Arts Education and the Desistance Process: The Role That Agency Acquired Through Art Plays in Supporting Female Offenders
Author(s):
Sophie Nickeas (presenting / submitting)
Conference:
ECER 2014
Network:
21. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Format:
Poster

Session Information

ERG SES C 02, Poster Session

Poster Session

Time:
2014-09-01
11:00-12:30
Room:
FPCEUP - 114
Chair:
Mustafa Yunus Eryaman

Contribution

Art provision is included as part of the curriculum at most female prisons, often used as a therapeutic and recreational outlet as well as a vocational and accredited option.  The role and place of the arts within prison has long been the topic of much research and discussion, with varying opinions on its relevance and outcomes in terms of rehabilitation.  In the most recent review of the female prison estate, Robinson (2013) suggests that ‘life’ and ‘independence’ skills should be acquired in prison in preparation for release and that expansion of such skills would compliment the additional skills that women learn in prison and offer a very practical response to the difficulties that they describe in their lives in the community.  This research supports the notion that access to the arts within prison can form the basis of fostering such skills in order to support and accelerate the desistance process through the forming of identify, independence, personal growth and self sufficiency.  Using prisoner access to the arts as a catalyst and underlying driving force for the development of agency within the desistance process, this study critically examines the impact of arts education on the female offender during incarceration, upon release and their integration back into society.  Comparable research conducted at two UK female prisons in England involves the case studies of a cross selection of participants including: repeat offenders, first time offenders, foreign national prisoners, lifer prisoners and young offenders as well as ex-offenders in the community.  If agency is at least as crucial as structure in maintaining a positive life course and abstinence from offending, then the outcomes from arts based activities within the criminal justice system may have an important role to play (Bilby et al, 2013, 13).  Each case study considers the ways in which agency acquired through the arts can be applied throughout the continuing stages of rehabilitation once a woman has been released from prison with the aim of establishing whether the impact of arts interventions can sustain to the final stage of the desistance process, when someone actually ‘gives up crime’.

 

 

 

Bilby,C., Caulfield,L., Ridley,L. (2013) Re-imagining Futures: Exploring Arts Interventions and the Process of Desistance.  Arts Alliance UK.

Robinson, C. (2013) Women’s Custodial Estate Review. National Offender Management Service. October 2013.

Method

Comparable research will be carried out in two prisons in England; a privately managed closed female prison/young offenders institute and a public sector closed female prison/young offenders institute. The use of a whole prison (or vast majority) survey of each prison will give an indication of participation in the arts past and present at part at a certain point in time. As prison populations fluctuate regularly and curriculums develop or diminish, the surveys will be conducted for a second time to capture the effect of any changes over time, for instance 12-18 months after the initial survey. Focus groups will be held with groups of learners on arts courses in both prisons, both accredited and recreational programmes, with the aim of determining course popularity, group dynamics and prior engagement in the arts. Case studies will involve a sample of 8-10 women serving varying lengths of sentences at both prisons. Participants will be determined by their involvement in each establishment’s art provision and their willingness to take part in the study. To date 4 prisoners at the private prison have expressed an interest in being interviewed and telling their story with a further 2 ex-offenders agreeing to discuss their experiences of prison. The studies will consider a cross selection of prisoners including: repeat offenders, first time offenders, foreign national prisoners, longer sentenced/lifer prisoners, young offenders (YO’s) and those who have not previously engaged in any arts education. A series of structured and semi structured interviews with the women involved in the case studies will take be conducted in custody to build a picture of the individual life before imprisonment, their personalities and motivations and the impact that arts has on the way they deal with their incarceration and rehabilitation. Follow up interviews will be carried out shortly before release, upon release and further down the line in the desistance process, for instance 6-12 months after release. The line of questioning will be to establish the role of art education in each woman’s personal journey of rehabilitation. How does it support them through day-to-day prison life? How will it prepare them for release in terms of progressing into further study or employment? How have they applied any learnt skills/disciplines within their work and/or personal life outside of prison?

Expected Outcomes

The focus of this research will be to examine and critically assess the ways in which access to the arts within female prisons can support the desistance process through the forming of identify, independence, personal growth and self sufficiency. It will do this by ascertaining the impact that the arts have on the female offender upon release, their integration back into society and the path to becoming an ‘ex-offender’ as well as evaluating their involvement in the arts whilst incarcerated. From a theoretical angle, the relationship and correlation between the desistance process and Margaret Archer’s theory of reflexivity (2007) will be critically assessed. The role that agency plays in the rehabilitation of female offenders and the ways in which ‘reflexive identities’ can be created through access to the arts in order to accelerate and support this process. This research will challenge and expand upon existing literature, arguing that many researchers will often evaluate the success of arts interventions within the surroundings of which the research is conducted. This research will consider the transition from ‘offender’ to ‘ex-offender’ and the ways in which agency acquired through the arts can be applied throughout the continuing stages rehabilitation once a woman has been released from prison with the aim of deciphering whether the arts can sustain to the final stage of the desistance process, when someone actually ‘gives up crime’.

References

Brewster, L. (Ed.) (2012) Paths of discovery: Art practice and its impact in California prisons. San Francisco, CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Brewster, L.G. (1983). An Evaluation of the Arts-in-Corrections Program of the California Department of Corrections. San Jose, CA: San Jose State University. Corston, J. (2007) The Corston Report: A Review of Women with Particular Vulnerabilities Within the Criminal Justice System. March 2007. The Home office & Ministry of Justice. Farrall, S., Lightowler, C., Maruna, S., McNeill, F. (2012) How and Why People Stop Offending: Discovering Desistance. Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services. Fenner, P., Schofield, M. & Van Lith, T. (2013) Art Therapy in Rehabilitation. M Blouin, M. & Stone, J.H. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. n.d. online. Available at: http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/131/ [accessed 08/02/13] Gussak, D., (2008) The Effects of Art Therapy on Male, Female Inmates: Advancing the Research Base. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2008. doi:10.1016/j.aip.2008.10.002 Gussak, D., (2007) The Effectiveness of Art Therapy in Reducing Depression in Prison Populations [online] International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. Volume 51, Number 4. August 2007. Sage Publications. Available at: http://www.fivehokies.com/Evaluation/Evaluation%20and%20Analysis%20Designs/Non-Experimental%20Studies/Pretest-Posttest%20-%20The%20Effectiveness%20of%20Art%20Therapy%20in%20Reducing%20Depression%20in%20Prison%20Populations.pdf [accessed 10/12/12] Gussak, D. (2006) Effects of art therapy with prison inmates: A follow-up Study [online] The Arts in Psychotherapy. Volume 33, Issue 3. 2006. Pages 188–1. Department of Art Education Art Therapy, Florida State University. Available at: http://arttherapyinprison.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/advancing_the_research_base-accepted_manuscript.pdf [accessed 10/12/12] Giordano, P., Cernkovich, S,. Rudolph, J. (2002) Gender, Crime, and Desistance: Toward a Theory of Cognitive Transformation. The University of Chicago. Online, available at: http://www.soc.umn.edu/~uggen/Giordano_AJS_02.pdf [accessed 22/11/13] Karkou, V., & Sanderson, P. (2006) Arts therapies: A Research Based Map of the Field. Elsevier Churchill Livingstone: Edinburgh. Maruna, S. (2012) Elements of Desistance Signalling. American Society of Criminology. Volume 11, Issue 1, pages 73–86, February 2012. Nickeas, S. (2013) The Use of Art Education as a Tool for Rehabilitation: An Overview of Recreational and Social Enterprise Approaches Used Within Female Custodial Settings. June 2013. Institute for Learning & SKOPE at the University of Oxford. Webster, R. (2013) Can Payment by Results measure desistance? www.russellwebster.com 15th November 2013. Available at: http://www.russellwebster.com/can-payment-by-results-measure-desistance/ [accessed 29/11/13]

Author Information

Sophie Nickeas (presenting / submitting)
University of West London
Instititute for interdisciplinary research
London

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