Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Leeds Beckett and Full Sutton Prison partnership expanded
Degree-level education at high security HMP Full Sutton has been expanded to include a short psychology course on the psychology of sleep, stress and sport.
Following the successful delivery of a criminology module over the past two years by Leeds Beckett, the prison was keen to expand the range of courses and to include prison officers too.
As a result, a short psychology course was developed by Dr Emma Dunmore and Dr Bill Davies – of Leeds School of Social Science - where Leeds Beckett students learned alongside prisoners and prison officers.
Between January and March this year, three Leeds Beckett students, in the final year of their psychology degree, travelled to Full Sutton, just outside York.
They joined four prisoners and two prison officers to learn about how sleep, stress and sport impact on wellbeing. The students considered research evidence relating to real world contexts both inside and outside prison.
Dr Dunmore, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, explained: “The discussions during the sessions gave all students insights into the lived experience of their fellow learners.
“The level of engagement in our lessons was superb. Teaching on this course has been one of the highlights of my 20-year career in education”.
In order to evaluate the Learning Psychology Together course, interviews were conducted by one of the department’s PhD students, Lauren Smith.
Dr Dunmore said: “There is good evidence that in all three contexts, insufficient sleep has negative effects.
“For prison officers this may be a result of shift work; for prisoners this may be the result of stress and noise on the wing; and for university students this may be the result of late night studying, part-time work and socialising.
“Discussing the evidence led some members of the class to consider altering their sleep habits.”
Dr Dunmore will be analysing the themes emerging from these interviews and drawing together conclusions over the next few months.
The Learning Psychology Together course will run again in 2019, with plans to expand it into a full 20-credit module.
As a result, a short psychology course was developed by Dr Emma Dunmore and Dr Bill Davies – of Leeds School of Social Science - where Leeds Beckett students learned alongside prisoners and prison officers.
Between January and March this year, three Leeds Beckett students, in the final year of their psychology degree, travelled to Full Sutton, just outside York.
They joined four prisoners and two prison officers to learn about how sleep, stress and sport impact on wellbeing. The students considered research evidence relating to real world contexts both inside and outside prison.
Dr Dunmore, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, explained: “The discussions during the sessions gave all students insights into the lived experience of their fellow learners.
“The level of engagement in our lessons was superb. Teaching on this course has been one of the highlights of my 20-year career in education”.
In order to evaluate the Learning Psychology Together course, interviews were conducted by one of the department’s PhD students, Lauren Smith.
Dr Dunmore said: “There is good evidence that in all three contexts, insufficient sleep has negative effects.
“For prison officers this may be a result of shift work; for prisoners this may be the result of stress and noise on the wing; and for university students this may be the result of late night studying, part-time work and socialising.
“Discussing the evidence led some members of the class to consider altering their sleep habits.”
Dr Dunmore will be analysing the themes emerging from these interviews and drawing together conclusions over the next few months.
The Learning Psychology Together course will run again in 2019, with plans to expand it into a full 20-credit module.