Special Interest Group
An inclusive and welcoming group dedicated to furthering knowledge and understanding about education in prison contexts across the four nations of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and internationally.
ÌýThis SIG offers a vital cross-disciplinary platform for colleagues working across criminology, sociology, education, policy development and justice reform. We are interested in advancing, and connecting, theory, policy and practice for the benefit of the many groups and individuals affected. It intersects meaningfully with the work of other SIGs, particularly those focused on inclusion, social justice, and lifelong learning.
We welcome anyone interested in advancing knowledge and discussion in this field, and actively encourage including people with lived experience of teaching and learning in prison or any other closed institution. We organise vibrant discursive events and engage in relevant writing projects. We’d be delighted to hear from you if you’d like to learn more.
Research interests:
ÌýOpportunities and challenges for prison educators
SIG aims
ÌýThe SIG will create opportunities to:
Senior lecturer at De Montfort University
Ross Little is a senior lecturer in criminology and criminal justice at De Montfort University. In recent times, his research and development work has focused on how we create safe and trustworthy spaces for learning in prisons. His recently...
Associate Lecturer at The Open University
Associate Lecturer with the Open University and EdD student researching what matters to OU prison tutors in determining instances of significance. Prison education is a research passion of mine.
Lecturer at Ulster University
Dr Marianne Doherty SFHEA is a Lecturer in Law at Ulster University. Her research interests include prison education, legal education, widening participation, and access to justice, with a particular focus on the transformative potential of...
The Education in Prison SIG warmly invites you to our first Â鶹ÒùÔº event! ÌýWe’ll explore what it means to enable education for people affected by imprisonment, drawing on the expertise of two...
How do researchers make ethical decisions about sharing their work, and who gets to access the knowledge they produce? In this episode, we explore alternative approaches to publication and...
Prison education in the UK is widely recognised as an essential yet chronically underresourced area of further education. Positioned as central to rehabilitation and reducing reoffending, it is...
Continue reading blog postThis award recognises the highest quality and most original and impactful articles published in Â鶹ÒùԺ’s magazine Research Intelligence. Guest editors of issues published in 2025 were invited to...
