A child inmate’s stories of schooling and the possibilities for self-change and self-care

Going beyond the static, dangerous version of a single story about who an African child inmate is, is an ethical responsibility – especially when we consider the structural and material forces that are tangled in this evil deed. Drawing on a sociological framing of self and Foucault’s theory of ethics, we take a narrative inquiry stance to explore what can be learnt about being an African child from a juvenile ex-inmate, Bakhona who negotiates the complex educational experience as a poor, orphaned and homeless child. The three storied vignettes represent our attention to the multiplicity and fluidity of self – negotiated through the entangled pathways of learning to and from prison. The analysis releases our eyes to a deeper understanding of the young African child who turns to crime driven by a desire to learn, know, and live differently. The choice to learn to care for self differently within dislocating and unproductive material and structural conditions is complex and possible if schooling as a system can become more educationally relevant, socially responsive and inclusive teaching and learning sites

The impact of rehabilitation programmes on prisoners : a case study of the Westville Prison educational programmes.

Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, [2007]This study investigates the impact of education programmes on the rehabilitation of prisoners. For the purpose of this study, rehabilitation of a prisoner is a stage reached when a person, after admission into prison, undergoes specifically planned programmes that will help him or her to fit well into society (social adjustment), be accepted by family and community and not to re-enter prison after release. This study acknowledges the fact that education on its own is not necessarily rehabilitative, but education helps to equip people with knowledge and skills that they may use in the outside world so that they may not resort to criminal practices as a result of unemployment. Methods of rehabilitation in different countries have been studied with the aim of comparing them with those in the South African context. Theories concerning the causes and treatment of crime and some ways of rehabilitating prisoners have also been examined. Questionnaires with personal, administrative and institutions items were given to programme facilitators, participants in programmes, nonparticipants in programmes and to ex-prisoners. Some questionnaires were given to family members of prisoners. Also, interviews with prison warders were conducted. This study has shown that educational programmes have a positive impact on the rehabilitation of prisoners. Sentenced prisoners and ex-prisoners that participated in educational programmes confirmed this