Creating Inclusive Learning Environments in Higher Education to Support Desistance from Offending

There is growing recognition of the value of education in facilitating desistance from offending. To better understand the role of higher education in raising individuals’ aspirations towards desistance, this chapter reflects on a study that set out to examine the role of higher education within the context of prevention of offending/reoffending within a community setting in Swansea, Wales. Adopting a pictorial narrative approach, the findings suggest that whilst the participants identified potential benefits of attaining a higher education, those aspirations were outweighed by a distrust of the institution. There was also a fear that stigmatisation experienced through the criminal identity would be hard to avoid and could morph into a criminal/student identity, thus leaving students vulnerable to judgement and exclusion. This chapter suggests a new vision for higher education in the UK, one that steps away from the neoliberal model to a community-focused civic mission, with responsibility to citizens from all walks of life—including those with a history of offending.