Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

Educational Achievement (NCEA); Secondary Education (a component being
te reo Māori); Literacy and Numeracy Courses; English as a Second
Language; and Tertiary Education. The Department of Corrections (2009a)
establishes that secondary education is provided to all those under 19 years
of age (of which there are approximately 600 prisoners in prison custody).
The Prisoner Skills and Employment Strategy 2009-2012 provides a
framework for the provision of education and training (Department of
Corrections, 2009d). It outlines initiatives for improving education provision,
which include:
Increasing provision of literacy and numeracy education; schooling
(NCEA); trade and technical training; self-directed tertiary education;
Maintaining computer training; driver licence training and Te Reo
training.
Issues
Many prisoners have poor labour market attachment and low literacy and
numeracy levels. For example, in 2008, 55 per cent of prisoners reported that
they had not had a job before they went to prison (Department of Corrections,
2009d). Initial screening for literacy and numeracy indicates that up to 90 per
cent of prisoners may have low literacy skills (compared with around 43 per
cent of the general population) and up to 80 per cent of prisoners may have
low numeracy skills (compared with 51 per cent of the general population)
(ibid.). Baragwanath (2009) had detailed that many young prisoners in NZ do
not have basic literacy skills due to sight or hearing (eg glue ear) difficulties, or
because they could not cope with the school system, or have learning
difficulties.
Literacy and numeracy education is provided through the Foundations Skills
programme. Foundation Skills aims to develop prisoners‟ reading, writing,
speaking, listening, critical thinking, numeracy and problem solving skills. In
2010, just over 1,500 prisoners participated in the programme.
The Department has also begun to deliver embedded literacy and numeracy
education through Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE). Over the last two
years, 45 CIE Instructors completed the National Certificate in Adult Literacy
and Numeracy Education, with a further 15 Instructors due to complete the
qualification by December 2011. Since July 2010, 615 prisoners have
commenced training that included embedded literacy and numeracy.
The education of prisoners does have a rehabilitative function (Devine, 2007).
Over the last decade, a number of studies have shown educational training as
having positive outcomes – ex-prisoners who have been involved in
educational programmes are more likely to be employed than others, and their
recidivism and re-imprisonment rates are lower (Department of Corrections,
2009f). Education also increases self-esteem and leads to better prisoner
behaviour. In a study of female prisoners in the Australian state of Victoria,
Spark and Harris (2005) evidence the reasons why women participated in
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