This research is a case study inserted in the theme of education in the context of
deprivation of liberty and which aimed to understand the senses and meanings attributed
to education by male prisoners participating in a reading club in prison in the light of the
analytical category of social representations. It had as theoretical-methodological support
the principles of the Participant Research, using the Conversation Wheel and participant
observation to obtain the data, which were later submitted to a content analysis. Six major
themes of analysis were obtained, one of them being related to the reasons that lead people
in prison to participate in educational activities; two of them about the meanings that these
people attribute to these activities and to the educational space inside the prison; and three
on the meanings and social representations of education inside and outside prison. The
results reveal that the remission of sentence is one of the main reasons that lead people to
study in prison, but this is not the only reason, as they also point to an improvement in
life during imprisonment and the opportunity for learning. Regarding the meanings, the
results reveal that the educational space is configured as a better environment to be inside
the prison. In this educational space they experience different sensations from the
activities proposed in it. The meanings attributed to educational actions show that they
impact on the participants' behavior and thoughts, enabling them to feel more human and
to (re)establish social and family ties. In the dimension of the meanings and Social
Representations of education in prison, it is possible to notice that there are similarities
and differences in relation to extramural education; that it provides experiences that
occupy the mind, stimulate participation, generate a sense of freedom, distance them from
the criminal identity and reduce the time of imprisonment, which contrasts with the logic
of prison. It is also noticed that education in prison is simultaneously seen as a benefit
and a second chance to resume studies, offered by enlightened beings, but also as a
possibility for establishing new relationships with educational practice.
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