The British Sociological Association

Pedagogies of Hope and Abolition: Critical Criminology as a Practice of Freedom
Dr Roberto Catello (Lecturer in Criminology at Liverpool Hope University)

In this presentation, I engage with Richard Stanley Peters’ conceptualisation of education as initiation (into worthwhile forms of life) to show that, within the context of criminological education, such a conceptualisation functions as the pedagogic subconscious that allows university educators to normalise and legitimise carceral logics. Far from being a liberating experience, I argue that studying criminology is fundamentally about being initiated into either i) a status-quoist mindset that turn learners into defenders of order or ii) a reformist mindset that enables them to become liberal critics who know how to use insider perspectives of the criminal justice system to develop friendly technocratic critiques of the system geared towards its improvement and reform. I then explore the promises of an abolitionist pedagogy as an educational practice of unlearning in critical criminology that can help us de-initiate learners from such mindsets. I pay particular attention to the ways in which an abolitionist pedagogy in criminology can be used to de-initiate learners from carceral modalities of thinking that entice them to get a criminological education only to find a job inside architectures of repression like the agencies of criminal justice and its ancillary institutions and organisations. By reflecting on my own teaching experience as a critical criminologist teaching prison abolition at Liverpool Hope University over the past three years, I show that the role played by university educators in the struggle for a world without prisons is an important and yet difficult one, as we can introduce students to abolitionist ideas but have to do so within a higher education sector that is increasingly governed by neoliberal logics of marketisation, professionalisation, and employability.

Unlocking tomorrow: signifying the unique role of OU prison tutors through profound narratives 
Sharon Davidson (Associate Lecturer with Open University)

The Open University (OU) is the largest provider of higher education in UK prisons. England and Wales incarcerate more individuals per capita than any other western European country (World Prison Brief, 2023), second only to the USA. This study aims to understand the experiences of current prison tutors, providing insights from their perspective. Given the OU's extensive experience in prison higher education spanning over 50 years, this research has the potential to inform tutor professional development, as well as both domestic and international prison education policies.

“Tutors are one of the few people prison learners encounter who are about their future, almost everyone else is about their past” (Postlethwaite-Bowler, 2023). While much literature highlights the transformative impact of prison higher education on learners (e.g., Pike and Hopkins, 2019), this study explores the tutor-student relationship, examining the social reality as perceived by the tutor (Matza, 1969). Freire's (1972) concepts of empowerment, oppression, and freedom through education are especially relevant in a prison context, underscoring the importance of a teaching praxis that offers hope to those in need.

The study's overarching aim is to explore the diversity of tutors’ professional experiences that lead to effective andragogical praxis in penal educational settings in England and Wales. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Finlay, 2008; Smith et al., 2009) as both the research philosophy and methodology, the study delves into terminology such as pedagogy (teaching young people), andragogy (teaching adult learners), and heutagogy (self-directed learning) as defined by Knowles (2005). Understanding the significance of OU prison tutors' lived experiences can enhance tutor success, aligning with the goals of professional development (DiPaola and Hoy, 2008). By December 2024, I will have obtained some emerging insights to share with colleagues from tutor interview data collection and analysis.