School and prison. Work in progress

Abstract

This paper addresses the difficult problem of schooling in prison. In addition to the critically increasing overcrowding, as well as the lack of staff, there exists another prison, which is less advertised but leaves a deeper mark on its occupants’ and staff’s lives. Such view of the prison is understood as a step of cultural and social recovery, i.e. as an opportunity for a rebirth accomplished through a shared path of personal growth. The European Commission points out education and training as a key aspect for men and women belonging to the new century. Today, more than ever, they have
to face an even more complex society, which is interactive, multi-ethnic, multiracial and multicultural. In the prison context, “education and trainings” are two terms that gain a greater value than the one usually accorded to them. They are valued especially in a social and identity-making perspective, which consists not only in the demand for a better basic education, the cultural formation of the subjects, and newly-constructed opportunities of employment: moreover, it requires a reflexive view on the criticalities involved in being a prison teacher.