Mulholland, Angelique;
(2025)
An exploration of the relationship between the gender subjectivities and educational capabilities of prison leavers in England.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
“Revolving door” offending, or persistent cycles of offending, are phenomena that have been associated with complex masculinities. In recent years, prison education has been posited as a ‘magic bullet’ to both reduce recidivism (reoffending rates) and engender a successful desistance journey (moving away from crime). Although the study of masculinities within the gendered institution of prison is an emerging field, and prisoners’ educational pasts and present-day capabilities are the subject of recent policy debates, the intersection between the two areas is under-researched. This thesis explores the nexus between education and gender in the lives of adult men who have experienced the English justice system, including single or multiple periods of incarceration. One central focus is to explore how insights into this relationship can support an understanding of subjectivity, power, violence and redemption in prison leavers’ lived experiences and educational trajectories, including in schooling, prison and the community. Using an interdisciplinary theoretical framework drawing on poststructuralist feminist epistemologies and narrative methodology, I interviewed 20 adult male prison leavers who were at various stages of their desistance journeys. This study reveals complex gender subjectivities both challenged and maintained in educational spaces and which depend on multiple and shifting axes of (dis)advantage including social class, race, (dis)ability, family background and age. Although some participants appear trapped in cycles of violent gender performativity linked with criminal trajectories, others have navigated their way through deficit educational discourses to occupy alternative masculine positioning, some of which appear to disrupt intergenerational patterns of violence and offending. For these participants, re-engaging with education has supported a move away from reoffending and they have embarked on their own journeys of belonging, engagement, reflection and hope.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | An exploration of the relationship between the gender subjectivities and educational capabilities of prison leavers in England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Education, Practice and Society |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10215659 |
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