Impact of Policy on Juvenile Prison Education - Research Paper Example

Impact of Policy on Juvenile Prison Education Education is provided as one of the rights to the young offenders in US juvenile prisons. Young offenders often struggle to get a second chance in life upon their release from prisons. They need to be integrated in the society or school and sometimes to get good jobs. About 70% of the juveniles have learning disabilities and a history of poor academic performance. Previously juvenile education was inadequate and hence it did not meet the required educational standards. For example, short infrequent classes were being offered on lessons that were not based on a meaningful curriculum. These brought about great differences in the quality of education and training inside and outside juvenile prisons. There were less learning facilities and materials like teachers and libraries. In some cases, the teachers were not qualified enough to handle the special needs of learners in the juvenile prisons. Learners who needed special attention comprised about 70% of the population. Achievements Recommendations from reports such as the Leitch report (2005), the Kennedy report (1997), the Moser report (1999), the Tomlinson report (2004) and the Green papers among others have greatly impacted juvenile prison education. The government has worked on the recommendations of these reports leading to a transformation in prison education in terms of quality and quantity of its content. These reports advocate for changes in the existing educational system. The Tomlinson report gives various reasons why reforms were necessary in the education system. According to the report, the educational system previously had more assessments which were burdensome to both teachers and students. It led to a lot of disaffection among learners. This resulted in problems in teaching and truancy on the part of students. It was difficult to differentiate high and low achievers. The needs of the learners, employers and higher education were not being met by the many vocational qualifications. These reform instituted by the government in appreciation of the aforementioned reports have helped in tackling the challenges faced in offering prison education. The juveniles are now allowed to experience some achievement in their lives. They are given courses that will give them a second chance in education and increase their employability. Part of the recommendations of the Leitch report, which was released in December 2006, was the achievement of functional literacy and numeracy skills at the basic level among 95% of the working adults by 2020. This would mark an improvement from 79% experienced in 2006. The number of adults attaining GCSE or vocational equivalents would rise from the 69% in 2006 to over 90%. The numbers of adults with graduate level of education was predicted to rise to over 40% compared to 29% in 2005. The Leitch report has led to great changes in the approach used in the training of the youth, by the government, as future adults. Curriculum reform In many young offenders institutions (YOIs), the range of vocational courses offered was previously limited. This in effect limited the access of the juveniles in gaining skills that would help them gain employment (Ofsted 2006). Provision of vocational education and training as dictated by demand rather than central placement was one of the major recommendations of the Leitch report. Skills provided were meant to meet the individuals’ needs. This education and training was meant to be adaptable and responsive. This is because market demand cannot be predicted. For intermediate skills, their quality, quantity and value also need to be improved. As a result of this report, there has been a curriculum reform for the 14-19 year olds. This has led to wider access to education and training for 14–19 year-olds. The range of education providers is being increased to raise the choice of subjects available. The new curriculum was first taught in the autumn of 2008. Vocational training is one of the emphases of this new curriculum. There has been an increase in training opportunities from public funding for the youth aged 14-19. It has been noted that learners in the juvenile prisons prefer vocational training. Generally, they have a low inclination to the normal classroom-based practices. This has made it preferable for the juveniles to engage in training that is less academically oriented. This is very advantageous keeping in mind that most of them have learning disabilities or a history of poor academic performance. The implementation of the recommendations of the reports has led to the juveniles developing educational and vocational skills that are valued by employers. A new specialised diploma has been introduced. This is done in levels 1, 2 and 3. In the new diplomas traditional ‘academic’ learning is combined with ‘applied’ vocational learning. There are a total of 17 diplomas. This has presented a variety of learning ways and allowed the juveniles to access higher education and employment. It has enabled learners to choose courses that best suit their interests and learning styles. In the new diploma, life basics and work are given priority hence the attainment of skills required for progression into employment. The provision of education has been made flexible in order to respond to the personal needs while considering the various constrains presented by the prison environment and their sentences. In order to meet the various learners’ needs, a broad range of education and training is offered. Therefore, they too have a chance to prepare for employment through what they can intellectually manage. It has also helped them gain skills that can be transferred to higher levels of learning (YJB, 2006). Continuity and progression in education As the juveniles move from prison to the community, there should be continuity of education as well. A campus model for learning was adopted to allow this. This has been facilitated by the provision of the national curriculum in the prisons leading to easy integration back to their former schools. The juveniles are now able to go back to school once released. Opportunities for the juveniles to take part in higher education have increased. Through the provision of quality education and training, the juveniles have gained skills that can be transferred to higher levels of learning. Prison educational services have been extended beyond prison like though connection services and offending teams. This has encouraged continuity and progression in education and training as well as employment programmes. According to the Youth Justice Board (2006), the new diploma has helped break the barriers to learning and enabled the learners achieve some levels of achievements. This has been done through the provision of education that can meet their needs. The Leitch report also recommended simplification and rationalisation of the existing educational structures so as to achieve improved performance. However, the existing structures were not to be changed or removed. Under the new curriculum, there is a marked improvement in qualifications in basic skills attained by the juveniles. According to the report by Youth Justice Board on ‘Barriers to Engagement’, it has been proven that most of the learners undertaking vocational training had motivation to perform better in the juvenile prison than they had done at their previous schools. Employment as a means of reducing re-offending - 2005 According to the green paper presented to the UK parliament by the state secretary for education and training in December 2005, skills and employment were to be used as a strategy to reduce re-offending. This was acknowledged by the government as an effective way of combating crime (Edghill 2008). According to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prison report in 2006, 62% of the boys in juvenile prisons felt that they were most likely not to offend if they got a job (Ofsted 2006). Therefore education was to be used as one of the tools of helping them resettle after their release from prison. The offenders are trained and given assistance looking for jobs. Low unemployment rates were one of the driving factors for crime as an option to get money. In order to improve the lives of the young people in custody, placements in institutions of further education or jobs on release was to be adopted as a remedy. It was noted that young adult offenders, aged 18-20, have higher chances of re-offending. Majority of them have poor basic skills and training. Consequently, they recorded higher rates of unemployment both before and after release from the juvenile prison. The green paper suggested that education should provide training in relevant skills and focus on jobs (YJB 2006). Provision of quality and adequate education The standards of prison education and training have been raised to be at per with that of mainstream education and training. This has been achieved through external inspection of the prison education. The self-esteem of the juveniles must be increased by helping them build their confidence. Provision of quality education is one of the ways of helping them have the ability to confidently re-integrate into the society. Quality education helps them not feel inferior and enable them to acquire jobs hence reduce re-offending rates. Their employability levels were to be increased through relevant training (YJB 2004). National Specification for Learning and Skills was produced in 2002. It required that there should be a match between the education and training offered in prison and that which is offered in other schools and colleges. This has resulted to the implementation of a document developed for the learners in custody called “Offender Learning Journey”. This document outlines the specifications for the education of children in prisons. This has led to additional investments in prison education which has in turn translated into improvement in the provision of education. Raising the levels of investment in education and training was emphasised by the Leitch report. The government was supposed to focus on making investments that would promote attainment of basic skills for all people. Education and training in prison was meant to achieve a positive and lasting transformation of the individual. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has worked together with the government to ensure that education and training have been integrated in various policies and programmes. The Department of Education and Skills has provided consultation on offender learning so as to ensure that juvenile education match the required standards of education, skills and employment in the UK (YJB 2004). Proper screening and assessment of learners upon arrival in prison is now conducted. This helps in identifying their individual needs. The information obtained from the screening and assessment procedure is used to develop an Individual Learning Plan (ILP).This helps to develop and merge the education and sentence planning. Currently, most of the young learners in prison get a full-time programme that is offered through an Individual Learning Plan (ILP). The individual learning plan determines the educational provisions for the learners. In the individual learning plan, the learner’s education is integrated to the specific learner’s sentence as well as their plans for resettlement after release (Ofsted 2006). There had been a lot of difficulties in the provision of science subjects as a result of lack of equipment. Lack of facilities led to limited access to vocational training for many youths in custody. This is because the provision of education and training is dependent on the existing infrastructure and teaching staff. However, the publication of reports, for example, a detailed guidance on commissioning and monitoring for the local authorities, has led to some improvements in teaching in the sciences. Various reports explain alternative educational provision and funding through local authorities. This has led to increased funding towards prison education and consequently improved learning facilities (Stephenson 2006). There has also been the use of supervision and surveillance programmes as one of the community-supervision programmes in the supervision of juvenile education. There is evidence that there is a lot of involvement in education, training and employment as a result of the six-month interventions. Education and training has been incorporated into the prison day. Education and training is now offered alongside other prison activities like physical exercise and catering. This includes 25 hours of activities in a week, 50 weeks of education per year, and daily sessions for numeracy and other skills. This has ensured that the juveniles receive education of the same or at least almost same quality as their counterparts in mainstream schools (YJB 2004). Just like the mainstream schools, it is possible to achieve quality education in juvenile prisons. The staff must therefore provide quality education that meets the learners’ needs. The persons working with the young offenders are provided with regular up-to-date information regarding learner’s behaviour, attainment levels, difficulties in learning and their best learning styles. In order to meet the special needs presented by the learners, an appropriately trained workforce has to be put in place. This is meant to support the individual learning plan especially for those whose profiles show some specific learning difficulties. Increase numeracy and literacy The Moser report was released in 1999. The main aim of this report was to give a solution to the problem of lack of basic skills in the UK. It revealed that in Britain, there were literacy and numeracy difficulties among 7 million adults. In order to ensure that the same problem of numeracy and literacy does not disadvantage adults in the next 15 years, a Literacy and Numeracy Hour was put in place. The Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) was created in 2001. This was developed to address the learning needs of the learners in prison and ensure they gain the basic literacy, numeracy, IT and language skills (Stephenson 2006). Increased employability According to Savitzky (2008), there has been increased support from job centres to help young pepole out of juvenile correction centres to find jobs. This has encouraged participation in education among the young offenders. Provision of economically viable skills was recommended as one of the focus of education and training by the Leitch report. The individuals, employers and society were meant to benefit from real returns through the skills offered. In order to provide mobility for the individuals in the labour market, the skills were required to be portable where possible. Alternative education For the youths who have been out of school for a long time, ‘learning by stealth’ was introduced for them. They undertake learning alongside training to become active fire-fighters and rescuers through the fire cadet programme. The learners are matched with a mentor for support. The mentor usually comes from their home community. This is done when the learner is still in prison and continues to a few weeks after release. Community based programmes such as forest clean-up are also included (YJB 2006). Supportive services Access to advice, guidance and information has been increased. For instance, professional career guidance is offered once in a month to the young offenders. Few of the juveniles feel that they had received something good in terms of education and training that would help them not to offend again. This means that there is still a long way to go in improving prison education. This will help the juveniles come out with relevant education that is at the same level with that of the general population. This will in turn enable them to access employment, hence greatly reduce chances of re-offending as a result of the unemployment stress factor. It will also help to in-build a sense of self worth among the juveniles hence they will be willing to lead respectable lives. References Edghill, D. (2008). Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment. London. Southampton City Council. Ofsted (2006). The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools 2005/06. Online. www.noms.homeoffice.gov.uk/downloads/National_Reducing_Re-offending_Delivery-Plan [Accessed 2nd February, 2011] Savitzky, F. (2008) Evidence on Lifelong Learning, Crime and Social Exclusion. London. South Bank University Stephenson, M. (2006).Young People and Offending: Education, youth justice and social inclusion. London Willan Youth Justice Board (2004). Progress Report on the Implementation of the Board’s National Specification for Learning and Skills in Juvenile Prison Service Establishments 2003/04. London Youth Justice Board (YJB). Youth Justice Board (2006) Barriers to engagement in education, training and employment. London. YJB. Read More