Educational provision for young offenders
Research type
Research Study
Full title
All Banged Up: Educational provision in prisons from the perspectives of young offenders, and other stakeholders
IRAS ID
223477
Contact name
Anne O'Grady
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Nottingham Trent University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 30 days
Research summary
Prison education in England is currently under a period of scrutiny (Coates, 2016, Taylor, 2016). The proposed research study intends to contribute further knowledge to this under-researched field through the following research question: To what extent is prison education fit-for-purpose for young people (aged 18-25) in custodial settings?
We aim to talk to young offenders currently in custody, as well as prison officers, education practitioners and a governor within one Young Offenders Institution. The project aims to use a participatory action research (PAR) methodology. This is a research approach that effectively facilitates projects that seek to action change through a model of collaboration. This approach enables research participants to be co-constructors of the research venture, to a greater or lesser extent. We aim to work with the young offenders in this project to design the project instruments (interview schedules) for example, considering what key questions we should be asking in relation to educational provision. Additionally we wish to involve the young offenders in interpreting and considering what conclusions can be drawn from the information collected. Whilst PAR has been successfully adopted to carry out research studies in custodial settings (see, for example Ward, Baily and Boyd, 2012), it has not been applied within the context of educational provision for young people (aged 18-25).
It is expected that the study will be completed by June 2017.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EM/0078
Date of REC Opinion
18 May 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion