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Education is essential for integration in modern societies – without appropriate qualifications, access to the labour market remains limited for most people. Education is more than qualifications for a job. In contemporary complex society formal education serves many purposes providing skills for citizens’ participation and forming relations. From a humanistic point of view, education caters for personal growth: self-realisation and autonomy.
The prison system is expected to support the social reintegration of people in detention after their release. On average, people sentenced to prison have lower levels of education than their peers in the community. This fact only should suffice for placing greater emphasis on their educational opportunities. But, despite clear evidence that education is central to desistance and employability, the criminal justice system has yet to fully harness its potential.
Desistance theories examine the gradual transition to a life without crime, shaped by structural and subjective factors. Considering these factors from an educational point of view, enhancing employability represents a structural factor, and cognitive change a subjective factor that are identified as essential for desistance (Giordano 2016; Giordano, Cernkovich & Rudolph 2002; Maruna 2003; Sampson & Laub 1993.)
The European Research Network on Education in Prison (ERNEP) was initiated in 2025 by Dr. Annika Krause and Prof. Dr. Jens Borchert. The initiative aims to connect researchers from across Europe, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and best practices in the field of correctional education, particularly among those who aspire to combine criminology and educational research. In May 2026, the network organised a thematic session at the Nordic Adult Education Conference in Turku, Finland. We presented our study of prison education that is linked to Nordic adult education tradition.
In the Nordics, adult education has roots in folkbildning. This tradition is strongly value-driven and connected to democracy and societal participation. However, since education in prison seems more focused on employability, the liberal adult education has not gained permanent status in prisons. We evaluated and studied a basic skills pilot programme that was financed by the Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment’s (SECLE) and organised by folkbildning organisations in fifteen Finnish prisons during 2024-2025 (Alanen, Suomela & Haavisto, 2025; Haavisto, 2025). According to the study, the evidence of the large benefits of the low threshold courses and possibility to gain basic skills’ badges was indisputable. The results showed that the courses increased participation among people who had previously been denied access to education in prison. In addition, the results were in line with the three configurations presented by the general theory of prison education (Szifris, Fox & Bradbury, 2018). The participants reported their course experiences and its meaning as 1) hook for change, 2) safe space and 3) qualifications. Furthermore, the courses enhanced the participants’ life quality providing alternative for prison monotony and thus supporting well-being.
In the future, the ERNEP network will continue its activities in both educational and criminological fields, recognising the need to address the diverse educational needs of incarcerated people.
About the authors
Dr. Annika Krause works as Acting Professor for Pedagogy in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders at the Department of Special Needs Education and Rehabilitation at the University of Oldenburg (Germany).
Dr. Paula Alanen works as Special Advisor for the Correctional Services Research Group at the Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Finland). She is and adult education expert and her work focuses on questions concerning equal education opportunities and vulnerable societal conditions. Homepage: Correctional Services Research Group – Laurea University of Applied Sciences