Nätverk för utbildning i fängelse
Teachers, consultants and leaders across Nordic prisons have collaborated to create videos sharing best practices for educating young inmates.
The videos focus on strengthening the basic skills of young inmates and creating an environment in prisons that promotes learning.
The videos are developed by members of NLL’s Nordic Network for Prison Education. Through collaboration and exchange of experiences, the network aims to improve the conditions for young inmates to complete their education, thereby enhancing their prospects for stable employment and successful reintegration into society.
In the first video, you can meet Geir Arne Hundvebakke, Head of Prison Education at Åsane Upper Secondary School in Bergen, Norway. Geir has been a part of the Nordic working group ‘Education of Young People in Prisons’ and talks about the results and experiences of the working group’s efforts.
Mathias Sivertsen talks about teaching young inmates at Bjørgvin Prison in Norway. The youth unit in Bergen is one of the two national prison units working with young people on the age of 15 to 18. Mathias provides an overview of some of the pedagogical challenges in working with this group of students.
Erik Thorsheim is a teacher in mathematics, science, and music at the Youth Unit in Bergen. In the video, Erik explains how he works with new inmates, building relationships with them by producing music together while they are in prison.
Young inmates often have poor school experiences and struggle with learned helplessness. Attribution training is a tool that can help them experience success in school.
The Swedish Prison and Probation Service’s adult education unit actively works to establish a positive attitude towards education. The aim is to equip inmates to successfully break their criminal lifestyle.
Through a flexible distance learning approach, education is made accessible throughout the system and consistency and continuity are ensured even if the student is transferred, as the same teacher is responsible for their studies.
The Swedish Prison and Probation Service employs a teamwork approach called Competent Client-Centered Work to help clients (inmates) find employment, and develop positive social skills.
This strategy emphasizes clear communication, boundary-setting, and building good relationships to guide the clients towards a non-criminal life while adhering to professional roles and regulations.
Professionals can feel powerless in connection with the problem-causing behaviour of others. If you experience working hard with the best intentions without making a difference, you can also feel despair and powerless.
The staff at the open youth section of the Danish Søbysøgård Prison have careful considered the classroom’s physical environment and design. A teacher from the school explains how the classroom can support reflection and comfort for young inmates.
According to several studies ADHD and learning difficulties are overrepresented among inmates.
Psyko G, an inmate from Finland, answers to the questions: How has ADHD affected your life? How did ADHD affect your studies at school and in vocational education? How could prison staff be more supportive about challenges caused by ADHD?
An interview with a young inmate from Iceland who is experiencing that the learning environment in prison is disrupting and hindering his studies.
A trauma-informed environment is an important factor for students to better engage in their studies.