Educating citizens in juvenile detention centers — A complex educational challenge

This research report is based on the project “The notion of citizenship in juvenile offenders who are part of reeducation processes in detention houses” developed by Adelmo Sabogal in 2008 and 2009. The research is related to the tension arisen from the decision to deprive of freedom a subject who was educated by society itself. That can lead us to ask ourselves not only about that individual’s failures but also the system’s. The topic at hand here has to do with notion of citizenship that in this particular case refers to the population of juvenile offenders deprived of freedom. The proposed objective sought to characterize the notion of citizenship among a group of young offenders, who are involved in reeducation processes. The situations contributing to the origin of this offense were also listed. The results were focused on the following categories: a) the sense of national belonging, b) their acknowledgement as individuals with rights and duties, c) their awareness of belonging to a collectivity, d) social participation and integration, e) responsibility on the proper functioning of institutions, f) rights and correlative duties, g) protection of human rights.