Histories and Philosophies of Carceral Education : Aims, Contradictions, Promises and Problems

This edited collection encourages philosophical exploration of the nature, aims, contradictions, promises and problems of the practice of education within prisons around the world. Such exploration is particularly necessary given the complex operational barriers to education, and higher education in particular, within prison-based teaching and learning. These operational barriers are matched by cultural and polemical barriers, such as the criticism of diverting resources to and spending money on prisoner education when the cost of some education seems prohibitive for people outside prison. More so than in other education contexts, prison education may fall short of higher ideals because it is shot through with both practical and moral-political problems and challenges, especially in the age of global late capitalism, high technology and mass incarceration or securitization. This book includes insights and issues around a wide range of areas including: ethics, religion, sociology, justice, identity and political and moral philosophy. Marcus K Harmes is Professor at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. He has published extensively in the fields of religious and political history, with a particular emphasis on British religious history and popular culture. He is the author of numerous studies on the church in modern popular culture, especially on film and television, including book chapters in the collections Doctor Who and Race and Time and Relative Dimensions in Faith. Barbara Harmes lectures at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Her doctoral research focussed on the discursive controls built around sexuality in late-nineteenth-century England. Her research interests include cultural studies and religion. She has published in areas including modern Australian politics, 1960s American television and her original field of Victorian literature. Meredith Harmes teaches communication and also works in the enabling programs at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. Her research interests include modern British and Australian politics and popular culture in Britain and America Contents 5 Notes on Contributors 7 List of Figures 13 List of Tables 14 Part I: Contexts and Possibilities 15 1: Aiming and Promising, and Recognising the Contradictions and Problems 16 References 23 2: Beyond Idealism to the Realities of Incarcerated Higher Education: What We Know About the Provision of Higher Education in Prisons 24 Introduction 24 The Current State of Prison Education 25 Prison Education in the Literature 26 The Impact of Education on Recidivism 27 A Gendered Perspective 28 The Role of Class in Prison Education 29 Educational Constraints Related to the System of Incarceration 30 Practical Issues Related to Teaching and Learning in Prison 32 The Role of the Creation of a Student Persona in Successful Student Outcomes 34 The Moral Imperative as a Motivation for Prison Higher Education 37 Who Pays for Education Received in Prison? 38 Conclusion 39 References 41 Part II: Educating to Eliminate Risk and Change Lives 44 3: Tough on the Causes: Religion and the Penitent in Prison Education 45 Introduction 45 A brief history of carceral religious instruction 47 Radicalization 53 Rehabilitation 56 Specialization and Overcrowding 57 References 59 4: Managing Their Needs, Managing Their Risks: The Education and Treatment of Sex Offenders in United States Federal Prisons 61 Introduction 61 Conceptualizing Sex Offences 63 Trends Regarding Sex Offences 65 Conceptualizing Federal Sex Offenders 65 Punitiveness in the United States and Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders 68 Punitiveness as a Social Trend 68 A Short Punitiveness Debate 68 General Public Attitudes and Perceptions of Sex Offenders 69 Sex Offender Sentencing 70 Room for Individuation 71 Sentencing Variation 71 Sex Offenders in Prison 72 An Incident at USP Leavenworth 72 Responding to Violence and Exploitation 73 Offering Protection and Transfers Are Not Solving the Problem 75 Sex Offender Management Program (SOMP) 75 The 40 Percent Rule 75 The Development of SOMP 76 Initial Assessment 77 Use of the Static 99R/2002R 77 Managing Their Risk: The Case Management Plan 78 Maintaining a SOMP: Legal Issues 79 Lawsuits Under the FTCA 79 Bivens Actions 80 Continued Monitoring 81 Managing Their Needs: The Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) 82 Voluntariness and Programs Offered 82 Philosophical Underpinnings of SOTPs 82 Risk, Needs, Responsivity 82 Targeting Criminogenic Needs 83 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) 83 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Prison 84 Combining CBT and RNR in Prison 85 Implementing a Combined CBT/RNR SOTP Program in the United States 86 Treatment Phases 86 The SOTP-R Modified Therapeutic Community 87 History of the Therapeutic Community (TC) 87 Parallel Development 88 Challenges for Therapeutic Communities in Prison 89 Do Carceral Sex Offender Treatment Programs Work? 91 References 92 5: The Past, Present and Future of Education Programs for Individuals Who Sexually Offend 97 History of Sex Offender Treatment Programs 97 Understanding Sexual Offending 99 Deviant Sexual Interests 100 Psycho-Social Conditions and/or Deficits 100 Cognitive Distortions 102 Approaches to Sexual Offending Behaviour Treatment 104 Cognitive Behavioural Treatment 104 Relapse Prevention 105 SOTPs in Australia 105 What SOTPs Aim to Achieve 106 Public Perceptions of SOTPs and Why They Matter 107 Risk 108 Needs 110 Responsivity 111 Strengths Based Approach 112 Is Sex Offender Treatment Effective? 112 Treatment Programs Targeting Specific Offence Types 113 Deniers 113 Internet Only Offenders 114 Female Offenders 115 Sexually Abusive Behaviours in Young People 116 Cognitively Impaired Offenders 117 Ethical Considerations 118 Conclusion 119 References 120 Part III: Student Agency 129 6: Virgil in Hell: Commercial Prison Consultants as Teachers and Guides 130 Introduction 130 Prison Consultants 132 A Survey of Ten Sources 137 Films 138 Books 143 Websites 146 Discussion 149 References 150 7: Prison and Co-creation: An Experimental Creative Method 155 Introduction 155 Intimacy and the Prison ‘Home’: Choosing the Subject 159 The Weight of the Image: Choosing the Photograph 161 Simultaneous Exhibition 164 Formalisation 166 Co-responsibility in Co-creation 168 References 169 Part IV: Restrictions and Opportunities 171 8: Higher Education for all: Prisoners, Social Justice, and Digital Technology 172 Introduction 172 Inclusion or Exclusion: The Role of eLearning in Higher Education 174 The Digital Exclusion of Prisoners 176 USQ and Digital Learning in Prisons 178 Portable Learning Environments for Incarcerated Adult Distance Education Students 180 From Access to Success: Improving the Higher Education Learning Experience for Students without Internet Access 181 The Triple ‘E’ Project 182 Making the Connection 182 Paper to Pixels: An Interim Streamlined Approach to Providing Course Resources for Incarcerated Students at USQ 184 Bridging the Digital Divide 184 Challenges for Incarcerated Learners 185 A Culture Shift in the University 187 What Programs Are Appropriate for Prisoners? 189 Conclusion 191 References 192 9: Epistemic Injustice and College in Prison: How Liberal Arts Education Strengthens Epistemic Agency 197 What is Testimonial Injustice and What does It Look Like in Prison? 199 How does College in Prison Remedy Testimonial Injustice? 203 What does Hermeneutical Injustice Look Like in Prison? 206 How does College in Prison Remedy Hermeneutical Injustice? 211 Conclusion 214 References 215 10: The Difficult Art of Higher Education Delivery in Prison 217 Pedagogical Practices of Higher Education in Prison 219 Prison Education and Prisoners’ Rehabilitation 222 The Industrialisation of HE and the Prison as a Business Model 224 Learning Together? 226 Concluding Remarks 229 References 232 11: A Fast Track to Knowledge: Using Virtual Reality for Learning in Prisons 236 Introduction 236 The Incarcerated Learner 237 Digital Literacies 238 Virtual Reality in Prisons 239 Virtual Reality for Numeracy and Literacy 241 The Project 242 Project Design 243 Cohort Selection 245 The Hardware and Environment 245 The Lessons 246 Data Collection 248 Unexpected Outcomes 251 Technical and Environmental Performance 252 Scope for Further Research 253 Conclusion 254 References 255 12: Education Post Incarceration: Opportunities and Challenges 259 Introduction 259 Author’s Perspective 260 Australian Prison History and Profile 261 Education while Incarcerated in Australia 263 Pre-Certificate Courses 266 Challenges to Continuing or Commencing Education Post Incarceration 268 Cost of Education 268 State of Incarceration and Chosen Educational Facility 270 Education Opportunities Post Incarceration (Australia) 273 Conclusion 276 References 277 Index 279