Iraqi Prisoners in Norway: Educational Background, Participation, Preferences and Barriers to Education

The article aimed to develop knowledge of the educational background, participation and preferences of Iraqi prisoners in Norwegian prisons and obstacles to participating in education. The study is based on interviews with 17 prisoners in three prisons. An important finding is that war and political unrest appear to have been significant causes for respondents to leaving education at various stages. As a result only half of them have as much as one final exam and only three respondents have a certificate of education. Even if the respondents want an education while in prison, and although education is offered in all prisons there is a lack of information about educational opportunities in an understandable language and long waiting time for a place at school. An implication of the study is that the criminal administration system and the educational authorities must take into account the multicultural reality by facilitating education and training offers accordingly

The Relationship Between Prisoners’ Academic Self-efficacy and Participation in Education, Previous Convictions, Sentence Length, and Portion of Sentence Served

Prison education is an important aspect of adult education. The study investigated current participation in prison education, as well as previous convictions, sentence length, and the portion of sentence served as predictors of academic self-efficacy. Survey data derived from prisoners in all Norwegian prisons provided the empirical evidences for the analyses. A principal component analysis of a 40-item academic self-efficacy questionnaire revealed self-efficacy components in literacy, mathematics, ICT, and self-regulated learning. Educational participation had a positive influence on self-efficacy in both mathematics and self-regulated learning. Participants who reported no previous conviction scored higher than others did on self-efficacy in mathematics, self-regulated learning, and ICT. Furthermore, the results showed that perceived efficacy in ICT decreased with longer sentence length. Portion of sentence served was not significantly related to any of the four self-efficacy components. The findings are discussed with reference to a need for mastery experiences in prison and implications for policy and practic

Symptoms of ADHD are related to education and work experience among incarcerated adults

Several reports document increased prevalence of attention deficit and hyperactivity (ADHD) and similar symptoms in incarcerated members of the community, but little is known about how the symptoms are related to education and work experience. An ongoing study among Norwegian inmates reveals that 60 % report signs of ADHD. In the present study a sample of 600 inmates incarcerated in Norway filled out a questionnaire including the WURS-k (Wender Utah Rating Scale, short form) and questions to survey completed education level and work experience. A clear relationship was found between the WURS-k score and earlier job-experience, with increased probability of ADHD with work experience from low socio-economic status jobs. The scale was also found to share variance with the inmates’ reported education history, as higher education reduces the probability of ADHD among the incarcerated adults. Thus, the WURS-k could be a useful screening instrument in education assessment among inmates. The link between the present findings and development of anti-social behaviour is discussed

Motivasjon til å handle moralsk

Denne artikkelen handler om moralsk motivasjon. Folkerettslige prinsipper, regler og lover beskriver hvordan man skal opptre i operative tjenester, men å opptre moralsk, både innenfor militære-, akuttmedisinske- og andre operative situasjoner, innebærer større krav til atferd enn å følge lover. Moralsk motivasjon beskrives som graden av forpliktelse til å handle moralsk, verdsette moralske verdier over andre verdier og vise villighet til å sette andres interesser foran ens egne. Det argumenteres for at teori kan bidra til en mer reflektert og forbedret praksis i operative tjenester, men understrekes samtidig at teori uten praktisk nedslagsfelt lett reduseres til festlig tankespinn. I artikkelen legges det vekt på at profesjoners utvikling og legitimitet i befolkningen avhenger av kontinuerlig skolering av personalet. Grunnutdanning og etter- og videreutdanning innenfor operative tjenester bør ha røtter i forståelse av sammenhengen mellom teori og praksis. Et mål for moralsk utdanning er at mannskaper skal kunne reflektere moralsk og handle deretter

Innsatte i norske fengsel: Utdanningskvalitet, læringsstrategier og motivasjon

Denne rapporten bygger på en undersøkelse blant alle innsatte over 18 år i norske fengsel. Hvordan opplever innsatte som tar utdanning i fengsel ulike sider ved utdanningen, undervisningen og egen læring? Undersøkelsen tar for seg 1) hvordan de innsatte evaluerer undervisningstilbudet, 2) ulike vansker de måtte ha med utdanningen, 3) hvilken motivasjon de har for udanning og 4) hvilke læringsstrategier de benytter. To tusen to hundre og femtifem innsette svarte på spørreskjemaet. Dette gir en svarprosent på 71,1 av de som fekk skjemaet 2. – 9. februar 2006. 1509 av disse oppga at de ikke tok utdanning i fengsel. Av de resterende 746 var det 534 som hadde besvart tilstrekkelig på den delen av spørreskjemaet som omhandlet utdanning i fengsel. Nedenfor er de viktigste funn oppsummert.30,1 prosent av deltakerne i undersøkelsen er under opplæring. 55,9 prosent av de som er under opplæring tar videregående opplæring. 45,3 prosent av de som tar videregående opplæring tar allmenne/økonomiske/administrative fag. 42,9 prosent av de som tar videregående opplæring tar yrkesfag. 37,9 prosent oppgir at de har litt eller mye lese- eller skrivevansker. 47,8 prosent oppgir at de har litt eller mye regne- eller matematikkvansker. Det er ingen forskjell i selvrapporterte vansker (lese eller skrive/regne eller <De som tar universitets/høyskolefag oppgir mindre lærevansker og bedre ferdigheter. De som tar ungdomsskole og videregående grunnkurs oppgir større lærevansker og dårligere ferdigheter. Innsatte under utdanning er i gjennomsnitt fornøyd med utdanningskvaliteten.Innsatte under utdanning oppgir at de stort sett ikke synes kravene i utdanningen er for høye eller at vanskelighetsgraden er for stor. Innsatte under utdanning mener at tilgangen på datautstyr (IKT) er for dårlig. 42,5 prosent mener at manglende tilgang på datautstyr (IKT) skaper vansker for utdanningen de nå er i gang med. 33,5 prosent mener at sikkerhetsrutinene i fengsel skaper vansker for utdanningen. 26,0 prosent mener at overføring under soning skaper vansker for utdanningen. Deltakerne i undersøkelsen oppga i gjennomsnitt et høyt nivå av motivasjon i form av ’mestringsforventning’ (’self-efficacy’) og ’verdi’ (at de betraktet utdanningen som verdifull) og et lavt nivå av ’test-angst’. Deltakerne i undersøkelsen oppga i gjennomsnitt et nokså høyt nivå av læringsstrategier. Det var klare sammenhenger mellom motivasjon og bruk av læringsstrategier. De som har stor grad av lærevansker (lese/skrive/regne/matematikk) og dårlige ferdigheter til å lære har svakere motivasjon og dårligere læringsstrategier. De som har liten grad av lærevansker (lese/skrive/regne/matematikk) og gode ferdigheter til å lære har sterkere motivasjon og bedre læringsstrategier. De som vurderer undervisningskvaliteten som god og krav/vanskelighetsgrad som passende har sterkere motivasjon og bedre læringsstrategier. De som vurderer undervisningskvaliteten som dårlig og krav/vanskelighetsgrad som upassende har svakere motivasjon og dårligere læringsstrategier

Can a Questionnaire Be Useful for Assessing Reading Skills in Adults? Experiences with the Adult Reading Questionnaire among Incarcerated and Young Adults in Norway

Background: Good screening tools can be of immense value in educational counselling for adults. We report two studies where we explored the factor structure and discriminative power of the Adult Reading Questionnaire (ARQ) in different samples of young adults at risk for reading impairments. Method: The ARQ was designed to screen for literacy skills with low resource requirement. The instrument includes 11 questions regarding reading and writing skills and 6 questions regarding attention deficits and hyperactivity. The first study included of 246 undergraduate students. One-third of the sample were under assessment of specific learning impairments/dyslexia. The second study included 1475 incarcerated adults, where 1 in 4 reported specific reading impairments. Results: Principal Component Analyses (PCA) with varimax rotation returned four components for the participants in Study 1: Reading skills, Reading habits, Attention, and Hyperactivity. For the incarcerated sample in Study 2, the analysis returned three components, as the Attention and Hyperactivity items were combined. Conclusion: The ARQ is useful for identifying individuals at risk for dyslexia with acceptable measures of sensitivity and specificity, as well as for identifying those who report difficulties with reading and writing but have not been assessed for their difficulties earlier. The increased prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) seen among incarcerated adults must be considered when screening for reading problems as it may confound the scores on reading questionnaires.publishedVersio

Gender Differences in Mathematical Achievement Among Norwegian Elementary School Students, 1995

The purpose of the project is to examine the differences in mathematical achievements between genders. Selected classes at the same school level in Bergen were analyzed twice, with three year intervals. The first time they were in the third grade and the second time in the sixth grade. This way we can examine the development of the relation between gender and achievement in mathematics

Nordmenn i fengsel: Utdanning, arbeid og kompetanse

Training and education for those in prison constitute an important but often neglected aspect of adult learning. A fundamental principle of Norwegian prison policy states that prisoners should have the same access to social and educational services as other citizens. The Educational Act recognizes the right of all to basic schooling, and all teenagers and adults who have completed compulsory school have a right to three years of upper secondary education. Adults also have the right to «second chance» or supplementary basic education and/or special education. Today education is provided in all Norwegian prisons. In order to establish a sound knowledge base that can inform both policy and practice, and help prioritize resourcing for prisoner education and training, research was carried out to determine the educational needs of the Norwegian prison population. This report outlines Norwegian prisoners’ educational background and employment experience, educational participation while incarcerated, educational preferences and wishes. The prisoners’ level of education is compared to the general population in Norway. The findings are related to both gender, age and length of sentence. The study was approved by the Privacy Ombudsman for Research and additional approval was granted from the prison authorities and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. It was carried out over one week in October 2012. All prisoners with Norwegian citizenship in every Norwegian prison were invited to participate. At the time of the study, there were a total of 2 439 prisoners with Norwegian citizenship in prison. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire. Of the prisoners who participated, 1 276 completed and returned the questionnaire. This constituted a response rate of 52.3 per cent of the total population of prisoners with Norwegian citizenship. Women accounted for 5.3 per cent of the prison population when data was collected, and 5.8 per cent of the study population. The average age of the total respondents was 36 years. Prisoners with reading or writing difficulties received help to complete the questionnaire. All questionnaires were returned anonymously. Approximately one per cent of the Norwegian population have no completed education at all; this applies to 7.3 per cent of the prisoners. Of those prisoners who have completed education, more than half (52.1 per cent) have primary or secondary school as their highest completed education level, compared to 28.2 per cent of the Norwegian population in 2012. Moreover, 42 per cent of the Norwegian population have completed upper secondary school; this accounts for 34.9 per cent of the prisoners. Thirteen per cent of the inmates have university education (whatever level) as their highest completed level compared to 29.8 per cent of the Norwegian population. There are no significant differences between males and females in completed education level. Only 22.5 per cent of the inmates below the age of 25 have completed upper secondary education. More than four out of five inmates wish to participate in education while incarcerated; men some more than female prisoners. Most of them wish to attend upper secondary level or single independent courses. Slightly more than seven out of ten (71.2 per cent) prefer vocational education or courses. The longer the sentence, the more inmates wish to take upper secondary or university education. Age correlates negatively with both participation and education wishes. Single independent courses or upper secondary education are the most attended educational activities among Norwegian prisoners. Less than half (46.4 per cent) of the inmates do not participate in education while incarcerated. A larger number of younger than older inmates self-reported difficulty in reading, writing and doing arithmetic. However, less than one out of twenty (4.6 per cent) reported difficulty to a great extent in reading; 6.4 per cent in writing; 13.8 per cent in doing arithmetic. Female prisoners reported less difficulty than males in reading and writing. The percentage reporting difficulty doing arithmetic was equal in 2012. In Norway, attending upper secondary school (three or four years) is a legal right which has to be completed before the age of 25, otherwise special rules and legal rights concerning adult education are applied. Among prisoners in that age group, as many as 30.5 per cent were eligible, but did not participate in that activity while incarcerated. Prisoners participating in education activities reported to be highly satisfied with the teaching and education provided (76.3 per were highly satisfied). However, those participating at primary or secondary level were less satisfied than those participating at upper secondary level (27.3 per cent were highly satisfied in contrast to more than fifty per cent of upper secondary school attendants)

Innsette i norske fengsel: Motiv for utdanning under soning

The right of education during incarceration is regulated by international conventions and recommendations. Membership nations of the UN and the Council of Europe are committed to implement the agreements and recommendations they have assented to. Norway has incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into her legal system, and a fundamental principle of the Norwegian prison system is that prisoners should have the same access to social services as other citizens. To obtain a knowledge base for the assessment of the educational requirements of the Norwegian prison population a survey was conducted to examine prisoners’ educational background and employment experience, educational participation, educational preferences and motives. The study was carried out one week in May 2009 in all Norwegian prisons. Data were collected by a questionnaire. According to reports from the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, there were a total of 3 359 prisoners during the time period in question. Some of them (estimated to 3.6 per cent) were on leave or otherwise occupied, and could not be reached. Of the 3 238 prisoners who received the questionnaire, 63.7 per cent (2 065) answered and returned it. Prisoners who were not confident in Norwegian were also given an English version, and those who could not understand either of the languages or those having reading or writing problems, received help to fill out the questionnaire. The questionnaires were returned anonymously. The study was approved by the Regional Ethical Committee for Research in Health Sciences of the Western Norway and the Privacy Ombudsman for Research, Norway. In addition, a special approval was granted from the prison authorities and the Ministry of Justice, Norway. Prisoners born in 95 different countries participated in the study, and 33.5 per cent of those who replied were born in other countries than Norway. Women accounted for 6.0 per cent of the prison population when data was collected, but 7.4 per cent in the study population. The respondents' average age was 34.7 years. In their choice of education, prisoners can be moved by causes that are relatively independently of their awareness. Alternatively they might act purposely in accordance with their intentions. The aim of the part of the survey that is presented in this report was to examine prisoners’ educational motives, and an educational motives questionnaire was used for the purpose. The subjects were presented with 15 possible reasons for starting an educational program in prison. They were asked to indicate how important each of these reasons is for them. Of those who answered this particular part of the questionnaire 750 already participated in prison education and 867 did not. Three single reasons were the most important for starting an education, both among those who already had started and those who had not: "To spend my time doing something sensible and useful", "To make it easier to get a job after release", and "To learn about a subject". Younger prisoners were more likely than older prisoners to say that social reasons, such as to meet friends there, were most important, but reasons linked to preparation for life upon release were also often mentioned as important. There was no clear difference between prisoners with low and high education in scores on reasons having to do to with the preparation for life after release, but in addition the first group more often ticked boxes for social reasons. Prisoners with long sentences (more than five years) were more likely than those with shorter sentences to state that an education is useful after release and also an opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills. The study also showed that prisoners with learning problems were more likely than others to say that social reasons are important, but they also regarded education as good for self-esteem and prevention of future crime. The 15 items of the educational motive questionnaire were factor analyzed. Three motive categories were identified: "To prepare for life upon release" (Factor 1), "Social reasons and reasons unique to the prison context" (Factor 2), and "To acquire knowledge and skills" (Factor 3). Factor 1 explained more than double of the variance than the sum of the other factors, and educational level was not related to scores on this first factor. The same factor structure was revealed for those who had started an education in prison, and the first factor explained more than one third of the variance than the sum of the two other factors. For those who not attended school or education two motive categories were identified: "To prepare for life upon release" and "Social reasons and reasons unique to the prison context". The first factor explained more than four times as much of the variance as the second. Factor 3 is a significant predictor for taking up an education in prison, and both this factor and Factor 1 are significant predictors for wishing to start an education in prison