Responding to Children of Prisoners: The Views of Education Professionals in Victoria

This paper reports on one aspect of data gathered in an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project which sought to uncover how children are responded to when their parents are arrested and imprisoned. This paper presents initial specific insights into how Victorian schools understand and respond to these children. Due to the limited research previously conducted in this area of study, a flexible and exploratory approach was implemented. Data were obtained from eight Victorian education staff members, from a variety of professional domains, and were analysed using thematic analysis. Results indicate that a school's ability to respond appropriately to this group of students is shaped by the general and specific knowledge of parental imprisonment held by schools. Access to such knowledge is limited, however, by both the stigmatised nature of the problem and the current, fragmented, service system. More optimistically, it seems that when schools have greater awareness, positive responses can be implemented. Implications for this are discussed, with a particular focus on the need for clear channels of communication and collaborative work.