Abstract

The study was designed as a test of an especially constructed series of dilemma discussion methods for an experimental group of female offenders and their guards. The programme conducted on prison grounds, consisted of a five‐month programme for the offenders and a separate ten‐month programme for the staff. The results indicated that the experimental group of inmates improved on both the Defining Issues Test (DIT), an estimate of moral judgement and the Loevinger Sentence Completion Test (SCT), an estimate of ego development, when compared to a random group. The results for the staff programme were similar except that initially the guards’ scores were much lower than those of the inmates, especially on the DIT. Two‐year, follow‐up information indicated that the experimental group of females achieved more positive outcomes than did the controls. Implications for prison reform from an educational and developmental perspective are stressed.