Abstract
This study investigates the barriers to prisoners’ participation in vocational education, as well as the predictors of different types of barriers. Survey data derived from a project in a remand prison in Belgium (N=468) provided the empirical evidence for the analyses. The results indicate that facing situational and informational barriers are most common. Based on the different kinds of barriers, various types of non-participants can be distinguished and multinomial logistic regression analyses are conducted to identify in what way participants of vocational education differ from various types of non-participants. For instance, prisoners with a poor understanding of the Dutch language and those who never/rarely receive visitors participate less in vocational education as they are more likely to be confronted with informational barriers. We conclude this article by discussing paths for future research and implications for policy and practice to anticipate the barriers for those who want to participate in vocational education.
Highlights
Vocational education in correctional institutions is a growing area of research and policy concern (Spark & Harris, 2005)
The majority of prisoners who report situational barriers are hindered in their attempts to participate in vocational training programmes because they only recently arrived in prison, which is the second most indicated barrier in general
The most frequently cited reason for non-participation refers to the informational category of barriers: being unaware of the possibility to follow vocational education (42.1%)
Summary
Vocational education in correctional institutions is a growing area of research and policy concern (Spark & Harris, 2005). Research has shown that participation in vocational education while in prison has several benefits, both for individuals and society, as well as correctional institutions. An important motivation is employment-related: e.g., the hope to obtain job qualifications and effectively reintegrate in society (Alós, Esteban, Jódar, & Miguélez, 2015; Hunter & Boyce, 2009). Non-employment motivations concern, for example, protecting psychological health, entering into a human interaction with the teacher (Spark & Harris, 2005), structuring the day, withdrawing from tensions between other prisoners (Hunter & Boyce, 2009), and distraction from drugs and childcare responsibilities (O’Keeffe, Senior, & Monti-Holland, 2007)
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