Singapore’s Learning Prison

Learning as Rehabilitation

Singapore’s Prison Service has developed the Learning Prison model to make rehabilitation an active process of learning, personal development and behavioural change.

Under the approach, inmates are encouraged to take ownership of their rehabilitation and develop pro-social coping strategies during their time in prison.

Personal Action Plans

A central element is My Action Plan (MAP), a personalised planning tool that helps inmates identify their rehabilitation goals.

Correctional officers work with inmates to discuss their goals, develop action plans and reflect on what they learn through rehabilitation programmes.

Building Employability

Education is combined with vocational and skills training. Singapore Prison Service works with Yellow Ribbon Singapore to provide skills courses designed to improve inmates’ employability and help them secure jobs after release.

Employment is particularly important for reintegration because having stable work can provide both economic stability and a legitimate social role after imprisonment.

A Strength-Based Approach

The Learning Prison model can also be understood through a strength-based approach to rehabilitation. Instead of focusing exclusively on an individual's risks and offending behaviour, it seeks to develop skills, capabilities and personal responsibility.

This complements Singapore’s wider rehabilitation framework, which combines risk-and-needs assessment with approaches focused on strengths and desistance.

Preparing for Life After Prison

The ultimate objective is not simply successful participation in prison programmes. Inmates are prepared for the transition back into society through employment support, skills development and continued rehabilitation planning.

Singapore’s Learning Prison therefore illustrates how education and employability can become central components of modern correctional rehabilitation.