Studying for a University Degree in Penitentiary Centers in Spain: Challenges and Difficulties From the Internee’s Perspective

AuthorEsteban Vazquez-Cano,Javier Fombona-Cadavieco,Ana Isabel Holgueras-González
Published date01 November 2019
Date01 November 2019
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/0032885519875074
Subject MatterArticles
https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885519875074
The Prison Journal
2019, Vol. 99(5) 593 –613
© 2019 SAGE Publications
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/0032885519875074
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Article
Studying for a
University Degree in
Penitentiary Centers in
Spain: Challenges and
Difficulties From the
Internee’s Perspective
Esteban Vazquez-Cano1,
Ana Isabel Holgueras-González1,
and Javier Fombona-Cadavieco2
Abstract
This article describes research undertaken in three penitentiary centers
in Spain to analyze the expectations, motivations, and obstacles of
internees in a university degree program of the Universidad Nacional
de Educacion a Distancia ([National University of Distance Education];
UNED). Utilizing a qualitative method through interviews, the results
show that the main expectation for getting a higher education qualification
is to improve and give meaning to daily life in prison. Obstacles include
difficulty of access to, and lack of relevant information on, the UNED
online study platform.
Keywords
education in prison, higher education, motivation, obstacles, social and
professional reintegration
1Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
2Universidad de Oviedo, Spain
Corresponding Author:
Esteban Vazquez-Cano, Facultad de Educacion, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a
Distancia, C/Juan del Rosal 14, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Email: evazquez@edu.uned.es
875074TPJXXX10.1177/0032885519875074The Prison JournalVazquez-Cano et al.
research-article2019
594 The Prison Journal 99(5)
Introduction
The mechanisms for providing basic and higher education in prisons, a legal
obligation under the Spanish Constitution (Article 25.4), respond to society’s
need to offer prisoners the best possible opportunities for reintegration into
society. The social function of penitentiary centers is to “re-educate” and
“rehabilitate” inmates for future successful societal reentry (Gaes, 2008;
GHK, 2010). To fulfill this objective, occupying inmates’ time during incar-
ceration in social, academic, or professional activities is vitally important for
achieving the internee’s effective reintegration. Indeed, it should be a priority
for penal institutions (Foucault, 1977; Harper & Chitty, 2005), to provide
activities not only of a therapeutic or supportive nature but also activities that
are educational, vocational, sociocultural, recreational, and sporting. As
Garrido Genovés and López Latorre (1995) observe, depriving the convicted
inmate of his or her freedom merely for reasons of vengeance, to set an exam-
ple for atonement or retribution, makes no practical sense for society, which
can never entirely evade its responsibility for reintegrating the asocial or non-
adapted individual.
In Spain, the Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia ([National
University of Distance Education]; UNED) has been responsible for running
degree courses in penitentiary centers for more than 30 years, with the par-
ticipation of students, tutors, professors, and prison staff responsible for
internee training. This article describes research carried out within this social,
penitentiary, and regulatory context to understand the situation of inmates
enrolled in UNED degree courses and to document the motivations, expecta-
tions, and barriers they face. The researchers had access to three prison cen-
ters: “Centro Penitenciario Sevilla I (Sevilla)”; “Centro Penitenciario Madrid
VII, Estremera (Madrid)”; and “Centro Penitenciario Madrid VI, Aranjuez
(Madrid).” The sample consisted of 84 inmates who were studying for a uni-
versity degree while serving prison sentences.
Higher Education in Penitentiary Centers
Education in prisons has played a significant role in all the penitentiary sys-
tems where internee training has been developed. It is considered vital for
providing inmates with an opportunity for future successful reintegration and
for improving the quality of their day-to-day lives behind bars (Woolf Report,
1991). In this sense, the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms states that “No person shall be denied the
right to education” (Art. 2). For example, Braggins and Talbot (2005) recom-
mend that promoting prisoner education should be an essential objective of

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