Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Sociological Analysis of Social Work with Convicts Serving Sentences in the Penitentiary System of Russia

The paper outlines the main theoretical approaches to the sociological analysis of social work with convicts serving sentences in correctional institutions. The author cites a few scientific approaches to the study of social work with convicts, among them: functionalist, value-based, narratological (scenario) approaches. The analysis of each of the approaches and phenomena is carried out to identify common and special properties, as well as from the point of view of the correspondence and applicability of the explanatory power and depth of the theories in this study. Attention is drawn to the fact that despite the variety of approaches to the definition of social work with convicts, typical circumstances of approaches are highlighted, which makes it possible to call this concept interdisciplinary and present social work with convicts through a value–semantic system expressed in the qualitative activities of employees of social services and the federal penitentiary service, the purpose of which is the social rehabilitation of convicts in the penitentiary and post-penitentiary period.