Educating Young People in Penal Establishments in France

Special Penal Facilities for Minors (EPM) opened in France during the 2000s, aiming to promote educational facilities in prison. For this purpose, they bring together in these establishments well funded special social education, school and health agencies. The article highlights the results from a research programme carried out on several such carceral elements, showing the disparities in functioning among them despite a common scheme. Disciplinary and security rationales occupy a prominent place, hindering interprofessional relations and non penal interventions. The educational enterprise towards minors is still fragmented and shows no dynamics adapted to such constrained settings.