Study on education for prisoners in Santarém-PA

Abstract

This work is the result of a master's research project carried out in a prison context. The case study was carried out at the Prof. Delson Afonso Mourão Penitentiary School, located in the Silvio Hall de Moura Agricultural Recovery Center (Crashm), in Santarém – PA. The aim of the research was to find out how the goals proposed in the State Education Plan for People Deprived of Liberty and Former Prisoners (Peesp) were implemented at the prison school in 2022 and 2023. In addition, we sought to identify the socio-economic profile of the students and gather information on the purpose of the education undertaken in prison. We found that some of the targets proposed by the State Plan have been achieved, such as those for secondary education, higher education and vocational courses, while the targets for literacy and primary education have not been achieved by 2023. From the “Socioeconomic Questionnaire”, we identified that the students were predominantly young adults, black, single, with low levels of education, from Santarem, parents of two children, with a family composition of five or more members, with a family income of up to two minimum wages, who lived in the urban area, in a family home and who studied at public schools. From the students' reports, we can see that education in prison is seen as an important tool for social inclusion, which helps to reduce idle time and enables sentences to be redeemed.