Pilot studies

As prisons are closed institutions, building relations with staff and students is a very important aspect in gaining access to information and different spaces within the establishment. As Martin (2000) states, 'it is not only desirable but necessary to spend some time in an establishment before [starting the research], and it is important to get to know the geography of the place […] the establishment’s routine and regime' (p.225).

I had been volunteering in the prison since February 2009, starting with preliminary observations into the institution’s suitability as a research space and objectives. Official pilot observations and teaching exercises took place between August 2009 and April 2010, further informing the research methodology and the objectives for classroom interactions. During my initial volunteering work, I was invited by different tutors to come along and take part in educational activities, ranging from in-cell education to regular classes. I was introduced to classroom procedures, from attendance monitoring to filling in ACCT and bully books. This

period helped refine observational objectives and the settings on which I wanted to concentrate.

Pilot observations

Pilot observations had been carried out in several different classrooms, after receiving official permission from the prison in September 2009. The pilot was used to gain a better understanding of the structure of educational activities, but also to investigate recurring themes and actors. As women were assigned to different morning and afternoon classes and course lengths varied from 1 or 2 and 6 weeks, a change in observational approach was necessary. I decided to study and observe two different learning spaces and their specific courses available to women. The integration of (digital) technology into educational provision was central and informed the choice of two distinct educational spaces for intensive fieldwork – the IT and the art classroom (later transformed into a social enterprise). In addition, the different class lengths, that is 1-2 weeks in the social enterprise and up to 6 weeks in IT, teaching styles and learning methods employed, provided the best choice for a comparative analysis of those two classrooms. Whilst IT classes had a rigorous structure and learning outcomes and were designed for individual learning, the social enterprise classes provided for some group work opportunities, less structured and liberal learning.

Further, during the pilot studies, it became clear that education and women's engagement with, or distribution in, education, did not start in the classroom but during a prisoner’s induction. I, therefore, included observations of the induction procedures in the research, as it underpinned an analysis of the parallel spaces in which prison education and prison-learners co-exist. Additionally, the various objects present and used in education not only structured space and interactions in relation to

those parallel spaces, but also initiated different becomings - reinforcing specific identities. Further, pilot observations demonstrated the most 'natural' way of gathering information was to work with the women directly, to engage in activities and learning.

Pilot teaching exercises

I investigated opportunities to extend observations into short-period and researcher-led teaching exercises as a method of understanding women's learning and engagement with technology. In this ‘distinct milieu’ I hoped it would create a research atmosphere, characterised by ‘equality and collaboration’, which engaged me as teacher and researcher in a ‘dialogue with the subjects’ (Costelloe, 2007). The social enterprise tutor had asked me develop a logo for the education department and I suggested involving students in this development. Preliminary observational data on social practice in classrooms was used to inform this 'intervention'. I wanted to test different forms of engagement with tasks that included interactions with computers and software as currently practised in IT classes. I developed a 3-day teaching exercise for this pilot study, undertaken in April 2010, to gain a clearer understanding of its possibilities as ethnographic method. Five students volunteered for this short study. Two were still present on day 3. Students commented that they found the learning and interaction enjoyable but that they had other things to do. It clearly highlighted the constraints of prison teaching through illness and appointment absences. Additionally, individual motivation to participate was not necessarily guided by a desire to learn. Rather, payment and getting out of their cell to interact with other women seemed more important, indicating that educational spaces had different meanings for women. Further, the different individual learning styles and educational levels made a structured teaching, even of such a small group, difficult. On the other hand, this ethnographic method allowed for an intimate dialogue with

students – a partial capturing and understanding of women's life histories (Carlen, 1983; Carlen, et al., 1985; Carlen and Worrall, 2004). Within this short period, I learned how women negotiate educational spaces and activities, using their individual characteristics, including learning abilities and preferences, but more importantly, their prioritisation of non-educational needs. This hands-on experience, and also the abandonment of future similar teaching activities, had furthered my understanding of the prison regime and procedures, and the various spaces in which prison education exists.

The initial pilot was only possible because the art tutor wanted and needed a logo for the social enterprise. This was agreed (the tutor helping with the selection of the students), on the understanding that I would commit to delivering the teaching over three full days. Further teaching exercises would have required preparation and management to be carried out by the prison tutors. None of them had the time or resources to sort out, for instance, recruitment or payment of students not engaged in education at the specific time of my teaching. The short teaching exercises were also to be developed after computer equipment had been installed in the arts workshop. The software arrived very late in the research phase and necessary teaching material (images, graphics) did not pass security checks and were not added to the internal network. I did, however, start to teach two of the classroom assistants in DTP software but often my time being in prison clashed with the women’s other commitments and appointments. I, therefore, abandoned this idea and continued my participation in normal teacher led-activities during my observations, instead, which provided me with sufficient material.