The project now comes to an end with a final conference in Timisoara, Romania on the 24th of February 2016, giving the participants an opportunity to not only debate the main challenges in delivering prison education, but also undergo a two-day training. The EIS ALP consortium is coordinated by the EAEA member CPIP in Romania and the wide partnership also includes the Maltese branch of EAEA member EPEA.
Why prison educators?
The EIS ALP project was set from the beginning on finding out how the responsibilities of a prison educator – and ultimately the competencies required – are different from those of teachers in other areas of the lifelong learning sector. As there is no clear answer to this question, neither at national nor at European level, the consortium decided to follow up on the existing Key Competencies for Adult Learning Professionals and modify them accordingly, which required an extensive research and high level of stakeholders’ involvement. Also aiming to improve the content and delivery of adult education in prison settings as well as to mainstream the induction support and its components in correctional criminal justice system, the project resulted in a number of tools to be used by adult education professionals.
The project outcomes
The project outcomes include, among others, a European key competencies profile for adult learning professionals working in the correctional criminal justice system, a tailor-made induction support for prison educators as well as an interactive web platform, helping to assess already acquired competencies. Thanks to a number of modular blended-learning experiences and a virtual European library, adult professionals working or intending to work in prisons have had an opportunity to compare the experiences in other partner countries and gain a better understanding of the field.
More information about the EIS ALP and its results is available on the project website.
Text: EAEAPhotos: EAEA