficiency, competing prison activities, lack of information, nationality, and offense type (Aldridge, 2015; Brosens et al, 2015; Brosens et al, 2016; Croux et al, 2019; Manger et al, 2010; Tietjen et al, 2018; Velasquez, 2016). At the institutional level, inmates’ participation is often conditioned on program availability, adequacy of qualified adult education teachers, facility and teaching and learning materials, availability of staff and resources, lack of integration between education and prison work, and long waiting list (Brosens et al, 2015; Crittenden & Koons-Witt, 2017; Kyalo, MuIwa, Matuta, & Rutere, 2015; Tietjen et al, 2018).…”

Can a Questionnaire Be Useful for Assessing Reading Skills in Adults? Experiences with the Adult Reading Questionnaire among Incarcerated and Young Adults in Norway

“…Several other studies have shown an increased prevalence of learning challenges with implications for education and academic training [4][5][6]9,[18][19][20][21]. Several studies have suggested that education affects recidivism and reintegration in the community following release [22][23][24][25][26], but several barriers to participation have also been reported [27][28][29] The reviewed data show that prison education programs constitute important arenas for adult education and adult education counselling. A relatively high proportion of prisoners in Norway choose to participate in education and training as part of the sentencing [30], and correctional services are important arenas for adult education.…”