Profession prison instructor

Prison instructors educate legal offenders, including prisoners, on social rehabilitation and correctional behaviour. They assist prisoners in gaining skills which could facilitate their reintegration into society and increase their chances at finding employment after release. Prison instructors analyse the students' individual learning needs, plan and prepare teaching materials and sessions and update their learning records. They also ensure the working area and materials are safe from danger and accounted for, and supervise the students at all times.

Would you like to know what kind of career and professions suit you best? Take our free Holland code career test and find out.

Personality Type

• Social / Artistic
• Social / Investigative

Knowledge

• Adult education

  Instruction targeted at adult students, both in a recreational and in an academic context, for self-improvement purposes, or to better equip the students for the labour market.

• Training subject expertise

  The topic, content and methods of the training, acquired by doing research and following training courses.

• Correctional procedures

  Tthe legal regulations and policies concerning the operations of correctional facilities, and other correctional procedures.

Skills

• Reinforce positive behaviour

  Reinforce positive behaviour in people during rehabilitation and counseling activities, to ensure that the person takes the necessary actions for positive results in a positive manner, so that they remain encouraged to continue their efforts and reach goals.

• Practice vigilance

  Practice vigilance during patrol or other surveillance activities in order to ensure safety and security, to look out for suspicious behaviour or other alarming changes in patterns or activities, and to respond quickly to these changes.

• Oversee rehabilitation process

  Oversee the rehabilitation process of offenders during their stay in a correctional facility, to ensure that they follow the instructions, show good behaviour, and work towards full re-integration when they are released.

• Assist students in their learning

  Support and coach students in their work, give learners practical support and encouragement.

• Apply knowledge of human behaviour

  Practice principles related to group behaviour, trends in society, and influence of societal dynamics.

• Assess offenders' risk behaviour

  Assess and monitor the behaviour of offenders to gauge whether they pose any further risk to society, and what their chances for positive rehabilitation are, by assessing the environment they're in, the behaviour they show, and their efforts in rehabilitation activities.

• Encourage students to acknowledge their achievements

  Stimulate students to appreciate their own achievements and actions to nurture confidence and educational growth.

• Identify training needs

  Analyse the training problems and identify the training requirements of an organisation or individuals, so as to provide them with instruction tailored to their prior mastery, profile, means and problem.

• Comply with the principles of self-defence

  Observe the principles according to which a person should only use so much force as is required to repel an attack. The use of deadly force is limited to situations where attackers are using deadly force themselves.

• Apply teaching strategies

  Employ various approaches, learning styles, and channels to instruct students, such as communicating content in terms they can understand, organising talking points for clarity, and repeating arguments when necessary. Use a wide range of teaching devices and methodologies appropriate to the class content, the learners' level, goals, and priorities.

• Apply intercultural teaching strategies

  Ensure that the content, methods, materials and the general learning experience is inclusive for all students and takes into account the expectations and experiences of learners from diverse cultural backgrounds. Explore individual and social stereotypes and develop cross-cultural teaching strategies.

• Handle conflicts

  Mediate in conflicts and tense situations by acting between parties, such as service users, important others like families, and institutions, striving to effect an agreement, reconciliate, and resolve problems.

• Assess students

  Evaluate the students' (academic) progress, achievements, course knowledge and skills through assignments, tests, and examinations. Diagnose their needs and track their progress, strengths, and weaknesses. Formulate a summative statement of the goals the student achieved.

• Guarantee students' safety

  Ensure all students falling under an instructor or other person’s supervision are safe and accounted for. Follow safety precautions in the learning situation.

• Observe student's progress

  Follow up on students’ learning progress and assess their achievements and needs.

• Show empathy

  Show empathy in order to prevent any kind of symbolic violence and isolation and to guarantee a considerate attention to everyone. It should include a capacity to understand various verbal and non-verbal communication of sentiment and feeling.

• Perform classroom management

  Maintain discipline and engage students during instruction.

• Provide lesson materials

  Ensure that the necessary materials for teaching a class, such as visual aids, are prepared, up-to-date, and present in the instruction space.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB