Popular Adult Education

The first Culture/Justice protocol was co-signed on the 25 th of July 1986 by Jack Lang and Robert Badinter.
Following the first international symposium about culture in prison (May-June 1985), this text formalised the
interdepartmental cultural policy in prison which had been in place since the beginning of the 1980's.
However, cultural activities have existed in French penal institutions since the Liberation. From choirs to
theatre groups including concerts, these were often categorised as educational, socio-cultural, recreational and
cultural activities. Initially organised by social assistants, they were then mostly led by prison educators. The
latter had been created as part of the Amor reform in 1946. Only a few penal institutions were affected by
these activites which were supposed to educate, observe and reform the prisoners. In the 1970's, because of
the prison crisis, a new reform was implemented which turned the cultural activities into a means of
rehabilitation and reintegration. In the early 1980's, this approach was transformed because of the intervention
of Minister Lang. New initiatives appeared ; for example, audio-visual technology. From then on, these were led
by artists, associations, and institutions from the world of creativity. The perspective of these new operators
was then to guarantee the right to culture for the detained individuals. Prison educators then had to convert
into coordinators. Consequently, activities depended on the local cultural fabric. Therefore, the penitentiary
administration had to reorganise in order to take on board these new operations
activities ; film club ;
reading club ; choir ; music ; drama ; télévision ; radio ; fine arts, audiovisual ; newspaper ; ;

The chapter discusses the concept of discipline in relation to struggles over knowledge production and power. It uses as an example the pathways of studies on adult and vocational education between the academy, politics and practice, especially beside the study of general education, which much earlier gained an institutionalised and recognised position in the academy and in educational knowledge production. Applying a genealogical and actor network-theoretical approach, the chapter argues that the disciplinarisation or scientification of educational knowledge is not primarily an issue of conceptual and theoretical progress. Rather it indicates relations and power struggles between actors in the academy, politics, economy and practice.

The chapter discusses the concept of discipline in relation to struggles over knowledge production and power. It uses as an example the pathways of studies on adult and vocational education between the academy, politics and practice, especially beside the study of general education, which much earlier gained an institutionalised and recognised position in the academy and in educational knowledge production. Applying a genealogical and actor network-theoretical approach, the chapter argues that the disciplinarisation or scientification of educational knowledge is not primarily an issue of conceptual and theoretical progress. Rather it indicates relations and power struggles between actors in the academy, politics, economy and practice.