PERCEPTIONS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE STUDY

Perceptions are defined as a constructivist concept to reflect the truth understood from the lived experiences (De Vos, Strydom, Fouche & Delport, 2011). Mezirow (2009:92) defines perceptions as “codes or canons, which may be cultural, social, linguistic, educational, economic, political, psychological, religious, and aesthetic and others”. This study interprets perceptions as motives which different offenders derive from their lived experiences. They participate in educational programmes offered by the Correctional Services for different reasons and motives (Hall & Killacky, 2008). There could be positive perceptions like a desire for education that some of them may not have had before their incarceration. Hope and perceived opportunities that may be anticipated after incarceration are other positive perceptions. On the other hand, there could also be negative perceptions about participating or not participating. Some negative perceptions could include lack of support from families and officials, previous bad experiences with school, low self-esteem, apathy or lack of empowerment. This study is aimed at providing a space and a discussion forum to offenders to make their voices heard, by expressing and venting their concerns regarding the educational opportunities in correctional facilities.

Theories of perception are classified according to how each branch of philosophy discusses them. Perceptions can represent idealism, realism and phenomenological views. Perceptions are not passive representations; they are a result of accumulation of experiences and the world around us. Perception is a concept used in various disciplines, including mostly in psychological studies and Gestalt theorists on stimuli processes. The Gestalt psychology provides an explanation of mental events and experiences, one of its main tenets being that the “whole is bigger than the sum of its parts”. The Gestalt principle explains how perceptions are organised (perceptual organisation or laws of perceptual organisation) (Theory of Knowledge, 2013). Oppong (2013) summarises many definitions into one description that fit well with the issues discussed in this thesis. The author describes perceptions as the concepts and processes by which

individuals maintain contact with their environment. He illustrates the meaning of perception by showing a relationship between perception, attitude and behaviour. Oppong (2013) further infers that learners’ perceptions are informed by the nature of the subject, methods of teaching and assessments, and their prior knowledge and experiences, citing these factors as environments in the study of History. The same is said in the light of offenders’ perceptions and factors that influence their educational experiences. Whereas Oppong’s case was based on History teachers’ perceptions where positive teachers’ perceptions can yield positive mind-sets in students, the analogy applies to offenders’ perceptions in this study. Perception not only creates our experience of the world around us, but it allows us to act within our environment, hence different theorists define perceptions within contexts, environments, disciplines and experiences in lives of individuals (Gibson, 1972, cited in Oppong, 2013). This study investigates the perceptions of offenders participating in educational programmes as provided by the DCS, in three centres, hence the understanding of perception is imperative. Social perception is described as the study of how individuals form impressions of and make inferences about other people, or things around them.

Self-perception theory is associated with internal and external locus of control. The argument is based on the notion that “individual differences are a result of consequences such as chance, fate, force or powerful others” (Borden & Hendrick, 2012, cited in Oppong, 2013). Individuals’ perceptions emanate from interpersonal simulation of the forced compliance dissonance phenomenon (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959). The individuals whose locus of control is influenced from within (the internal locus) are those who are strong-willed, resilient and have perseverance in their desires. Individuals with an external locus of control generally have low morale, are sceptical and sometimes lazy.

Hall and Killacky (2008) discovered in their study that inmates who expressed regret for their misdeeds are influenced into participating in correctional education mostly by external forces like judges, parole boards, and correctional officers to engage in educational programmes. These are learners who are said to be pushed into educational opportunities merely because they want something out of them, not because they look at long-term benefits, values and personal development. In their study, some offenders said they joined in merely because they wanted parole boards to shorten their sentences (a pre-requisite for parole conditions). The self- perceptions, therefore, are based on individuals’ own mixed-bag of attributions – experiences,

attitudes, contexts, behaviours, realities, truths, representations, inferences, impressions, interpretations and meanings attached. From the point of view of perceptions, this study is likely to get positive and negative feedback about adult education programmes. It is therefore imperative while conducting this study to understand how offenders form perceptions and what their perceptions imply. Understanding of such perceptions and experiences by offenders can provide some solutions to the challenges that DCS faces in its efforts to provide educational opportunities. The notion of perceptions is linked to what was discussed earlier in this chapter when discussing what motivates inmates to learn (section 2.3.3.4). Motivation therefore is a culmination of perceptions – either positive or negative.

2.6 CHAPTER SUMMARY

The chapter discussed the theoretical framework, in which two main theories, the ecological or eco-system by Bronfenbrenner (1977), and Knowles’ theory of andragogy (1980) were highlighted. Correctional education discourse is guided by theories of correctional behaviour guided by three perspectives – philosophical, sociological and criminological within the penal theory. They culminate in incapacitation, deterrent, retributive/just deserts/restorative and rehabilitative/reintegration theories. The chapter ended with a discussion on perceptions as another main concept used in the study. The next chapter reviews the literature on correctional education.