Secret Teacher: How prison educators play a role to develop individual agency among inmate students
The idea of prison education program can imbue the learning with the skills, values and attitudes necessary for young inmates back onto society. This research study examines the role of educators in prison based school. Educators of inmate students have unique dedication to their profession and role to develop individual agency among inmate students. We draw on interviews and observation data from a study of an Indonesia prison school to understand the experiences and role taken as a prison educator. Perspective transformation is utilized as a theoretical framework to analyze the data by emphasizing if the prison educators understand the meaning of their teaching experiences and the role, they play in the prison school. The research findings reveal that each prison educator play a different role such as co learner and mentor, counsellor, second parent, and provocateur and police officer. The prison educators in this study also held many hope and aspiration about being a transformative educator for many young inmates. Keywords prison school; prison educator; educator role; perspective transformation