NCJ Number
212602
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 56 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2005 Pages: 308-325
Date Published
December 2005
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the philosophy of the learning organization environment and educational programs at Singapore’s Kaki Bukit Center Prison School and highlights the core and special programs of the school.
Abstract
The correctional education literature offers abundant documentation of the significant, positive effects of educational programming in reducing recidivism rates. Research also shows that from the standpoint of costs to economy, the value of correctional education becomes clear when costs of correctional education are compared to the compounded costs of rearrest, reprocessing through the courts, and reincarceration. This paper presents the Singapore experience in the setting up of the Kaki Bukit Centre Prison School (KBC), a school in a prison environment for young offenders. It discusses the philosophy of the learning organization that underlies the thinking and development of the learning environment and educational programs at KBC and highlights the core and special programs of the school. The concept of a learning environment within a prison setting is derived from the five disciplines of Peter Senge’s learning organization philosophy: shared vision, personal mastery, mental models, team learning, and systems thinking. Even though the history of the KBC is a short one, its achievements have been many. The disciplines of learning organization as the fundamental philosophy of KBC as “a school first, prison second” learning environment have guided the thinking of the management, staff, and students of the prison school. References and appendix