Transformative education for youth in Canada’s justice system: earning credits and gaining hope

The combination of rehabilitation and education of young offenders in Canada who are incarcerated for serious offenses is generally less successful than for young offenders who are assigned to non-custodial diversion programs. This has become a matter of concern, especially as many young offenders are of Indigenous origin. Three current forms of education, however, point to distinct possibilities for enhancing the education of young detainees in the youth justice system. These are: (a) alternative schools that have long demonstrated the value of accommodating the unique psychological, social, and learning needs of students; (b) wilderness adventure therapy; and (c) Indigenous forms of teaching and learning. In this paper we present the case of a program for young offender detainees (ages 12–17), the Healing Outdoor Program and Education (HOPE),Footnote1 which adopted a holistic approach to young offender rehabilitation by combining the attributes of alternative schooling with wilderness adventure therapy and Indigenous practices. Although the HOPE program has since been terminated, it nonetheless demonstrated the possibilities of coordinated approaches to education and therapeutic healing designed to prepare young offenders for effective transitions back to their own communities.