TEACHING IN PRISON

FORMATIVE PRACTICES IN THE APAC DIALOGUE WITH EMANCIPATORY EDUCATION

Abstract

The work reports the experience of a supervised teaching internship carried out at the APAC, accompanying extension activities developed by Law students focused on providing legal assistance to incarcerated individuals. The biweekly visits, combined with procedural analysis and group discussions, enabled the integration of practical experience with critical reflection on penal execution. The methodology adopted was qualitative, based on direct observation, the records produced by the students, and responses to an evaluative questionnaire. The main objective was to understand the pedagogical and formative impacts of the experience within the prison context, as well as to analyze how contact with the prison reality contributes to developing a more sensitive, technically grounded, and critical legal education. The experience showed that legal assistance within the APAC framework enhances learning about rights, strengthens comprehension of penal execution, and brings students closer to the structural inequalities that shape incarceration. The collected data revealed positive evaluations in all criteria, as well as reports highlighting the personal and academic transformation provided by the extension activities. It is concluded that the project promoted comprehensive training, articulating theory and practice in dialogue with emancipatory education, and reaffirmed the role of university extension in fostering a legal practice committed to human dignity and the reduction of inequalities.