Educação no cárcere: possibilidades e limites para a inclusão/libertação social do apenado: refletindo com o Presídio Regional de Pelotas.

Abstract

The present dissertation consists of an inquiry into the possibilities and limits of the education for inclusion/liberation of prisoners kept in the Regional Penitentiary of Pelotas. I discuss the liberation of human beings from the ropes of prejudice and social exclusion. What can be done to include/liberate the prisoners that are part of a system which is, by its own nature, socially exclusive and oppressor? How to provide them, and our society, the means to become aware of themselves and of their actions, in a praxis which seeks liberty and happiness for all? This investigation uses, as its main theoretical basis, Michel Foucault and Paulo Freire. Through Foucault, one attains the certainty of the uselessness of prison as a means to salvage the individual. As a counterpoint, Freire demonstrates the possibility of changes, anticipating a new type of society in which all will have the chance to become subjects in their own stories. Initially, I have carried out a mini-course on Education and Citizenship, with twelve prisoners of the PRP. After that, I have followed up (through weekly encounters) for the period of 4 months, three prisoners on parole. During this phase, I have investigated the occurrence (or not) of changes in them, as well as the attainment of consciousness of their role as subjects of their own histories. Finally, I came to the conclusion that the changes in the prisoners, enabled by education, collide with the limits of their social conditions. My second finding was the possibility that the education for inclusion/liberation of prisoners is based on the hope that it will offer a better world for all.