Can University Education in Prison Be Abolitionist? An Analysis of Different University-in-Prison Programs

• In Event: Abolition: Practices, Lessons, and New Worlds

Abstract

University education in prison is often framed as a pathway to rehabilitation and reintegration, yet its role within the broader penal system remains ambiguous. Can these programs serve as abolitionist tools that challenge the logic of incarceration, or do they risk reinforcing the legitimacy of the prison system? This study examines diverse university-in-prison initiatives, including the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, the Justice-in-Education Initiative at Columbia University, and European models. Using a qualitative approach based on institutional reports, interviews, and participant observation, the research explores the transformative potential and limitations of these programs. While university education in prison fosters critical engagement, community-building, and lower recidivism rates, it often operates within constraints dictated by penal governance. Some initiatives create alternative spaces that resist carceral logic, while others risk becoming symbolic reforms that fail to disrupt penal populism. By adopting a Southern criminology perspective, this study interrogates whether university-prison collaborations can function as genuine abolitionist practices or remain confined within the system they seek to change. It ultimately calls for a radical rethinking of university education in prison as a site of resistance rather than compliance.
Keywords:
Prison Education, Abolitionism, University-Prison Partnerships, Higher Education, Penal Populism

Author

• Sergio Grossi, John Jay College (City University of New York) - Sorbonne (Paris 1)