Maths in Prison

The main reason to apply for this project was to create and implement mathematics-material, which can be used to teach maths to our target group of inmates within the Polish prison system. By developing and providing high-quality mathematics/numeracy education to inmates, they improve their self-efficacy in societal situations. Furthermore, it improves the chances of inmates on the future labour market. The Maths in Prison (MiP) project addressed the need for more inclusion and a better rehabilitation amongst inmates in Polish prisons. It has done so by giving the target group access to State-of-the-Art mathematics/numeracy education to which they had no access before. This way, we improved the availability of high-quality learning for the target group. Our Polish partner (Socially Excluded Education Association "Busola") indicated that this lack of availability was a real and urgent problem for rehabilitation through education. The priorities that motivated us, revolved around inclusion of socially excluded groups, the fight against marginalisation, and developing better-suited, practical, functional and future-oriented learning of high-quality education among adults who have fewer/limited chances of education.

The concrete objective of the MiP-project was to provide adult prisoners with tailor-made education in order to improve inclusion and rehabilitation within a Polish prison context. The project aimed to give our specific target group - inmates in the mentally disabled ward in the Polish prison system - access to relevant and State-of-the-Art mathematics/numeracy education. Providing adult prisoners with education and educational material was our objective, since our target group hardly had access to such mathematics/numeracy provisions. Another objective was providing professional development materials to the teachers and volunteers at the Polish prison system. The developed and improved courses and educational materials are instrumental in regard to the inclusion of the target group in our mathematised society and their rehabilitation process. By implementing this project, we offered adult prisoners in Polish prisons mathematics education to further improve inclusion and rehabilitation.

Within the MiP-project, multiple project activities were designed, initiated, and implemented in order to reach the project objectives. In the first stage, we established the scope and professional development of the teachers involved in a two-day workshop. This included workshops in which we shared some new scientific insights on students high-order skills and mindset through experiencing game-based-learning, which could be implemented in the desired lesson material. In the second stage, we designed a relevant and agreed set of educational materials. This set aimed at enhancing functional mathematical skills among adult prisoners in Polish prisons and was therefore tailormade to the participants in the Polish prison system. The design was informed and supported by the new Common European Numeracy Framework. In the third stage of project, the prepared teaching/learning materials were tested and evaluated during a try-out.Throughout the projects we shared the materials, experiences and evaluation within within European and International communities on prison education.

During the project, we created and evaluated educational numeracy material that had a wider scope and were better suited for inmates. To make these materials more suited for inmates, they were made through recognisable real-life situations (practical and functional) ideal for future-oriented learning. The different numeracy materials included videos, PowerPoints, and a 15 unit-course workbook. The evaluation of the material showed that MiP led to more and better engagement regarding numeracy education to the inmates at the Polish prison. Results of the pre-post tests showed an impressive improvement in the level of numeracy competences. During interviews with inmates we found an improvement in joy, importance and relevance. Interviews with the inmates and teachers also brought to our attention that tailor-made adaptations are necessary for the sustainability of the materials in other contexts. By making tailor-made adaptations, the numeracy educational material can be used in different settings by institutes that are involved in similar education. Another outcome is the development of professional teachers with knowledge on topical insights in useful mathematics education.